Today in the Business of Podcasting
Why Branded Content Could Be Bigger Than You Think by Tom Webster
In this week’s Sounds Profitable newsletter, Tom Webster takes a look at the potential for brands and podcasts, and how data shows they have even more room to grow. More than four in ten Americans 18+ say they would likely listen to a podcast about a favorite brand or product. Even if the number who actually listened turned out to be around 30%, that would make podcasts about brands a top-five genre. Sounds Profitable will be looking deeper into this on Wednesday, October 18th, with the launch of our latest study The Power of Brands in Podcasts. Registration for the free webinar debut is open now. [Source]
With New Ads Targeting Black And Latino Voters, Biden Campaign Sees Radio As ‘Trusted Messengers.’
2024 presidential election campaigns are ramping up. Currently the President Biden re-election campaign is running a $25 million 16 week ad campaign aimed at swing-state voters. A portion of that investment is earmarked specifically for Black and Hispanic-owned radio stations. Ads specifically targeting Hispanic voters are set to run on Spanish-language stations in Nevada and Arizona before expanding to similar stations in further key swing states. As the political ad season begins to heat up, it’s worth remembering podcasting has the ability to enter the conversation with our secret weapon of easily-targetable niche content for very specific audiences. [Source]
Podcast ads on Amazon DSP will now offer Amazon Audiences to self-service advertisers in the UK
The new self-service launch allows UK advertisers to target demographics like age range, location, genre, and gender across all podcast supply in the DSP. This includes both third-party productions and podcasts owned and operated by Amazon properties. The press release lauds podcasting’s ability to create intimate, authentic bonds with listeners. High praise from a giant in the advertising industry. Here’s hoping it signals a bright future with further Amazon investment into podcasting. [Source]
Social media traffic to top news sites craters by Sara Fischer
According to data from Similarweb, both Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, traffic referrals to top global news sites have cratered over the past two years. Facebook currently sits at 21.4 million referrals, down from nearly 120 million in January 2021. X just beats them with 22.6 million referrals, down from just over 50 million in the same time period. While this could have some worrying side effects, such as disinformation having an easier time trending in an election cycle, there are some potential upsides. Axios points to an over-reliance on social media traffic creating an environment where news publishers had to chase viral trends to stay relevant. In a potential world where social links are secondary, the same publishers could be allowed to build their own strong consumer products again. All the more breathing room for news publishers to beef up their podcast investments to further promote their news coverage. [Source]
…as for the rest of the news: the Google antitrust case heats up as the DoJ accuses them of illegally increasing prices, and Digiday covers DTC marketer’s reinvestment in Meta and Google after Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency crackdown.
