Digiday+ Research: Branded content rebounds as a top source of publisher revenue by Julia Tabisz
Every Q1 Digiday+ Research surveys publisher professionals to get the lay of the land. This year’s survey found publishers’ branded content revenue is increasing after a downward trend since 2021, 94% of respondents said in Q1 of this year they get “at least a very small portion” of their revenue from branded content, ranking second place behind direct-sold ads. A big jump compared to Q1 of 2024 when the number was 72%. Podcasting can continue to facilitate that growth, with studies like The Power of Branded Podcasts continuing to demonstrate their efficacy.
Why is Ad Creative in Decline? By Edward Cotton
A recent survey conducted by Betterbriefs surveyed over 1,000 people from creative agencies and client marketing departments, focusing on the creative development process. While creative is what makes the advertising world go ‘round, the survey finds there’s a lack of pride in the creative work being made, it’s going through an average of five rounds to get approved, and briefs are often being ignored over personal opinion when evaluating ideas for creative. Only 27% of marketers and 30% of agencies agree with the sentiment “I am well-trained in how to evaluate ideas.” The business of podcasting could become one of the better examples of an industry where creative is effective, well-produced, and consistent. Podcast ads rely on authenticity and connection with audiences, if not outright directly read by the person they’re tuning in to in the first place.
Podcast advertising: 2024 review and 2025 preview
Magellan AI has a new presentation looking back at last year and forward to what’s in store this year. Podcasting kicked off the year with double-digit growth, with Magellan AI estimating total spending on podcasting increased 23% year over year in January and 25% y-o-y in February. Looking back to February, they chart 8.6% of overall podcast episode time was dedicated to ads, a 6.38% increase from 2023. Of the ad spend tracked by Magellan AI, the top ten advertisers spent a combined $369 million in podcasting last year, with Amazon grabbing the top spot at $60.3 million in spend.
Coworking: Colin Gray
Welcome to Coworking, a recurring feature in The Download where we highlight some of the folks working in the business of podcasting. If you’d like to toss your hat in the ring for a future edition, hit reply! Today we want to highlight Colin Gray of Alitu and The Podcast Host. Colin’s background is in education, with his early podcast production showing the overlap between building a course and building a series. A big challenge he sees the industry facing is keeping indie podcasters flowing into podcasting and keeping them around, with a marked increase in attrition in the early stages of production (such as new podcasters burning out under the presumption they need video). You can catch all of Colin’s insights here in his full Coworking feature on Sounds Profitable.
As for the rest of the news…
- Podscribe has published their latest podcast and publisher rankings for April 2025, showing strong performances from established shows as well as notable growth among rising voices.
- The Podglomerate welcomes José Roman as their new Lead Editor to support their growing production client portfolio.
- Triton Digital has a new Australia Podcast Ranker for March 2025, showing industry growth like 160% increase in advertising impressions year-over-year.
- BBC Studios has announced a new partnership with Audacia who, starting this month, will represent BBC podcasts in Asian markets.
- Corsa Digital and Audiohook are hosting Pitch & Pour: The Brand Voice Experience, an event to “let your brand speak – and sip – from the rooftops of NYC,” on May 15th at 5:30 EST. Admission is free and the event will take place at the Castell Rooftop Lounge in Manhattan.
- The 29th annual Webby Award winners are now live, and Podnews has collected podcast winners into a handy list.
