Top ten popular podcasts consumed in affluent households by Brad Hill
A new top ten list from Edison Research compiles the ten podcasts that index highest for households that have an income over $100,000. The data was pulled from the Edison Podcast Metrics Q1 2020 through Q2 2023. A few incumbents remain on the list, like The New York Times’ six-episode 1619 podcast from 2019 in sixth place, as well as regularly-uploading series. The top five includes Marketplace, Slate’s Decoder Ring, Serial’s Nice White Parents, Mad Money with Jim Cramer from CNBC, and The Journal from The Wall Street Journal in first place. [Source]
Original Buffy the Vampire Slayer stars returning for new Audible series about Spike by Sydney Bucksbaum
Hot on the heels of Wondery’s Dr. Seuss podcasts, Disney’s Frozen podcast continuation, and Nickeodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark, a new branded audio fiction has been announced. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer IP is getting an audio fiction revival in the form of a “Buffyverse” story. The Audible exclusive will follow fan-favorite character Spike, set 20 years after the finale of the TV series. A significant number of the show’s original cast reprise their characters, including James Marsters, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Head, Danny Strong, and Amber Benson. The show is co-directed by Benson, novelist Christopher Golden, and horror podcast producer Kc Wayland. Most notable is the inclusion of Wayland, most known for creating the zombie apocalypse audio drama franchise We’re Alive in 2009. Hiring a director with audio fiction horror pedigree shows Audible is taking branded audio drama seriously. [Source]
Inclusion as Innovation: How These Marketing Leaders Stay Ahead by Leaving No One Behind by Jason Notte
A February survey from diversity advocacy group Hue found 85% of employees said their brands failed to invest in more racially-diverse hiring. In addition to not fulfilling many diversity promises made in 2020, this tactic also leaves money on the table. McKinsey found in 2020 that gender-diverse leadership teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than their less-diverse counterparts. For more ethically-diverse teams it was a 36% increase. The article then goes on to highlight marketers running inclusive spaces at Ally, Mattel, Headspace, Expedia, and H&R Block. Diversity is key to a healthy future and podcasting would do well to embrace this through measures like the Equality in Audio pact. [Source]
Marketers prioritise measurement but aren’t evaluating key metrics
According to research from DoubleVerify, 91% of marketers in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC, for short), agree that measuring media quality is important. That said, only 17% of the 329 brand marketers surveyed evaluate media across the four key metrics of fraud, brand safety, viewability, and ensuring the ads were served in the intended geography. 98% of respondents said they measure attention through a range of metrics, but when pressed further the metrics used had a wide range of variance. As is true in the wider world of advertising: a tool only works if used correctly and consistently. [Source]
How Brands Can Learn To Stop Worrying About Brand Safety And Love The News by Allison Schiff
As has been covered several times over The Download’s history, brand safety and suitability measures can lead to news content unintentionally being blocked from advertisers due to a combination of factors, ranging from Global Alliance for Responsible Media framework to outdated keyword blocklists. Josef Najim, director of programmatic and partnership at Reuters, offers a simple message: don’t be afraid of journalism. Najim argues frameworks like GARM are useful but need to develop and address nuances over time. There needs to be more transparency into methods like keyword blocklists so brands and publishers can work together to figure out the “what” and “why” something is making the brand skittish to run ads on news content. [Source]
…as for the rest of the news: Bryan Barletta celebrates three years of Sounds Profitable with a slice of humble pie and ideas to invigorate the industry’s relationship with buyers, Coleman Insights launches AscendFM brand lift service, Politics.co.uk writer James Hanson reflects on the growing popularity of political podcasts, Inside Audio Marketing looks at more data from the Nielsen Podcasting Today report, AdWeek covers why marketers are paying more attention to attention-tracking, and Insider data shows five industries that will increase digital ad spend faster than the national average.
