Two-thirds of advertisers bought ads on misinformation sites, researchers find by Ryan Barwick
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Stanford, recently published in the science journal Nature, have found a significant portion of top advertisers unknowingly ran ads on misinformation sites between 2019 and 2021. More than 75% of websites flagged by NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index had ads run on them. 55% of the top 100 most active advertisers appeared on misinformation sites during the studied timeframe. While there is no perfect system, podcasting’s track record of transparency with its programmatic inventory and brand safety tools go a long way to reducing the possibility of similar accidental buys in our industry.
Avoiding the Cyclical Nature of Sports Podcasts [Multiple Sources]
While the ad revenue of the sports podcast genre continues to climb, it’s important to remember the inherently cyclical nature of all sports when investing in athlete-fronted podcasts. Hot on the heels of accolades and massive growth, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce will now cease uploading for at least two months to accommodate for football training season. Former player JJ Redick’s podcast is now on hiatus now that he’s the Lakers’ head coach. And one particular curveball: after 1,600 episodes the NFL has quietly canceled Around the NFL, reportedly without informing the hosts when their final episode would be. While sports podcasts with celebrity/athlete hosts are impressive, it’s worth remembering there is a wider, diverse ecosystem around each major sport. Fan-hosted podcasts tend to be consistent, reliable, and can produce content even during training seasons or gaps between games.
How to prepare for Gen Alpha: Invest in YouTube, gaming and learning by Antoinette Siu
Interactive agency Razorfish recently published a survey of 3,474 Gen Alpha respondents and their parents spread across nine markets around the world, while video ad platform Precise TV published similar findings from surveying families consisting of 3,000 children aged 2 to 12. 69% of Gen Alpha have gaming consoles, and 60% play games on phones or tablets (parents will not be surprised to hear Roblox is far and away the most popular platform). Ad recall and ad preference are higher on YouTube Shorts than TikTok. In regards to brands, Gen Alpha tends to prefer tangible things, including in-person experiences and events.
tonies launches podcast designed to keep children off screens
tonies, the brand known for screenless toy-driven audio for children, is now releasing their formerly paywalled Today with tonies as an open RSS feed podcast in collaboration with Mags Creative. The podcast, targeting children aged 4 to 7, takes KS1 and KS2 curriculum into account with their educational content. While there is still Today with tonies content paywalled behind purchasing the speaker and a podcast-relevant figurine, the core show being available for public download is another vote of confidence in open podcasting as a distribution and promotion avenue.
…as for the rest of the news:
- Chartable co-founder Dave Zohrob has announced he has finished his final week with Spotify.
- Pierre Bouvard has new insights about YouTube’s podcast performance from the Spring Podcast Download.
- New On Device data finds 45% of Australians listen to a podcast at least monthly.
- Campaign covers the trend of global brands launching branded podcasts in Chinese markets.
- GQ Britain covers the power of podcasts in the UK political landscape.
