Spotify’s New Ad Manager, U.S. Political Advertising Shakeup, & More

Introducing the newly branded Spotify Ads Manager

The Spotify Ad Studio self-serve platform has rebranded to Spotify Ads Manager. With the rebrand comes updates to the user interface. A new Audience Manager feature will be released in closed beta ahead of full release in 2025. Recent introductions to the platform include visual ad formats, Canvas for Advertisers, opt-in video ads, and a pixel creation tool (currently in beta).

Q2 Earnings Roundup

It’s that time of the quarter, and we’ve got a few different companies posting their Q2/H1 earnings reports. Audioboom reports their revenue per thousand downloads increased 32% year-over-year, reaching $60.09. AdWeek’s roundup of YouTube coverage notes the platform’s ad revenue grew 13% year over year, up to $8.66 billion. Revenue grew y-o-y at NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service, bringing operating loss down to $348 million. NBCU also has television hopes on the horizon with an 11 year rights deal to secure NBA games on NBC and Peacock.

The Listening and Consumer Habits of the Black Podcast Audience by Jeff Vidler

Using data tracked since 2021 for Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics Demos+, Signal Hill Insights has created a snapshot of Black podcast audiences in the United States. As of Q2 2024, 47% of respondents identified as Black/African-American and aged 18+ in the U.S. listen to podcasts at least monthly, a 10% increase year-over-year. Vidler’s breakdown lists genres that trend higher than in general U.S. podcast listener data, and breaks down a list of category opportunities for advertisers looking to connect with Black podcast listeners.

How the Democratic presidential election upheaval will impact the political ad market by Kristina Monllos

A lot has happened since Sunday when President Biden announced he was stepping out of the U.S. presidential race and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris to take his place. While the Harris campaign burst through the gate with a viral endorsement (and subsequent promotional materials) from Charlie XCX, marketing executives interviewed by Digiday see the sudden switch as an opportunity for more tuned-in influencer opportunities, as the 59 year-old candidate is no stranger to memetic stardom. Typically with presidential campaigns the majority of ad budget is spent in the last three weeks, though with this unprecedented shift in candidates it’s possible the Harris campaign will start spending sooner to make up for lost time. Budgets for the campaign are expected to be largely distributed over broadcast TV and digital in hot-button areas like the Rust Belt swing states.

…as for the rest of the news:

Triton Digital released its June 2024 Canada Podcast Ranker
QCODE has tapped John Hamm to star in and executive produce their new scripted series, Dungeon Masters
Elle writer Naomi May charts the rise of political podcasts in the UK and lists popular examples
The BBC is set to lay off 500 more staff by March of 2026 as its financial deficit grows and fewer households renew TV licenses in favor of online streaming.