Last year, an estimated $220M was spent on podcast advertising, where direct-to-consumer brands found huge success in building connections with consumers and helped usher in a culture shift in the way brands communicate with audiences. With ad spending on podcasts expected to surpass $500M buy 2020, what should publishers be thinking about as they build a revenue stream around podcasting? What business models have emerged, and what trends developments are affecting podcast monetization? Hear guiding business practices and case studies from Gina Garrubbo, who leads the sponsorship sales team for the top podcast publisher today, NPR. KEYNOTE Gina Garrubbo, President & CEO, National Public Media (NPM)

1. Podcasting:
Building Consumer
Connections & Revenue
for Publishers

2. In a direct-to-consumer landscape,
podcasting offers intimacy, immediacy
and resonance that has helped publishers
and brand advertisers more meaningfully
connect with a valuable audience.

3. Breadth of content: a podcast for everyone.

4. Monthly podcast listening
Source: The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital. Persons 12+. Percent listening to a podcast in last month.
+24% since 2016
9%
11% 12% 12%
14%
12%
15%
17%
21%
24%
26%
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
73 MILLION

5. Podcasts
33%
AM/FM Radio
25%
Streaming Audio
14%
Owned music
15%
TV music
channels
5%
Sirius
5%
Other
3%
Source: Edison Research, Share of Ear, 2018
Share of ear among
podcast listeners.
Podcast users listen to
podcasts more than any
other audio source.

6. One
18%
Two
17%
Three
13%
Four or Five
20%
Six to Ten
17%
11 or more
14%
Don't know
1%
Number of podcasts
listened to in last week.
2018
One
16%
Two
24%
Three
13%
Four or Five
20%
Six to Ten
13%
11 or more
8%
2017
Source: Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2018 and 2017

7. Podcasts attract affluent,
educated consumers.
Sources: Edison Research, The Podcast Consumer, 2018. *GfK MRI Doublebase 2017. **Lightspeed Research,
NPR Sponsorship Survey, Media Ad Avoidance and Distraction, November 2016
34%
age 18-34
vs. 28% of US
population
51%
income $75K+
vs. 38% of US
population
61%
college grads
vs. 44% of US
population
54%
employed
full time
vs. 45% of US
population
87%
used social media
in the past 30 days
vs. 70% of US
population*
93%
of NPR podcast listeners
use on-demand
media subscription
services
vs. 65% of non-listeners**

8. New platforms are challenging Apple’s
dominance – and are poised to drive
more podcast listening.

9. Launchpad for brand extensions,
experiences and revenue streams.
The New York Times
brand extension
WNYC’s podcast
on HBO
Live events &
entrepreneurs’ summit
In primetime
television
In movie theaters Squarespace &
Gimlet casting call
Flash briefing in
smart speakers
Annapurna Pictures
movie adaptation
Amazon series
with Julia Roberts

10. Direct Donations
• This American Life
• Patreon
Subscriptions
• Howl from Midroll
• Channels from Audible
• Gimlet membership
• Luminary Media subscription
• Acast+ from Acast
• The New York Times podcast specials
A growing variety of viable
podcast business models.
Podcast Advertising
$500M projected in 2020
• Curated Sponsor Messages
• Host-read Ads
• Endorsements
• Sponsored Content
• Branded Podcasts
• Custom Audio
• Programmatic
Source: InsideRadio

11. Podcast expectations and
opportunities are unique.
Audience Expectations
• Authenticity
• Relevance
• Customization
Brand Opportunities
• Brand storytelling
• Build a dialogue
• Leverage existing relationships
• Provide greater value
• Target niche consumer groups
• Emotional resonance

12. 85%
of public media podcast listeners
would rather listen to sponsor
messages than subscribe to a
commercial-free app.

13. Ad spending is the
biggest driver of
podcast revenue.
And, it works.
57%
of podcast ads outperformed
pre-roll in driving purchase intent lift
Source: Podcast Sponsor Effectiveness, Nielsen Digital Media Lab, 2017
69%
of respondents exposed to podcast ads
agreed the podcast ad increased their
awareness of new products/services
62%
of listeners agreed the podcast ad
they experienced made them
consider new products or services

14. Podcasts have helped build
direct-to-consumer businesses.

15. Mission critical:
understand what your
audience expects
from sponsors and
advertisers.
 Commercial load
 Message tone
 Contextual relevance
 Placement within episode / show formatting
 Digital ops performance
 Audience demographics

16. Creative
optimization.
Test early and often to
ensure brand messaging
aligns with audience
expectations and the
environment.

17. The voice-activated
future is here.
18%
of Americans now
own a smart speaker
+172%
increase in smart
speaker adoption YOY
Sources: The Infinite Dial 2018, Edison Research; The Smart Audio Report from NPR & Edison Research, Fall/Winter 2017

18. Source: The Smart Audio Report from NPR & Edison Research, Fall/Winter 2017
65% say that they wouldn’t want to go
back to life without their smart speaker.

19. 43%
of smart speaker
owners would be
interested in using
skills from brands
they follow on
social media.
Source: The Smart Audio Report from NPR & Edison Research, Fall/Winter 2017

20. 50%
of all search in 2020
will be voice.
Source: comScore

21. Paradigm shift:
brands need to bring value
to people’s lives beyond an
advertising message.

22. And voice brings growth
potential for podcasting.
30%
of podcast listeners own
a smart speaker
(67% more likely than the overall
population)
71%
of smart speaker owners are
listening to more audio since
getting a smart speaker
24%
of podcast listeners listen
to podcasts regularly on
their smart speakers
28%
of those who are listening
to more audio said they are
listening to more podcasts
Sources: The Infinite Dial 2018, Edison Research; The Smart Audio Report from NPR & Edison Research, Fall/Winter 2017

23. Podcasting:
a look ahead.
 Expanding share of ear
 Increased distribution
 Enhanced UX in voice activation
 Presence in search
 Growing financial investment
 Improved measurement capabilities
 Shift of digital advertising dollars
 Experimentation with format and
interactive content