Kat Shereko (Speaker) Content Team Lead, Portent Podcast advertising offers brands a unique opportunity to get in front of a hyper-targeted audience. While there are more than 700,000 active podcasts, in nearly every niche, this medium is still in its infancy. With Apple finally investing in podcast analytics and Spotify acquiring two podcasting companies in 2019, Gimlet Media and Anchor, the podcasting industry is here for the long haul. As podcasts continue to gain more and more traction, now is the time to learn about this industry and how to leverage podcast advertising. In this session, Kat will talk about the growth of the podcast industry, teach you how to find and work with podcasts that are inline with your target audience, how to run a podcast advertising campaign, what budget to start with, what KPIs to consider, how to measure success, and what roadblocks to watch out for. She’ll share sponsorship examples and real client results.

1. KAT SHEREKO I PORTENT
HOW OU CAN DISRUPT DIGITAL AD
SPACE WITH PODCAST ADVERTISING

2. 2. WHAT MAKES
PODCASTS UNIQUE
3. ADVERTISING
BASICS
4. RUNNING A
CAMPAIGN
5. CAMPAIGN
RESULTS
6. KEY
TAKEAWAYS
1. GROWTH IN
INDUSTRY

3. GROWTH IN PODCASTING
INDUSTRY
1.

4. 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Monthly Podcast
Listeners
% of Total U.S. Population 12+
90 million

5. Increase in Reach

6. Increase in Reach

7. 750,000 Shows
24,000,000 Episodes
155 Countries
100+ Languages

8. $169 mil
$313.9 mil
$479.1 mil
$678.7 mil
2016 2017 2018 2019
Growth in Podcast
Ad Spending

9. 2021
$ 1 billion
Growth in Podcast
Ad Spending
2016 2017 2018 2019

10. WHAT MAKES PODCAST
ADVERTISING UNIQUE
2.

11. Any Niche

12. Affluent & Educated
Household income >75K
- 29% of all US
- 41% of podcast listeners

13. Constantly Listening

14. Constantly Listening

15. Unreachable
Audience
Unreachable

16. 54% likely to purchase
Impressionable

17. Connected to
Podcast Hosts
Admire Hosts

18. PODCAST ADVERTISING
BASICS
3.

19. 3 Types of Ad
Placements

20. 3 Types of Ad
Placements

21. 2 Types of Ads

22. Direct Response
Brand Awareness
Campaign Types

23. Measuring
Performance
Episode Downloads
Organic & Direct Traffic
User Engagement
Claimed Offers

24. Pricing is Variable
Ep. Downloads 900,000 250,000 70,000 15,000
Cost/Mid-roll $63,000 $20,000 $1,500 $500
Ad Type Dynamically Inserted Dynamically Inserted Baked-in Baked-in
Flexible Pricing No No Yes Yes

25. RUNNING A PODCAST
ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
4.
(from scratch)

26. Conduct
Research
Create
Campaign
Assets
Solidify
Campaign
Details
Monitor
Results
4 Step Process

27. Conduct
Research
Step One

28. Learn From Past SponsorsFind Podcasts in Your Niche

29. Learn From Past SponsorsFind Past Sponsors

30. Learn From Past SponsorsFind Past Sponsors

31. Learn From Past SponsorsStudy Your Competitors

32. Learn From Past Sponsors
SUBJ: [NAME OF PODCAST] sponsorship inquiry
BODY:
Hi there,
I’m reaching out on behalf of a brand in the [INDUSTRY TYPE]
industry and I was hoping to get a media kit for [PODCAST
NAME] podcast.
Primarily, I’m looking to get information on the following:
• Downloads per episode
• Ad type (baked-in vs. dynamic)
• Cost of mid-roll placement
• Sponsorship commitment (required # of
episodes/spend)
Thanks so much!
Collect Key Info

33. Create
Campaign
Assets
Step Two
Conduct
Research

34. Learn From Past SponsorsCreate Talking Points & Offer

35. Learn From Past SponsorsDevelop a Landing Page

36. Finalize
Campaign
Details
Step Three
Conduct
Research
Create
Campaign
Assets

37. Learn From Past Sponsors
SUBJ: [NAME OF PODCAST] sponsorship inquiry
BODY:
Hi there,
We’re interested in sponsoring [NUMBER] of episodes of
[NAME OF PODCAST].
Could you please let me know what dates you have available
for the upcoming mid-roll placements?
For context, I’m reaching out on behalf of [BRAND NAME
W/LINK] + [OVERVIEW OF THE BRAND].
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Secure Dates

38. Learn From Past SponsorsSet Up Tracking

39. Monitor
Results
Step Four
Conduct
Research
Create
Campaign
Assets
Solidify
Campaign
Details

40. Learn From Past SponsorsMonitor Live Episodes

41. Learn From Past SponsorsTrack Engagement Metrics

42. Conduct
Research
Create
Campaign
Assets
Finalize
Campaign
Details
Monitor
Results

43. PODCAST ADVERTISING
EXAMPLES
5.

44. Business & Tech Niche

45. $36,000 Budget
10 Podcasts
48 Episodes
800,000 Downloads

46. Podcast Listener
vs. Site Average
↑ 127% Time on site
↑ 40% Pageviews per visit
↓ 24% Bounce rate
↑ 7% Return visitor

47. Campaign Results
+ 400 Followed links
+ 200 No-follow links
↑ 222% Organic traffic

48. Time on Site ✕ ✕ ✓
Visitors ✕ ✓ ✕
Downloads 360,000 120,000 45,000
Pageviews ✕ ✓ ✕

49. PODCAST ADVERTISING
TAKEAWAYS
6.

50. Learn from competitor strategies
Take advantage of smaller podcasts
Get in early
Aim for mid-roll/baked-in ads
Ask for package deals
Work with enthusiastic hosts

51. PORTENT.COM/PODCAST-ADVERTISING

52. KATSHEREKO@PORTENT.COM
QUESTIONS?

53. Edison Research, (2019) Retrieved from:
https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-podcast-consumer-
2019/
IAB Research, (2019) Retrieved from:
https://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Full-Year-
2018-IAB-Podcast-Ad-Rev-Study_6.03.19_vFinal.pdf
Deloitte, (2018) Retrieved from:
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Ima
ges/infographics/technologymediatelecommunications/gx-
deloitte-tmt-2018-adblocking-media-report.pdf
Sources