Audio Advertising News, Trends & Insights

A vital aspect of managing podcast sponsorships Don’t Trust the Dashboard In the world of digital media buying, we’re conditioned to trust our dashboards: if the platform logs a successful placement, we assume the transaction was flawless. We trust that the network followed our instructions, the host delivered the correct message, and the budget was spent exactly as intended. But if you’re managing your media spend with this level of passive trust, you are almost certainly missing out. The reality of the audio and creator space is that it relies heavily on human execution, and humans make mistakes. Ad copy gets mixed up, promo codes are read incorrectly, and download numbers fall short of the

How to create effective podcast ads The Post-Mortem of Audio Spend You may have launched a podcast or streaming campaign with high hopes, only to watch it fall completely flat on its face. It’s an incredibly common story among growth-stage brands: you deploy a budget, track the initial return, see a flat line in your customer acquisition data, and immediately pull the plug. It’s completely natural to conclude that the medium simply does not work for your specific business model. You assume your target market isn’t listening to audio, write off the channel as an expensive experiment, and return to the comfortable familiarity of paid social media ads. However, audio and creator media operate on

Why a large agency may not be the right fit for your brand When I sat at the helm of Veritone One and helped build it into the world’s largest performance audio agency, I gained a deep appreciation for the different ways media buying can be structured. I originally got into this business because I loved working directly with founders and corporate leaders to scale their businesses through audio. But as an agency scales to a global, corporate footprint, the daily focus naturally shifts toward corporate management, internal committees, and administrative spreadsheets. I eventually chose to step away from the industrial holding company model because I recognized that massive scale introduces structural compromises that don’t

How to ensure your marketing spend delivers results Can vs. Should When a brand secures Series B funding, the atmosphere in the boardroom shifts. For the first time, massive, top-tier performance audio marketing buys are within financial reach. It is no longer a question of whether you can afford the popular show. It is a question of whether you should. There is an undeniable allure to the large, popular podcast. It represents more than just a media buy. It is a cultural signal that your brand has arrived. For the C-suite, seeing their brand associated with a global celebrity provides an immediate halo effect. This validates the company’s growth to investors and competitors alike. It

Television has the prestige, but does it deliver results? The Crisis of the Second Screen Television has served as the prestigious choice for mass awareness for decades. The allure of the big screen and high production commercials remains strong. However, we are currently navigating a significant crisis of attention in the television landscape. The reality is that television is no longer a primary screen; it has become a secondary one. Research consistently shows that over 80% of viewers use a phone or tablet while watching television. When a commercial break begins, eyes immediately drop to the mobile device. This means that while a brand may pay for a premium visual spot, they are effectively only

Should you buy radio ads or are they too old-fashioned?  The 20-Year Perspective When marketers discuss audio, the conversation usually focuses exclusively on streaming and podcasts. There is a common assumption that radio is a relic of the past. However, the data shows that isn’t the case. Even now, brands should consider whether they should buy radio ads as part of their audio marketing strategy.  I started my career in radio over twenty years ago. I have seen the industry transition from old-style transistor radios to digital streaming and global podcast networks. But when I recommend including radio in a modern media mix, that’s based on data, not nostalgia. At ROI MEDIA 360, we view