Frequently Asked Questions: Performance Audio & ROI MEDIA 360

We primarily partner with high-growth B2C and D2C brands that are ready to scale their performance marketing beyond basic social ads. Most of our clients are at the Series B funding stage or beyond and have a monthly audio allocation of between $50,000 and $1,000,000. At this stage of growth, brands need more than just a media buyer; they need a partner who can manage significant capital with the clinical precision required to prove long-term ROI.

Most clients spend approximately $150,000 over an initial three-month test period to gather enough data to prove a strategy and find a repeatable win. After that test is complete, we will help you determine the optimum level of spend to reach your objectives. You will normally be able to self-fund your campaign from the additional revenue it drives. There are no extra retainers, hidden service fees, or nickel-and-diming; our structure is built into the ad spend, covering everything from analytics and dashboards to creative development and host seeding. This ensures we are fully invested in your success, as our growth is directly tied to the performance of your campaign.

Our team are very familiar with a wide range of shows, ranging from top-tier podcasts to small niche shows, and will craft a strategy that precisly targets your audience. We use a combination of experience and data. We have a proprietary database that tracks over $100m in ad spend, encompassing video and audio podcasts, streaming and broadcast radio, and a variety of streaming music and video services. This gives us detailed information on which shows are best aligned with your brand and which will deliver the results you need.

We recommend the specific channel mix that best fits your product type and audience intent. Most of the top podcasts are now video-centric, so restricting your campaign to audio-only can be limiting and may cut you off from a significant segment of the market. On the other hand, many niche podcasts are still audio-only, as is radio, so if those are a better fit for your market, you should include those.

No, we do not arrange editorial guest appearances or PR-style interviews. This is because the shows themselves prefer to maintain a strict firewall between their advertising and editorial content to protect their integrity.

We have the relationships to access the world’s largest shows and top-tier talent, but we only suggest a placement if the data supports it: we need to consider the cost, the availability, and whether it is the right audience fit. Our proprietary database helps us determine if your favorite show is a worthwhile investment or simply a vanity play that won’t deliver the necessary return. We are committed to prioritizing the shows that actually perform over the shows that simply look impressive on a slide deck.

It typically takes three to four weeks to go live in the market once we begin the onboarding and creative process. From there, we recommend an eight to 12-week window to gather statistically significant data, tweak the creative hooks, and optimize the show mix to find your sweet spot. Success in this space is rarely a lightning strike; it is a process of clinical optimization that takes roughly a quarter to fully mature and prove the model.

While not strictly mandatory, a compelling and exclusive promotional offer is one of the most powerful tools for driving immediate conversion and tracking attribution. We help you craft offers that resonate with audio audiences, ensuring they are easy for a host to communicate and memorable for a viewer or a listener on the go. The right offer bridges the gap between a listener’s interest and their final decision to purchase.

Dedicated landing pages are not strictly essential, but they are highly recommended for a seamless user experience and improved attribution. We provide guidance on best practices for these pages to ensure the trust established by the host read continues all the way through to the final checkout. Without a tailored landing page, you risk losing the momentum the host created, which can significantly dampen your overall conversion rate.

We absolutely encourage clients to get involved. You’ll be able to talk to the hosts or the showrunners directly to ensure they align with your messaging and brand, and you have final approval on all messaging. We will candidly suggest a different host if your specific creative requirements clash with a host’s natural delivery style. If the alignment between your brand and the host isn’t natural, the audience will sense it, and the results will suffer as a result.

We do both, as pre-recorded “produced” spots definitely have their place in a balanced campaign. While host-read endorsements are often more persuasive because they feel like a personal recommendation, produced spots are generally more cost-efficient and easier to place across a wider variety of shows. We help you determine the right balance of both to maximize your reach while maintaining high engagement.

We normally book 60-second spots, but it is common for hosts to talk for much longer than that. If a host is genuinely invested in and excited by your product, they will often speak for up to 90 seconds or more to share a personal anecdote. We find that giving a host the creative runway to be authentic always performs better than forcing them into a rigid pre-set script.

Typically, a standard performance placement involves one dedicated mid-roll spot where the host talks about your product. Depending on the specific show and the deal structure we negotiate, we may also include shorter “billboard” mentions at the start or end of the episode for added frequency.

We use a multi-layered attribution model that combines pixels, vanity URLs, promo codes, and post-checkout surveys to capture the clearest picture of your performance. The specific tools we use depend on whether we are tracking a digital or broadcast show, as well as the specific goals of your campaign. We go through all of these technical details with you during the onboarding process to ensure you have full transparency into your results.

We demand category exclusivity and take it very seriously to ensure your message isn’t diluted by a direct competitor. If we find that a host is endorsing a competitor, we will address this with them directly, demand that they respect the terms of the agreement, and compensate you with bonus reads.

We conduct a rigorous initial brief to understand your brand’s specific sensitivities, political leanings, and messaging no-go zones. Our media team then vets every show’s recent content and history to ensure a perfect alignment with your values. If a host goes off-script in a way that compromises your brand integrity, we take immediate action through direct feedback or by canceling the partnership entirely.

We listen to the majority of shows within 24 hours of them airing, especially when we are testing new shows or new creative hooks. If there’s a problem, we take action right away, often the same day. New creative usually takes 1-2 weeks, depending on the show’s recording cycle. If we decide to drop a show, there’s normally a 30-day cancellation period, but we can often make it happen faster than that.