Home Login RADIO ONLINE RSS Facebook

Study: All Podcast Ad Formats Are Extraordinarily Effective


Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media

So which podcast ads work best? Live reads, talent pre-recorded ads or pre-produced programmatic executions? A new study from Tom Webster and Bryan Barletta of Sounds Profitable called "After These Messages" looks at these ad formats and answers the question. This week's Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog outlines the findings.

  • Sounds Profitable podcast ad format study: All perform well while talent-read ads (live or recorded) do the best, justifying the premium nature of podcast host reads.

  • The podcast ad frequency problem: "Remind the many, don't lecture the few." Podsights, the podcast attribution firm, recently released their Q3 2022 Benchmark Report, and while podcast ad frequency levels improved in Q2, they are still a concern, negatively impacting conversion rates. In Q2 2022, podcast conversion rates improved slightly but are still below recent quarters.

  • Three strategies to grow podcast campaign reach: Buy more shows and genres than the "obvious fit" podcasts, purchase genres and shows based on reach among category buyers, not index, and spread impressions further down the ranker and buy more than just top shows.

Latest Radio Stories

John B. Wells Tops 2026 Paranormal 13 Show Rankings
Paranormal Radio
Paranormal Radio
Talk Stream Live's Paranormal Radio has released its 2026 "Paranormal 13" rankings, with "Ark, Caravan to Midnight with John B. Wells" leading the Top Shows category. Art Bell U7 Radio ranked first among stations, while "Into The Parabnormal with Jeremy Scott" topped the podcast list. The annual report More

Valentine Returns to Hubbard as Alexandria-Wadena GM
Kris Valentine
Kris Valentine
Hubbard Radio has named Kris Valentine as General Manager of its Alexandria and Wadena, MN operations, returning him to the markets where he served as Operations Manager from 2020 to 2023. He and his wife, Chelsea, will also bring the "Kris & Chelsea" show back to mornings on Country KIKV-FM (100.7 KIK-FM). More

Cumulus Plans ZoneCasting Launch at Boston's WXLO
WXLO-FM (104.5 XLO) in Boston
WXLO-FM (104.5 XLO) in Boston
Cumulus Media plans to introduce ZoneCasting technology at WXLO-FM (104.5 XLO) in Boston during the first quarter of 2027, enabling the station to air different commercials simultaneously in separate geographic portions of the market. The deployment, announced in partnership with Aktira, will allow WXLO More

Cincinnati's STAR 93.3 Flips to All-Christmas Music
WAKW-FM (STAR 93.3) in Cincinnati
WAKW-FM (STAR 93.3) in Cincinnati
Pillar Media's WAKW-FM (STAR 93.3) in Cincinnati switched to around-the-clock Christmas music at midnight November 1, launching its seasonal "Cincinnati's Christmas STAR" programming for the Tri-State area. The holiday playlist includes classics from Andy Williams and Frank Sinatra alongside contemporary More

TM Studios Offers Free Midterm Election Theme to Radio
TM Studios
TM Studios
TM Studios is offering a free election coverage theme to every U.S. radio station ahead of the midterm elections. The theme is available now with no license fees. Designed for use across music, News and Talk formats, the theme can accompany brief election updates between songs or extended results More

FCC Seeks Comment on FM Short-Spacing Rule Petition
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The FCC's Media Bureau is seeking public comment on a petition that would give FM broadcasters additional flexibility to relocate transmission facilities from aging towers or lost tower sites while maintaining interference protections for other stations. The Bureau opened MB Docket No. 26-303 in an More

Return to Menu

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement