Podcast Advertising Playbook with Heather Osgood

“You know, as much as we all love podcasting, and we’re here talking about it, it can be difficult to navigate, and it can be difficult to know exactly where to go.”  We love podcasting. We (probably) love podcasting more than the average person, but even we can admit it’s a bit difficult to get your footing when you start with podcast ads. Luckily for you, Matt Cisneros, founder of Backyard Ventu...

“Things like Facebook, CTV, etc. Like basically any other digital sort of channel, the ad tech ecosystem, the tools that advertisers use and that publishers use to get ads out there, is a lot more mature and a lot more bulletproof, and podcasting is… I think it’s safe to say that’s not necessarily the case in podcasts. That’s still very much under construction.”  It might not seem like it since it...

“We always try to say, no matter how much data we have, no matter how strong of a relationship we have with our hosts, things can still happen.” The threat of controversy is always in the back of an advertiser’s mind. What if the show they’re partnering with offends people? What if old, harmful tweets from the host come to light? There’s no way to know what the future holds, but there are ways you...

“I think that’s how a lot of really good podcasts are made. When you’ve got that passion, and you have a message that you really want to share and get out into the world - and there’s no trepidation of, like, I have to have everything planned out perfectly.” It’s not every day that we talk about True Native Media on The Podcast Advertising Playbook, but today’s guest is one of the many hosts we wo...

“So, there is something here. This medium works - it builds trust. It’s more authentic, and it just creates that craved for human connection that people really want. And especially when they’re thinking about brands. I think people really want to trust the brands that they work with.  And podcasting does that.”  We’ve said it a hundred times - podcasting is unique because of the relationship built...

“Australians are used to hearing a US accent deliver a Blue Apron ad. And because of that, when Australians hear a US accent in an ad space on a podcast, they tend to now switch off because they know that product’s not for them.”  We talk a lot about podcast advertising here on The Podcast Advertising Playbook, but we rarely talk about it on a global level. Corey Layton, Head of Digital Audio/iHea...

“I think we kind of owe it to ourselves as publishers to remember what made podcast ads so effective in the first place - they actually sounded authentic.” NPR is one of America’s largest media companies - so they must be doing something right! In today’s episode, Heather Osgood is joined by Brett Robinson, Senior Vice President of Ad Operations at NPR. During their conversation, they discuss:  Wa...

It’s time for the IAB’s annual Podcast Advertisement Revenue Report!  IAB stands for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and each year they put together an event where advertisers and content creators alike come together and talk about opportunities within the podcast space - but we’re most excited for the revenue study.  This revenue study gives us a great picture of where we’ve been and where we...

“I have certainly had conversations with some of the OGs in the podcast space that are like, ‘Hey, podcasts were created to be ad-free. We were trying to get away from this in terrestrial radio, and that’s why we started podcasting.’ I totally get that, but also, it feels like there are people you can reach on podcasts that you can’t reach with any other marketing messages.”  Getting ads on your p...

“If you’ve never done podcast advertising before, when you run your first campaign, as much as I would love to say that it’s gonna knock it out of the park, it probably isn’t.”  Your first ad campaign probably won’t be your best - but we all have to start somewhere, right?  Sarah Marini, Senior Manager of Audio Partnerships at Athletic Greens, joins True Native Media founder Heather Osgood on toda...

“It’s a privilege to get the attention of advertisers. Just as much as it's a privilege for advertisers to be able to work with certain publishers and podcast hosts.” Podcast ads aren’t always easy to produce, and we can all tell when the host is phoning it in. This week’s guest is right; finding a show to advertise on and having ads on your show is a privilege - one that should be taken seriously...

“What makes podcast advertising unique is the ability to establish intimate relationships that are real, and, you know, aren’t digital.”  We’ve all heard the joke - if you’re a podcast host, you get a mattress! And who knows more about mattress podcast ads than Ashleigh Colón, Offline Media Manager at Eight Sleep? We think she’s the expert, which is why she’s joining Heather Osgood on today’s epis...

“So I want to close out and leave you with this thought: How are we elevating the voice of the podcast host?” It’s easy to feel isolated when you’re in podcasting. A lot of the time, you’re working alone behind a computer screen, but the podcast community is amazing - which is why we LOVE podcast events.  Our True Native Media sales team joined our CEO and VP at Podcast Movement Evolutions in Las...

“The great thing about Pixel Solutions, to your point, is that you’re not asking the client to complete an extra step, to remember a URL, or to remember a promo code. You’re allowing them just to access the website however is easiest for them, and then we can tie that to the actual show that drove them there.”  If you’ve spent any amount of time in the podcasting industry, you’ve heard about pixel...

“Yes, there’s a warning that podcast listeners want to get away from ads, and they’re starting to recognize ads on podcasts… [but] people still trust podcast advertisements more than they do radio or TV ads.”   Podcast ads are special because the listeners trust to host like they trust their best friend. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing?  That’s exactly what Gabriel Soto, Direct...

“We cannot continue to sign contracts that say the ad is going to live in the episode forever.  That’s right. You heard it - forever.” Today, Heather Osgood is back with a solo episode to discuss the changes she’s been seeing in the podcast industry.  This includes: Faked in ads and why we need to start calling them what they are.  Ways to make dynamically inserted ads more successful.  Why we sho...

“The other thing is, if you’re utilizing host read ads and the host is game, please let them do their thing. The host knows how to speak to their audience, and they know what resonates.” We are so excited to introduce our new Senior Director of Revenue and Sales Strategy, Brittany Bernado! Brittany joined the True Native Media team a few months ago, and she’s ready to share her wealth of knowledge...

“The thing that I heard [at Podfest] that was kind of interesting was a speaker that used the phrase, ‘‘spend time with your audience.’  Podcasting can be this kind of one-way street where you’re talking at the audience, and in many ways, the audience kind of talks back to you, but you don’t necessarily respond… If you invest your time in them, other people will see that, and you’ll build more of...

“No one is really special… You have the same problems as everyone else, and if you can connect with some sort of empathy to the problem that’s being solved by this [product], I think you will find an audience in the sponsorship.”  We’ve all heard a podcast host start an ad read by saying, “I SWEAR I’d never promote a product I didn’t love and use every day.”  As consumers, this transparency is par...

We’ve all heard the horror stories of smart homes listening to your conversations when they shouldn’t be or mentioning you need a product and immediately getting a targeted ad for it. As our society gets more reliant on technology, privacy is a hot topic. Which begs the question, is there a privacy issue in podcasting?  Audiohook founder Jordan Bentley joins Heather Osgood on the newest episode of...

“When we don’t have that level of diversity in our industry, it doesn’t bode well because you’re very quickly going to be irrelevant. As those younger people and those new minds come into things, if it doesn’t engage them, they just won’t deal with it.  There won’t be like some kind of fight by the next generation to save podcasting. They just won’t engage with it.” Tangia Al-awaji Estrada is the...

“One of the things that you and I had been talking about is this idea of creating a successful relationship from beginning to end… We want the content creator to be rewarded. We want the ad seller to be rewarded, and we want the advertiser to be rewarded. It has to be a win across the board.” In today’s episode of The Podcast Advertising Playbook, Heather is joined by Jay Green. Jay is the SVP, Po...

“So, the way that I always love to think about it is for the independent podcaster, True Native Media really acts as a pseudo sales arm.” In over 100 episodes of The Podcast Advertising Playbook, Heather Osgood hasn’t spent a lot of time talking about what we do at True Native Media - but that’s about to change. Heather is joined by our brand new Vice President, Nick Gryniewicz, to tell you everyt...

“I have to remind people… Let’s just say audio or digital. Audio, in general - it’s a perishable media.”  Once the opportunity to monetize on audio is gone, it’s GONE.  That can sound pretty scary if you’re new to podcast advertising, but the CRO of SoundStack, Rockie Thomas, believes programmatic ads can capitalize on optimization in real time. In our newest episode of The Podcast Advertising Pla...

“I’m a sales guy, but if I could sell things and see it affect someone else’s livelihood and go from, you know, doing what was a hobby to doing what they love is part of the love that I have for [the podcasting] space.” If you’ve made it to this episode, you must love the podcasting space as much as we do. And one of the reasons we love it so much is because everyone is so willing to help everyone...