Inside the Walled Garden: Breaking New Ground on YouTube Podcast Measurement

A First Look at Video Podcast Attribution at Scale

As podcasting’s ecosystem fragments and YouTube becomes an increasingly important listening platform for millions, audio marketers are being forced to rethink everything they know about attribution, engagement, and media planning. But until now, marketers have faced a critical blind spot: how do video podcast impressions really perform? This report is Oxford Road’s answer: a first-of-its-kind data-backed view into video podcasting, showing once and for all that the walled garden can be cracked open.

Researched in partnership with Crosswalk (MIDG), this study uses never-before-accessed datasets to reveal what’s really happening when a consumer hears (or sees) your podcast ad on YouTube. With real-world campaign data and statistically significant findings, the report delivers clarity and promise the industry urgently needs. If you buy podcast media in any format—or simply have an opinion on video’s impact on podcasting—this is the news break you’ve been waiting for.

What is your role?*

Inside, you’ll find the industry’s first observation-based measurement of podcast ad performance in video environments. Using passive monitoring from a panel of 10 million U.S. consumers, Oxford Road tracked actual behavior following podcast ad exposure on YouTube. The pilot study focuses on a client campaign, assessing site visitation, platform engagement, and audience profiling with real-world precision.

Here’s a preview of key findings:

➛ YouTube podcast ads delivered measurable lift in site visitation levels against a pre- period and against category benchmarks

➛ Lift was found to be significant at the 99% level

➛ YouTube listener profiles, based on actual user behavior, show that—in our study—video podcast viewers skewed younger, more male, and less diverse than your average podcast listener

Download this free report now to get an exclusive look at our industry-first methodology, gain entry into YouTube’s walled garden, and unlock critical insights on podcast performance across formats.

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Our Industry-First Breakthrough on YouTube Podcast Attribution (CAO Summit Exclusive)