This Week’s Influencer: Everything is Podcast! "Sound Prophet" Bryan Barletta Defines the Medium; Podscribe’s Benchmark Report & Why Less Isn’t More

Hope you’re good at math, because podcasting is about to multiply.

This week on the Media Roundtable limited series “What’s a Podcast? – The Extended Interviews,” Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road) hosts Bryan Barletta (Founder and Partner, Sound Profitable) to peel back the layers of podcasting.

“I want it [the podcast definition] to be a virus… If we let it grow, it’s easier to kick out the things that are very clearly not it.” – Bryan Barletta

The team is talking: the Popular Kids, YouTube’s Top Shelf, Identity Crises, and more. Let’s dig in.

Podcasting: Now the Cool Kid – Portlandia’s NPR sketch is so 2017. Podcasting is officially cool now. How do we know? It’s gone from fringe references to serious storylines: From Emmy-winning show ‘Only Murders in the Building’ to Netflix’s hit ‘Nobody Wants This.’ Yes, podcasting has stereotypes, “but so do books, radio, TV, and film. And they’re everywhere,” Bryan reminds us—The jokes aren’t a mockery, they’re a sign of clout.

View from the Top (Shelf) – ”Imagine if your favorite store just had a new shelf and it said that thing you love,” says Bryan. YouTubers now get to be on that shelf by categorizing their videos as podcasts, with massive audience potential. We’re here for it, and we’re enjoying YouTube’s new weekly podcast charts, which offer a peek into how this channel diverges from others. Sounds like good news for CAOs. Ultimately, the more hosts who can find an audience means more trusted hosts to work with.

Open=Choice – Back in the day, podcasters uploaded to an RSS feed and called it good. Today, a debate rages between open and closed platforms (e.g. RSS vs YouTube). But Bryan transcends it all. The open spirit of podcasting is one of choice: “ To me, open distribution is the choice to put my podcast on [different platforms].” Having some closed systems like YouTube, can be part of a healthy podcast distribution ecosystem, as long as there are viable open distribution choices.

Want more podcast insights you won’t find anywhere else? Tune into the full episode below.

The Classifieds

I Thought You’d Never Ask

Network: Big Little Media / Monthly Downloads: 25k

Not all therapists are created equally, and no one’s individual path is exactly the same. For those of us forging a path to better mental health, there’s no better podcast host than licensed therapist Kati Morton. Whether you wanna delve into complex topics relating to trauma, or just need basic answers to begin healing, this is a great listening experience. Besides being a trusted voice in her community, and a well established author, Morton continually proves to be an incisive, determined interviewer. Recent episodes have featured YouTube personalities Rosanna Pansino, and couple Ryland Adams and Shane Dawson, a testament to her pull with a heavy Millennial audience. This opportunity is recommended for advertisers looking to reach self-improvement minded women in their 30s who also enjoy Society & Culture. If you’re intoQ&A, simply form an orderly line down to the link below for more.

Get The Deal

Go with the Flow, Drink H20

Network: Wizard Studios / Monthly Downloads: 120k

Our next selection has a heavy US audience, but the hosts are proud Brits. Christopher Hall and his sister, Lizzie, are TikTok comedy stars rising through the podcast charts since recently premiering on Wizard Studios. With a mix of personal anecdotes, trending topics, pop culture, and internet drama, this familial comedy offering brings in a dedicated audience week after week. In comparison to other podcasts in its genre, the content is extremely laidback, loose, and always inclusive. There are also a lot of comfort creators on recent guest lists, including comedians Jordan Gray, Sarah Hester Ross, and Grace Campbell. This is a great opportunity for an international campaign looking to reach Gen Z consumers with an interest in fashion, music, and nostalgia, or a US campaign seeking UK bound travelers. Get a gulp, not a sip, of more info by refueling with the link below.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

Underspending in Audio: Why Less Isn’t More

Underspending in AM/FM radio campaigns often leads to weak ROI, as shown by media mix modeling (MMM) response curves, which reveal how varying investment levels impact sales and ROI. Ideally, two years of granular, as-run data to capture actual delivery variations, is needed to offer a clearer picture of audio’s impact on ROI. We obsess over attribution, but can be susceptible to ignore that underinvestment itself can skew results. This is often the case when advertisers dip their toes into audio. If you want ROI, make a real commitment—or don’t expect real returns. (Side note: the analysis includes a radio vs TV reach curve from Nielsen Commspoint. At Oxford Road, we use this tool and see different outcomes – TV has a higher reach ceiling than what’s depicted.)

Sounds Profitable Talks Attention & Trust

Audacy’s new insights report positions radio and podcast hosts as superior influencers compared to social media creators. It cites doubled creator revenue since 2020, with data showing that 44% of listeners feel stronger brand connections when endorsed by their favorite audio host, emphasizing long-term partnerships over transactional ad reads. Is this self-serving? Of course. Audacy wants to rebrand its hosts as influencers, which makes sense given that the creator economy is now worth $37 billion and audio spending lags far behind. There’s still some truth here. Radio and podcast hosts were the original creators, and they’ve long proven their ability to drive both brand impact and return on ad spend.

Podscribe’s Latest Benchmark Report

Podscribe’s Q2 2025 Performance Benchmark (PPB) Report offers global metrics for audio advertising, drawing on data from 67,000+ campaigns, 270+ advertisers, and over 20 billion impressions. The report includes new conversion insights from Germany, France, Australia, the UK and Canada, showing how audio measurement is scaling internationally despite data challenges. Key findings include pixel attribution outperforming surveys and promo codes, and 45% of conversions occurring within 7 days, and 66% of surveyed marketers are now measuring incrementality. Marketers crave clarity on what “good” looks like in podcast performance. This PPB report gives something concrete to compare against. This and the Magellan AI benchmark reports are chock-full of useful benchmarks on podcast advertising performance.

Scroll Less & Learn More with MasterClass

Brushing up on cooking skills for the summer, Chez Panisse style, tops this week’s #STLR—featuring Pop Apologists in the kitchen with MasterClass! The live read blends personal storytelling with clear value props, as the host opens with a relatable sentiment about ‘scrolling less and learning more.’ This sets an engaging, relevant tone for the audience. By sharing her experience with Alice Waters’ MasterClass, the substantiation is authentic, reinforcing the emotional and practical benefits of the popular learning platform. The host’s detailed description of broad offerings and affordable pricing found on MasterClass also provides strong incentives and highlights accessibility for a wide range of listener interests. Trade some of that monotonous scrolling for new skillsets, and make this a summer to remember–with MasterClass!

Listen Here

OXFORd In The News

Oxford Road & The Trade Desk: Plugged Into The Future of Audio

Oxford Road was proud to join The Trade Desk’s Afternoon of Audio panel “The Sounds of Success,” where our Director of Digital Media, Jarrod Klawinsky, joined leaders from EssilorLuxottica and Hearts & Science to explore what’s next for audio advertising. A key takeaway from Jarrod’s remarks: “Programmatic audio is no longer just fast or scalable—it’s an intelligence engine. It powers creative testing, targeting, and accountability across the entire ecosystem.” We’re grateful to The Trade Desk for hosting this impactful conversation. If you’re interested in learning how Programmatic can help maximize your audio portfolio, let’s chat.

Sound That Sells: Oxford Road & Made Music Studio

Tired of chasing attention with the same old levers? In a recent Q&A interview, Oxford Road Executive Creative Director, Stew Redwine, teams up with Made Music Studio’s Mike Stango, Director, Global Brand Partnerships, to show how sound isn’t just a vibe—it’s a performance engine. Learn how Zocdoc’s “Little Victory” sonic ID didn’t just turn heads—it moved metrics. From emotional triggers to brand recall that actually converts, this is a masterclass in using audio to drive results, not just awareness. Read the interview, then rewrite your audio playbook.

If you’ve read this far, thank you!

The Influencer is a production from the team at Oxford Road.
If you like our sometimes sassy, mostly informed POVs on the wonderful world of audio advertising, you should see what we do for our clients.

Interested in seeing how we could help your business?
Contact us at influencer@oxfordroad.com!

Thank you to the team that puts The Influencer together each week:

Ezra Fox – Media Roundtable & Ad Infinitum recap
Spencer Semonson – Classifieds
Neal Lucey – In Case You Missed It
Hannah Lloyd – Save The Live Reads

Editors:
Kyle Jelinek
Shelley Kilburn
Maryjane Balázs
Haley Wiese
Rubi Mora