SNL Legends Join the MRT to Share Why They’ve Made Podcast Their Home; Rogan’s Trump Interview Smashes Records; Veritonic Tackles Brand Lift

The Media Roundtable is back! This week we’re bringing you one of our many favorite chats from Oxford Road’s 2024 CAO Summit: “Permission to Laugh.”

Jenna Weiss-Berman (Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Pineapple Street Media and EVP, Head of Podcasts, Audacy) hosts a fireside chat with SNL comedy legends and longtime friends Dana Carvey (Wayne’s World, The Dana Carvey Show) and David Spade (Tommy Boy, Just Shoot Me), fresh off their hit podcasts Fly on the Wall and Superfly.

We’re diving into: why stars make podcasts, the power of comedy, and 8-minute ad reads. Let’s jump in.

“We took on the stance of being on the side of our sponsors, embracing them and their dreams.”

• Dana Carvey (Comedy Legend, Co-Host of Fly on the Wall)

Why Podcasts – Carvey and Spade enjoy massive success in television and film, but podcasts are something extra special. There’s nowhere else you can capture intimate riffing with friends and send it out to billions. This chat nails the pure joy of podcasts–hanging out with your famous, hilarious friends. Plus, as Spade says, “It’s a niche business with three million podcasts, so it feels like there’s room.”

Why Comedy? – Some podcasts solve crimes–others leave you doubled over with laughter. Both use a deep host connection with the audience that brands should value. Plus, the improv skills of hosts like Spade and Carvey transform brand talking points to break through the noise. Speaking of which…

8-Minute Ads – What’s more impressive: Fly on the Wall having 8-minute ad reads, or that they’re actually great to listen to? For all their joking around, as pitchmen, Spade and Carvey take their jobs seriously (hear their authentic/self-deprecating pitch for MasterClass as proof).

To bask in the decades-long friendship between these two comedy icons, listen to the full episode in the link below.

Watch Here

Listen Here: Spotify

Listen Here: Apple

The Classifieds

Instructions Not Included

Network: Crooked Media / Monthly Downloads: 50k

ICYDK,  there’s a pretty major election next week. We here at The Influencer want to be sure you’re well equipped with two solid podcasts to binge for proper election prep. Our first selection is Assembly Required,a newly premiered opportunity from Crooked Media. Stacey Abrams, a monumentally important trailblazer, politician, and well-respected activist, hosts weekly episodes covering a wide array of topics that impact our daily lives. Whether she’s sitting down with media figures like Levar Burton and Bryan Cranston, or educating listeners, Abrams speaks authoritatively and empathetically. Recent episodes have touched on reproductive rights, technology, voting rights, and much more. Since its premiere, multiple advertisers have tested this solidly civil offering. Advertisers targeting women are seeing the highest success. If you don’t mind rolling up your sleeves for some DIY, grab your toolkit and click below for more.

Get The Deal

Drinks are on the House

Network: Radio America / Monthly Downloads: 30k / Current Civility Score: 84, HIGH

For those who’ve been buying DR audio for a hot minute, this title is all-too familiar. This long running political podcast is currently housed under the Radio America banner, still flourishing, even 1000+ episodes in. Hosted by Jim Geraghty and Greg Corombos, 3 Martini Lunch covers newsworthy recent events, politics, and punditry from a conservative perspective. Ahead of the US presidential election, topics have consistently revolved around the candidates, their vice presidential picks, and both political parties’ strategies for the future of our country. Though the show covers incendiary and often uncomfortable topics of conversation, it’s often classified as highly civil, and it’s a great starting point for those inching into political fare. Historically this has been a great option for DTC brands looking to reach older individuals with higher household income. If you’d like a piece of the action, just indulge in the link below.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

Rogan + Trump = NFL-sized Audience

Donald Trump’s three-hour interview on The Joe Rogan Experience has become the show’s most viral episode, gaining over 33 million YouTube views within two days. During the three-hour conversation, Trump discussed a range of topics, including tax reform, campaign strategy, past mistakes, political issues, and false claims about the 2020 election. The episode has now reached 40 million views on YouTube alone. Add to that the listens on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms, and you’ve got an undeniably huge audience. To put it in perspective, an NFL game typically averages around 18 million viewers. If you think podcasting can’t reach mass audiences, think again.

Read More

AdsWizz’s New Targeting Solution

AdsWizz has partnered with behavioral intelligence company NumberEight to enhance podcast advertising using ID-less data and behavioral insights. This collaboration aims to enable advertisers to deliver highly targeted, privacy-compliant ads that improve audience engagement. Both companies emphasize the importance of balancing precision and privacy in advertising, aiming to set a new standard for effective audience targeting while adhering to evolving privacy regulations. We might be skeptical of targeting in podcasting and streaming—untargeted buys often perform better. That said, AdsWizz’s privacy-compliant targeting solution is worth considering. Just keep an eye on the premiums associated with targeting.

Read More

Veritonic Seeks to Make Brand Lift Measurement Easier

Veritonic has enhanced its Brand Lift Solution, streamlining the setup of pixel-based and prefix-URL studies. New features include a templated questionnaire for easy study setup and audience profiling, allowing greater self-serve management. These updates aim to deliver a user-centric experience, empowering teams to gain insights and optimize campaigns efficiently. Veritonic and Signal Hill Insights are two leaders in providing brand lift solutions for audio advertisers. CAOs, if you’re looking to understand the upper-funnel impact of your advertising, we recommend including brand lift studies as part of your measurement strategy. These insights can help demonstrate how well your audio ads are driving awareness and perception shifts among your target audience.

Read More

#SaveTheLiveReads

Nothing Chaotic About Chrissy Chaos and ProLon

When putting together a media plan, it’s wise to start by matching advertisers to the right audience. But when a show host happens to be an expert in the field your brand is targeting; that’s where the magic happens! In this recent #STLR ad for ProLon, Chrissy Chaos podcast host, Chris Distefano lays out why he loves this brand in a way the uninitiated could never accomplish.  Chris talks about his struggles with fasting in the past and shares how ProLon’s ‘5 Day Fasting Mimicking Diet’ is helping him reach his goals without starving himself and feeling hungry all the time. It’s no wonder this show is locking in as one of the top performers for this client overall. These connections between the brand and host are nourished during the onboarding process. CAOs,  if you’re not doing proper onboarding with your hosts – you’re missing out on the magic.

Listen Here

Contact us for a Consultation