RIP Audio Opportunists: Brands Seek Serious Solutions in 2024: with Steven Goldstein, Founder/CEO at Amplifi Media & Adjunct Professor at NYU.

Welcome to 2024, Chief Audio Officers! Podcasting is now old enough to order a beer. And of course, the Media Roundtable is back to prepare you for what looks to be a very eventful year in audio. Back as host is Oxford Road founder and CEO, Dan Granger. And by popular demand, we’ve brought back the Wizard of NYU, Steven Goldstein (founder and CEO at Amplifi Media).

We’re talking about the big money questions of audio: from CPMs to content investments, and why our theme music is so terrible on this podcast. How low will radio sink, and how high will podcast climb? And in an election year that promises to be anything but boring, how wide of a berth will advertisers give to all things political? Let’s put our ears to the crystal ball and see what it tells us.

“Radio is a melting ice cube, and the good news is it takes a while for that ice cube to melt.” – Steven Goldstein of Amplifi Media

Marketer-Friendly CPMs – You heard it here first. We’re predicting audio, on the whole, see lower CPMs, especially in radio (big melting ice cube) and streaming (pixelpocalypse). If you can prove ROI pixel-free (oh, and we have THOUGHTS) you might get to take advantage of this tailwind in 2024.

Media Roundtable Music Found Wanting – Steve pulls no punches and piles on the mounting chorus of voices asking us to change our theme music. And like a true friend, offers to help us find something better.

Finding your Niche – On the content side we’re seeing a couple of trends. No more dumb up-front money, but possibly a race to the bottom with some very cheap “zoo crew” style podcasts that contribute to the radio fiction of the space. Our money bet? Look for niche content that’s not trying to be mass-market. You can go outside the relatively stable top 20 shows and find a perfect match for your audience. And maybe still True Crime? The genre keeps killing it after all these fiscal quarters.

Election Year Marketing: Ride Waves, Don’t Wipe Out – Elections are on the horizon, and with it, a lot of engagement on some very polarizing content. Marketers will need to get more sophisticated with brand safety and suitability to surf the chop. One partner plug? Seekr’s Civility Score, which might be a figurative and literal lifesaver.

For full breakdowns of these bold predictions and a whole lot more, tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

Watch Here

Listen Here: Spotify

Listen Here: Apple

The Classifieds

 I Want to Believe

Year after year the most popular New Year’s Resolutions center around physical health, money management, and self-improvement. For podcast nerds like ourselves, the top resolution is to always find something new and to hear from someone else. This week we are showcasing niche podcasts that have seen high performance for several select advertisers. Our first comes from Studio 71 and covers the strange, the supernatural, and everything in between. Theories of the Third Kind is hosted by Aaron and Danielson, two intrepid investigators in fringe conspiracies from our shared human history. Recent episodes have covered the Lost City of Z, UFO sightings, and Navajo culture’s infamous skinwalkers. The show’s top advertising partners are in the e-commerce and DTC categories, and similar offerings have done especially well for our agency’s male millennial skew clients. There’s nothing theoretical about your future testing success if you click the link below for more information.

Get The Deal

Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk About

Podcasts are often held up as the ultimate intimate source of comfort. Hosts connect with us on a base level, and though we don’t like to admit it, feel like our actual friends. Sara Scoggins is especially gifted at this invaluable skill, spending each episode of Let’s Talk with Scoggs bonding with her musically inclined guests. Scoggs’ wheelhouse sits squarely in the pop rock, alternative, and pop punk genres, and her passion for this music comes across easily in her breezy, melodic voice and bubbly personality.
If you’ve yet to be initiated into the cultural intricacies of these specific scenes, this Adlarge original is an easily accessible way to start your journey in 2024. Many advertisers index high in the Music genre while initially planning, but rarely find available tests, especially female skew ones such as this. Let’s talk via the link below.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

Libsyn’s 2024 Podcast Predictions and Wishes

Libsyn‘s predictions for 2024 include the growing role of Instagram and short-form video in podcast promotion, more mergers and acquisitions, and an increase in programmatic ads. The wish list for 2024 includes simplified podcasting tools, an emphasis on audio quality and content improvement, and a podcast listening 101 that can be shared by libraries, etc. to encourage more people to tune in.

Read More

Marketers are Bullish on Podcasts for 2024

Going into 2024, 62% of global marketers are confident in continued growth for podcasts, according to a study by Acast. Marketers in the USA, Australia, and Canada plan to increase podcast ad spending. Podcasts are seen to outperform radio and streaming music in accurate targeting and engagement but rank second behind radio in brand safety. The research also shows podcasts have untapped advertising potential. Hear, Hear!

Read More

The Resilience of Audio: Four Hours of Listening Daily

Americans spend an average of four hours and 11 minutes daily on audio content, according to Edison Research‘s Share of Ear® study. Despite a dip to three hours and 44 minutes in 2020, audio consumption rebounded in 2021 and has remained resilient. The Q3 2023 data indicates no significant change from almost a decade ago, highlighting audio’s competitive stance amid video options and shifting consumer habits. Edison encourages advertisers to invest more in the audio space as listeners continue to dedicate over a quarter of their waking lives to audio. We couldn’t have said it better…

Read More

#SaveTheLiveReads

EarnIn Saves the Day for The Zach and Wahlid Show

With all the technological advancements of our time, it’s said that people will see and hear hundreds if not thousands of advertisements each day! How can any one of them stand out in the midst of all the noise and actually influence its target audience? At Oxford Road, it all comes down to the careful placement of ads within selected shows with real personal stories that demonstrate success. Our team matched up the brand EarnIn with The Zach and Wahlid Show.
In a recent read, co-host of the show, Zach, talks about how he avoided a major embarrassment on a first date when he remembered EarnIn could cover the rest of the bill after his gift card for dinner only amounted to $25. It’s one of those moments where a person is vulnerable, trying to make a good first impression, and has a personal testimony that everyone can relate to – and because the host was following Oxford Road’s Audiolytics™ guidelines, actually converts. Zach and Wahlids’ execution is humorous and lively, further substantiating a strong advertisement that influences the listening audience.

Listen Here

Contact us for a Consultation