The Chief Audio Officer’s Buyer’s Guide; Scam Podcasters, Patreon Feeds & Fast Growing Seeds

This week on the Media Roundtable: Special Edition, we’re diving into the news and highlighting an all-star panel from our recent inaugural Chief Audio Officer Summit.

Hosting is Oxford Road’s Founder and CEO Dan Granger, joined by fellow Oxford Road experts Neal Lucey, Spencer Semonson and Stew Redwine (fresh from his appearance on Podscribe’s Make Better podcast). And joining us again, now from his mobile sound studio, is the ever-insightful James Cridland (Podnews, Podcast Business Journal).

“There isn’t a type of audio that doesn’t work for us, it all works for us. Fair enough, some types of audio took us longer to figure out to unlock. But, in order for us to be at the scale we’re at we had to get that to work because the reality is our customers were there. They were responsive, so we needed to be there.” – Kezia Koo, Senior Director of Growth Marketing at Indeed

Fake Endorsements, Real Scams ️– If they’re copying you, you must be doing something right, right?. Scammers are pretending to be podcasters (sharing fake clips of them talking on famous podcasts) in order to shill for products.

Patreon X Spotify – Patreon podcast feeds can now be integrated into Spotify. There’s no financial play yet, but there could be in the future, and it’s another step Spotify’s taking to solidify and grow market share no matter what.

Listen Up ↗️– Podcasts are now 10% of listening time, up from 5% in 2020. Also checking in on radio, “the slowly melting ice cube.”

Chief Audio Officer Summit Recap:

For the second part of the episode, get ready to be the smartest person in the room when it comes to buying audio as we recap some of the highlights from our recent CAO Summit. Kezia Koo (Senior Director of Growth Marketing, Indeed), Mei He (GVP of Digital Marketing at Netsuite/Oracle), Eliza Davis (Director of Growth, Offline Marketing, Babbel), Miranda Romano (VP of Media Operations, Oxford Road) team up to share the hard-earned questions you should be asking before you spend money to land in your customers’ ears.

Guided by Oxford Road President Steven Abraham, the team covers:

• When you need to have budget on hand to act fast (and how much)
• Proof that audio is currently a buyer’s market
• How to work with hundreds of partners when everyone has their own way of operating
• Why you can’t cancel your way to optimization

To cure your FOMO and get an invite to the next CAO Summit, email us at info@chiefaudiofficer.com. And for insights you won’t get anywhere else, check out the whole episode by clicking here.

The Classifieds

Enigmatic TV Reporter Gives Us the Real Behind the Scenes

Catt Sadler is starting a new chapter in her life with the recent rebrand of her long-running podcast. Newly acquired by Cloud 10, the renamed Catt Sadler Now premiered this week. Now an empty nester with her grown sons out of the house, Sadler is recounting her exciting new home life as she continues her meaningful work as a producer. Catt is well known for her yearly red-carpet coverage of the Oscars and public advocacy for fair workplace practices and compensation for women.
She also has one of the most soothing voices on the planet, and her weekly podcast serves as both a meditative and educational tool for those interested in mental health and self-improvement. This offering is a surefire winner for anyone targeting older women with a high household income and a love for beauty content. Get your own serenity now by clicking the link below.

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Hollywood Actors Blast Off Sci-Fi Podcast

With many entertainment podcasts affected by the SAG-AFTRA strike, fiction podcasts became a hot topic of discussion for buyers and networks alike. QCode, a well-known juggernaut in the world of fiction podcasting, has premiered a gripping new selection with a star-studded cast. The science fiction limited series includes voice work from Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine, Troian Bellisario, and Fiona Shaw. Its story details an engaged assistant AI out to connect with its human customers in a bracingly invasive way.
Timely based on current events, and relevant to lovers of audio alike, the nine-episode season has been rapidly climbing the charts since premiering earlier this month. While fiction doesn’t permit a traditional host read, the tune in value of a forward-thinking piece of media during a creative drought cannot be emphasized enough. The only constant in technology is change, so change with us and test this new podcast today.

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In Case You Missed It

Audio Ads Outperform Video – ADS OUTPERFORM VIDEO

A first of its kind study conducted by attention research firm Lumen and commissioned by Dentsu, in partnership with a host of audio publishers, finds audio advertising across major formats outperforms video in terms of attention and brand recall. The research revealed that 41% of audio ads generated correct brand recall, compared to a 38% average for video ads. Furthermore, podcast and radio ads, as well as music streaming ads, all outperformed video ads in terms of attention, recall and brand choice metrics. The research suggests that investing in audio platforms like podcasts, radio and music streaming could yield higher results in terms of audience attention and brand recall. This provides a compelling argument for advertisers to reconsider their budget allocations and strategies, potentially increasing their focus on audio advertising.

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Podcasting Captures 10% Of Listening Time

Highlighted at the beginning of the newsletter, podcasting’s share of audio listening has doubled to 10% from 2020’s 5%, as revealed by Edison Research. Traditional AM/FM radio’s share has decreased from 42% to 36%, while streaming music rose to 18%, YouTube’s audio share climbed to 14%, and audiobooks grew to 3%. With a few years having passed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s now more evident than ever how the crisis expedited shifts in audio consumption patterns. The diversified landscape emphasizes the necessity of having experts focused on leveraging the potential of audio advertising.

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Podcasts Highlighted in Q2 Financial Results

As reported in the Podcast Business Journal, both iHeartMedia and Audacy have released their financial results for the second quarter of 2023. iHeartMedia’s podcast revenue experienced a 12.9% increase year over year, reaching $97 million. However, their terrestrial and digital revenues, excluding podcasts, showed a decline. On the other hand, Audacy saw growth in revenue per thousand downloads in the podcasting sector. Nevertheless, they incurred a $10 million hit due to the termination of one of their two major podcast agreements. In terms of terrestrial revenue, there was a decline of 3.7% in local revenue and a significant drop of 16.6% in national revenue. The audio market, particularly terrestrial radio,  continues to be favorable for buyers, presenting unique opportunities for advertisers.

Read More – Read More

This Week in Great Podcast Reads

Chicks on the Right Plant the Seed

Hosts don’t often lead their ad reads with a great customer experience they had with a product, so when they do, you know it must have been exceptional. For a brand like Fast Growing Trees, an online nursery that curates thousands of easy-to-grow plants and trees for your specific climate, it can make all the difference. The idea of buying and planting your own trees might seem intimidating to many of us, but we need not worry.
The Chicks on the Right podcast hosts already went through the process and came out of it raving about the top-notch customer service they received from the Fast Growing Trees experts. There’s no doubt the human interaction aspect played a big part in their decision to become customers, and it likely pushed much of their audience to do so as well. This is an example of how influential podcast hosts can make an impact with a powerful customer service review.

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