This Week's Influencer: Pick Creators for Trust, Not Followers; IAB Tackles Video; WaPo Bets on Acast; and More…

Creators can either be a long-term asset or a short-term detriment to your campaign. That’s why it’s so important for brands to focus on finding the right fit, not just the name with the biggest following. To find out how to build the right kind of creator relationships, you need this week’s Media Roundtable.

Straight from this year’s Cannes Festival, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) joins Bekah Schannuth (Director, Operations, LSKR) to discuss trust, values, and how to handle a crisis. Let’s dive in.

“If you’re trying to build a brand off somebody whose job is to wave their arms, get your attention, and run away… you’re not going deep, and there is a direct correlation between the ROI you’re gonna see.” – Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

Trust Over Attention – Podcasts aren’t valuable because they grab attention. They’re valuable because they hold that attention. Creators build trust with their audience members through the hours spent with them every week. That relationship is what makes creators valuable to brands, because when they talk about your product, they’re using that trust to benefit you. Those are the kind of creators you want to partner with.

Match Your Values – We’ve seen it a million times: A podcast host gets into hot water and drags a brand down with them. So how do brands navigate the murky waters of controversy? The answer isn’t necessarily to dump the host, or even to avoid this content in the first place. The answer is to understand what a brand stands for before the media buys start. When brands define their values early, decisions (even in crisis mode) become easier. Marketers, take a look at who you’re partnering with right now. Are they aligned with your values? If not, it’s time to find creators who are.

1-3 Days of Crisis – If you do get in a host-driven crisis, what can you expect? First, know that it usually lasts 24 hours (maybe 72 hours, if it’s truly severe). The people who are upset aren’t usually fans of the show, because they know what they’re getting into. What you need to decide (ideally with a playbook created in a non-crisis moment) is if this controversy has violated your values or not. That will help you keep a level head when the chaos arrives.

Want more insights on how to navigate creator partnerships? Check out the full episode below.

The Classifieds

This Water Cooler is Full of Prime Office Gossip

Network: Young and Profiting Media / Episodic Downloads: 50k

One of the best ways to get through a hectic day is to chat with your work bestie. But what happens when they’re not available during a truly intense moment? Well, never fear, because Corporate Gossip is here to fill the void! Hosts Becca Platsky (CPA, scorned) and Robby Slowik (perpetually OOO) dig into the C-suite scandals, boardroom implosions, and financial frauds that business media covers with too straight a face.

Each episode is full of Wall Street tea, zeroing in on a specific fiasco, or a public figure who would’ve benefited from keeping their personal lives private. Corporate Gossip is best suited for female-skewing brands in the education and business categories. Click below for your regularly scheduled debrief if you want to stay up to date on all the office drama.

Get The Deal

 This Show is the Definition of a Scary Good Time

Network: Podcast Nation / Episodic Downloads: 360k

True crime has a crowding problem, and Psychopedia knows it. Investigator Slater (professional investigator by day) brings something most of the genre’s hosts don’t: Actual investigative credentials, plus a genuine appetite for the psychology behind the headlines. Each week, she presents a case by digging past the familiar details, and focusing on the criminology and dark truths that usually get glossed over.

We’re talking serial killers, cults, Craigslist murder plots, and cases strange enough to make you question what you thought you knew about human behavior. It’s all delivered with pop quizzes that keep things lively, and give you a glimpse into Slater’s mind. There’s a good amount of Psychopedia inventory available before the inevitable squeeze of Q4. This offering has performed exceptionally well for both male and female-skew B2Cs, especially those who aren’t deterred by darker content. Click below for more grisly details, if you dare.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

IAB Tackles New Taxonomy

According to Digiday, the IAB is developing a new taxonomy to clarify how to classify such digital video formats as CTV, social video, and video podcasts. The goal is to create more consistency across media planning, buying, and measurement. Podcasts are the medium; audio and video are how they are distributed. Defining video podcasts separately risks making cross-platform measurement even more fragmented when the industry should be working toward one cohesive audience framework (like AMP).

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Whether Audio or Video, the Host Matters Most

Signal Hill Insights’ 2026 benchmarks found that standard podcast ads produced strong lifts in brand rating, consideration, and purchase intent. Audio and video ads performed similarly, with video holding only a slight advantage on some lower-funnel metrics. The host and audience relationship matters more than whether the podcast is watched or heard. Marketers should pay more for video when it provides incremental reach or additional assets. They also shouldn’t avoid video simply because it’s less trackable through pixel-based attribution.

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Washington Post Just Made Its Smartest Podcast Move Yet

The Washington Post has partnered with Acast to develop, distribute, and monetize new audio and video podcasts featuring several of its columnists. Acast will manage production and advertising while the Post retains ownership and editorial control. The partnership with Acast gets the Post back into podcasting. The Post has the talent and IP to produce compelling content. Acast brings the infrastructure to distribute it. That’s a win-win.

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#SaveTheLiveReads

Things Really Get Cooking When the Music Stops

Brian Ibbott of Coverville: The Cover Music Show (AAC Edition) brings this week’s #STLR to life with a Factor read built around a very specific kind of exhaustion. Namely, that feeling you get after getting lost in a music rabbit hole, and emerging too tired to cook. Brian opens the segment by noting he can spend hours digging through his massive Apple Music library before realizing he’s starving–a scenario that’s specific and funny, and reinforces the fact that eating healthy is a “setup problem,” not a willpower problem.

The read gets even more personal when he calls out Factor’s lasagna Bolognese, describing it as the kind of comfort food that tastes like a Sunday cooking project, minus all the actual work. That personal reaction makes it clear Brian’s love for the meal is sincere, and that he’s not simply checking a required box. Between the two-minute prep, his enthusiasm for the food, and his real-life use of Factor, Brian turns a standard meal-delivery pitch into a story that feels completely at home. It’s a great example of a host taking a brand message and making it their own.

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