This Week’s Influencer: Human or AI: Which Connects More With Audiences?; Independent Podcasts Struggle to Compete, Aussies Get ID’ed, and More…

How can audio ads break through in a world of AI ads and boring reads? By being relentlessly real.

The world’s only podcast solely dedicated to audio ads strikes back against AI! Presenting Ad Infinitum Season 3, Episode 14: “This is My Real Voice.”

Host Stew Redwine (Executive Creative Director, Oxford Road) welcomes Brandon Beville (Producer, Morning Wire). They get to the root of authenticity, tapping into Brandon’s special insight as both producer and ad-reader (according to one commenter, his voice sounds like “ a frat guy from Boston”). Together, they put up Brandon’s spot against top-spending podcast ads from Google, ParkWhiz, LG, and Wells Fargo using our Audiolytics™ framework. Which spot will come out on top? Guess you’ll have to dial in to find out.

Stew and Brandon talk The Real You, The 3-4 Rule, Active Listening, and more. Let’s dig in…

“Make it as much you as you can.” – Brandon Beville (Producer, Morning Wire)

Bring Your Full Self — Whether you’re writing copy, setting strategy, or voicing an ad read, none of it will work if it feels inauthentic. To make the words land, it has to feel real. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does need to be genuine. For ads, that means tapping into why you actually care about the product you’re selling. CAOs, for hosts to give honest endorsements of your brand, it helps if you can show why you care, too, even by sharing personal anecdotes.

The 3-4 Rule — Ads that break through don’t sound like ads. To get those kinds of performances, Brandon aims for 3-4 takes. That’s enough to dial it in, get comfortable with the words, and have a natural read in one go before it turns stale. CAOs, listen to your airchecks. If the reads are awkward, it might be their first time with the material. Raise your hand to encourage them to put in more effort. And meet them halfway! If they’re stumbling on a line that sounds like jargon, change it and write it more like how you’d tell a friend instead of how you’d pitch to a boardroom.

Listening Ears On — Brandon took his inspiration for his Ollie ad when he heard his dog growling at dinner time. When we’re open to it, the world is rich with sound… but most ads only use the spoken word. CAOs, if you want your ads to sound like no one else, start by listening like no one else. Whether your product is digital or physical, using it will leave some audio fingerprints that only you could create. Capture them to create richer experiences for listeners.

Want more insights on making the realest audio ads you can? Tune in to the full episode here:

Your Monthly ORBIT Report – Nov 2025

Last month, we introduced Influencer readers to ORBIT (The Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool).

This week, we’re putting the tool to use to examine real advertiser performance, this time in the Comedy genre’s Top 15 Performing podcasts. Big congrats to #3, Emergency Intercom, #2 Soder, and #1 Monday Morning Podcast.

While the Comedy genre is #1 in advertiser investment in the space, the ORBIT analysis shows some funny business. Here are a couple of quick insights:

Laughter Is Not the Best Medicine: Comedy claims the most ad spend, but as a genre, performance is in the bottom tier. So why the outsized investment? It may be brand safety concerns–Comedy looks like a safe place to scale over more controversial categories like Politics and Government. Instead, shift Comedy dollars from a “safe default” to a “sophisticated category requiring strategic expertise.”
The Best vs. The Rest: While the genre is soft overall, the top 15 Comedy podcasts boast elite-tier performance. These shows represent distinct comedy styles and formats, from advice-based to game shows. The takeaway? There are no guarantees in Comedy performance, but there are lots of ways to turn funny into money.

For full ORBIT Rankings and Insights, check out the full report here.

The Classifieds

They’re All Talk, But That’s Exactly What We Want

Network: Your Mom’s House Studios / Monthly Downloads: 25k

“Classifieds?” you ask, “Are there any podcasts that still have open dates to test in Q4?” What an amazing question! The answer is yes, and we have two for you this week. The first is a humorous podcast from two TikTok comedians. Sydney Heller and Olivia DeLaurentis (@sydandolivia) have cultivated a brand of improvisational satire that blends surrealism with women’s lived experiences. Every week, they sit down with like-minded internet comedy icons to riff, ad-lib, and babble about any wacky thing that comes to mind.
Since its formal relaunch last fall, the show has consistently been adding a roster of DR top performers. Their audience is made up of progressive, self-improvement-conscious Gen Z listeners, so app-based advertisers or those looking for lifelong learners are highly encouraged to test. If you’re ready to tell your truth, no matter how hot it may be, head right on down to the link below.

Get The Deal

This Southern Classic is Great For Breakfast and For Entertainment

Network: Cake Media / Monthly Downloads: 300k

Podcasts can often be distilled down to basic details that can work regardless of who the host is. Few’s success depends entirely on the personality attached. Deante’ Kyle is the soul, lifeblood, and main creator of the scrumptious Grits and Eggs Podcast, a part of the equally delicious Cake Media. Kyle rose to prominence as a critic of burnout work culture and easily transitioned into the role of cultural critic. His loyal followers tune in every week to hear his take on trending topics, notable pop culture moments, and music critiques. He often correlates his responses in historical terms, drawing from the socio-political environment that inspires African-American art forms. Kyle himself is a likeable, blunt individual with a sense of humor that cannot be beat. This opportunity has only just landed with their seller but has already become a top performer for several B2B-focused male-skew advertisers. These grits are about to see the gravy train, so slide on up and grab a plate at the link below.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

The Indie Podcasting Gap: Creative Drive vs Commercial Returns

Alitu’s survey of 558 indie podcasters reveals 85% generate no revenue. 9% measure success by profitability, 31% are motivated by helping others, and 72% cite audience discovery as their biggest challenge. Unsurprisingly, one in four has considered quitting due to financial difficulties or burnout. To us, this is one of the biggest reasons indie podcasts should work with agencies if they’re struggling to find support on their own. Oxford Road helps marketers find performance in the indie podcast ecosystem, something the traditional agencies rarely bother to explore.

Australia Gets A Unified Audio ID

Australia’s Commercial Radio & Audio launched CRA Audio ID, a unified identity solution on Google’s DV360 that consolidates 14.7M monthly listeners across four major networks, offering frequency management and audience de-duplication for streamlined digital audio buying at scale. Competitors aligning on a shared identity tag is a step toward audio closing the gap with digital channels. If the U.S. audio industry wants to level up, this is a good model to follow.

Cumulus: Podcasts Still Lean Audio-First, Despite Video’s Rise

The Fall 2025 Podcast Download Report from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights finds that despite the rise of video formats, podcasts remain an overwhelmingly audio-first medium. 92% of weekly podcast consumers primarily listen rather than watch. While YouTube continues to dominate as the most-cited podcast platform, actual listening behavior shows Spotify and YouTube are nearly even in time spent, with Apple close behind. YouTube plays a significant role in discovery, but its audience remains fluid, with 70% saying they’d switch platforms if content moved elsewhere.
Smart TVs have surpassed smart speakers for podcast listening, signaling broader shifts in how people consume podcasts. There’s good stuff in this research, but remember, the David Ogilvy quote: “People don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say.” If YouTube leads podcast consumption, viewership is likely higher than respondents admit. And while 70% claim they’d switch platforms, betting against YouTube seems risky to us.

Beauty Queen Crowns Shopify As the Belle of the Merchandise Ball

Beauty guru, Shopify merch, and host of the hit podcast Noche de Pendejadas with Alannized, Alan, better known as Alannized, delivers a stellar live read for Shopify by striking the perfect balance between personal experience and logical value. From the start, they acknowledge the intimidating reality of launching a business, a feeling many listeners will relate to. What makes this read stand out is their genuine enthusiasm and relatability—sharing their own journey of launching merch but being unsure about building a website. Alan highlights Shopify’s user-friendly templates and all-in-one tools in a conversational, non-scripted way, making the platform feel approachable for entrepreneurs at any technical level. By the time the $1 trial offer rolls around, it doesn’t feel like a sales pitch—it feels like solid advice from a trusted friend who’s been there and figured it out. If you’re curious about what a winning sales pitch sounds like, listen via the link below.

Listen Here

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
Kristen Larson
Haley Wiese