Advice for Marketers in a Post-Capitol Siege World

By Kyle Jelinek

In the days following the siege in the Capitol, the media landscape has changed dramatically. We foretold this expanding chasm last week, and unfortunately, it’s happening much earlier and more dramatically than anyone could have imagined. Twitter and Facebook have banned a sitting president from posting content altogether, potentially losing millions in ad revenue. Amazon and Google have de-platformed Parler, essentially shutting the site down indefinitely. Right-leaning radio hosts on Cumulus who’ve doubled down on election-disputing rhetoric are at risk of being fired from their jobs unless they change their tune. And today, the House just voted to impeach President Trump for a second time! But let’s not get so caught up in the moment that we fail to see the precedent and slippery slope we may be encouraging.

In the aftermath, we have seen multiple advertisers already distancing themselves from advertising near news and politics entirely, particularly those that lean right. Should that be your move? Possibly, but not permanently. Here are the steps marketers should consider immediately to come out of this thing alive.

Take a Short Pause

Any reader of this newsletter knows that we have long advocated to bring balance to the media and avoid cancel culture purely based on ideology. We advocate for the sponsorship of programs and platforms that enable vigorous debate and a free exchange of ideas. Aligning your brand to any particular side at this moment may accidentally signal sympathies your brand doesn’t actually hold. Media watchdogs on both sides will be on high alert to call out any perceived improprieties, and your brand may fall victim to the shaming.

Collaborate and Consider

If you’re a client, schedule time to meet with our team to better define your plan to move forward. We suggest a simple, “Green, Yellow, Red” approach. In other words, some conversations are always permissible. Some are never. Then there’s the grey area in between, or “Yellow”. These are programs and topics that may or may not be worth engaging or sponsoring. We rely heavily on the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart to help determine these thresholds, and focus on the Y-Axis so that we can encourage a broad range of perspectives to be explored in a public dialogue with civility, accuracy, and respect.

Engage

Consider that one of the underlying problems in this country is that people are stuck in their echo chambers and not listening to people who hold different views. We can set a new tone with our influence over what content we sponsor. So consider starting a conversation — even an awkward one. Before you disavow a show, network, or platform, we recommend you contact them directly, share your concerns, and set clear boundaries around what type of content or discussion you are comfortable allowing your brand to support — and what you do not. If you need mediation or a supportive third party to navigate, we’re happy to make some referrals.

Take the Long View

If you are a regular reader of The Influencer, there’s a good chance you did not vote for the re-election of Donald Trump. However, 75 Million Americans did. You don’t have to support him or his actions, but as a marketer, it would be an unwise strategy to be careless in taking steps that seem to be entirely dismissive of the perspectives of 75 Million US citizens.

Let’s leave retribution to others and focus on managing our situation one day at a time. You and your business have a long road ahead of you. As a brand, you have to walk a fine line between sponsoring media that will achieve your growth objectives and protecting your brand along with the values for which it stands. You have a voice, and what you choose to sponsor matters: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This is a good time to take stock of your affiliations and more clearly define where you draw the line in the balance between performance objectives and advancing content that is leading to divisions and harm.

We are here to help you do your part to accomplish your goals while strengthening and supporting your fellow citizens — and, where possible, move our nation toward healing.

November 2025: ORBIT Rankings and Insights on the Top 15 Performing Comedy Podcasts

ORBIT ranks podcasts by actual advertiser performance, not exposure or vanity metrics. Built on real campaign data across 500+ advertisers managing $1.6 Billion+ in annual spend.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Comedy’s #1 in advertiser investment. But ROI shows some funny business.

November 2025 ORBIT Rankings

Below are the Top 15 Performing Comedy Podcasts, ranked by advertiser results over the past 12 months.
These are the shows that consistently outperformed benchmarks and delivered measurable ROI.

Top 15 Performing Comedy Podcasts - November 2025

November 2025 ORBIT Insights

Laughter, 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 due to brand safety concerns, where Comedy appears to be a safer option for scaling over, say, Politics and Government. Stop treating Comedy as a safe default. It’s a sophisticated category that requires real 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 to game shows. The takeaway? There are no guarantees in Comedy performance, but there are plenty of ways to turn funny into money.
Category Matters: Not all Comedy advertisers are created equal. High-spend categories, like gambling and shopping, actually underperform, while premium lifestyle brands excel. The lesson: comedy can offer a great ROI as long as there’s audience fit and you don’t overspend.
The Summer Slump: Scaling Comedy spend? Take the Summer off. In 3 of the last 4 complete years (2021, 2023, 2024), Q3 performance was weakest. Instead, use Q2/Q3 learning, testing, and incremental optimization, then scale in Q1, where performance has historically been best.

Unlock past ORBIT insights

How ORBIT Works (And Why It’s Different)

ORBIT normalizes performance across different advertiser goals—whether that’s target CAC, desired ROAS, or cost per qualified lead. This allows direct comparison across campaign types, something download-based rankings can’t provide.

The difference:
Many tracking tools tell you who’s advertising and estimate spend, count ad occurrences, or measure downloads and reach.

ORBIT shows which podcasts made money and which ones didn’t.
We factor in what advertisers paid, what they were trying to achieve, how it was measured, including survey-based attribution data, and whether the investment delivered ROI. That’s the difference between counting impressions and measuring profit.

Our methodology:

Minimum 3 distinct advertisers per show
Minimum 3 paid drops per advertiser
At least 50% of placements must exceed advertiser goals
12-month rolling analysis updated monthly
Attribution-normalized across pixels, codes, URLs, and modeling

For Chief Audio Officers

ORBIT eliminates guesswork from podcast planning:

De-risk initial buys by seeing which shows have proven track records with similar advertisers
Optimize faster with normalized performance data across attribution models
Find hidden gems before they become expensive tier-1 shows
Break category assumptions with data that shows where your customers actually listen
Scale with confidence, knowing which placements consistently deliver ROI

The era of buying podcast ads based on download numbers is over. ORBIT shows you which shows drive performance, before you spend a dollar.

“This is what happened when real companies spent real money. If you want to know which podcasts work, start here.”
— Dan Granger, CEO, Oxford Road

Subscribe to The Influencer for monthly ORBIT updates

ORBIT: The Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool

Here’s What $1.6 Billion in Performance Data Actually Reveals.

The first podcast rankings based on ROI, not downloads. Built on real campaign results from hundreds of advertisers.

After more than a decade of development, Oxford Road is unveiling ORBIT: a first-of-its-kind Benchmark Intelligence Tool built on real campaign outcomes from across the industry.

ORBIT aggregates over $1.6 billion in verified podcast spend, across hundreds of advertisers and 120+ genres, then normalizes it into one question: What actually worked?

It doesn’t tell you which podcasts are popular. It tells you which ones drive ROI. Which ones convert. Which ones are worth the check you’re about to write.

October 2025 ORBIT Rankings

Below are the Top 15 Performing Podcasts in October 2025, ranked by advertiser results over the previous 12 months.
These are the shows that consistently outperformed benchmarks and delivered measurable ROI.

What ORBIT Reveals

Big reach ≠ big results: Joe Rogan and most tier-1 mega-shows didn’t crack the Top 15. Only 3 of the top performers (20%) are household-name podcasts. Advertisers systematically overpay for reach while ignoring shows that deliver better returns.
Comedy and politics dominate. 11 of the top 15 performers are comedy or news/politics shows—the exact categories many advertisers deliberately avoid due to brand safety concerns. Controversial content, when aligned with brand values, drives action.
Stop buying your own industry. We tested it: Tech companies don’t perform better on tech podcasts. Finance brands don’t win on business shows. There’s no statistically significant lift from matching your industry to your genre. Your customers listen to the same shows everyone else does: comedy, true crime, politics. The genre silo is costing you discoveries.
Faith-based shows overperform. Religious podcasts, particularly Christianity-focused content, rank in the top 6 genres for consistent ROI across multiple verticals—a finding impossible to surface without normalized, goal-based data

See the Top 15 Performing Comedy Podcasts from November 2025

How ORBIT Works (And Why It’s Different)

The difference:
Many tracking tools tell you who’s advertising and estimate spend, count ad occurrences, or measure downloads and reach

Our methodology:

Minimum 3 distinct advertisers per show
Minimum 3 paid drops per advertiser
At least 50% of placements must exceed advertiser goals
12-month rolling analysis updated monthly
Attribution-normalized across pixels, codes, URLs, and modeling

For Chief Audio Officers

ORBIT eliminates guesswork from podcast planning:

De-risk initial buys by seeing which shows have proven track records with similar advertisers
Optimize faster with normalized performance data across attribution models
Find hidden gems before they become expensive tier-1 shows
Break category assumptions with data that shows where your customers actually listen
Scale with confidence, knowing which placements consistently deliver ROI

The era of buying podcast ads based on download numbers is over. ORBIT shows you which shows drive performance, before you spend a dollar.

“This is what happened when real companies spent real money. If you want to know which podcasts work, start here.”
— Dan Granger, CEO, Oxford Road

Subscribe to The Influencer for monthly ORBIT updates

So What is a Podcast? We Polled Over 4,000 People, Launched a Docuseries, and May Have Started a Revolution.

What’s a Podcast?: The Revolution Redefined

Twenty years ago, “What’s a podcast?” was an innocent question—asked with curiosity, maybe confusion. Today, it’s a loaded one, with real consequences for creators, platforms, advertisers, and the future of the medium itself.

“ Why does the definition of a podcast even matter? If we don’t define it clearly, we leave it to others to decide.”

Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road & Veritone One)

That’s why we’re taking the question head-on with two major releases this week:

In collaboration with Edison Research we surveyed over 4,000 Americans, and interviewed 30+ creators, executives, and thought leaders to propose a clear, inclusive, and actionable definition of podcasting. This is more than semantics—it’s about protecting the open, intimate, creator-first medium we all believe in.

Download the White Paper Here

In this new three-part documentary series, hosted by Allyson Marino (Founder, Lipstick & Vinyl), we trace the evolution of podcasting from pirate radio roots to today’s billion-dollar ecosystem.

️Episode 1: The Genesis – The Accidental Revolution (2004-2013)

From MP3 uploads by the great Robin Williams to Adam Carolla’s marketing test runs, we explore the DIY spirit that launched a media movement.

Featuring Ira Glass, Adam Carolla, Leo Laporte, and more.

Episode 2: The Explosion – Mainstream and the Pod-Demic (2014-2022)

Serial broke podcasting wide open—and brands, platforms, and creators flooded in. Then came the COVID boom, and eventually, a sobering correction.

Featuring Bryan Barletta, Pete Birsinger, the Meiselas brothers, and more.

Episode 3: The Crossroads – Identity Crisis and the Future (2023-Present)

With the rise of video podcasts and closed platforms, the power has shifted. Can we protect the creator-led, listener-first DNA of podcasting while embracing growth?

Featuring Guy Raz, James Cridland, Dan Franks, AJ Feliciano, and more.

Watch Here

Listen Here: Spotify

Listen Here: Apple

Help Shape the Future

We’re not here to gatekeep—we’re here to rally. Podcasting has always thrived when creators, platforms, and advertisers build together.

So we’re inviting YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and others to help create a shared definition, an open attribution framework, and a future where the medium remains open, inclusive, and built to last.

Sign the Petition Here

Podcasting has never been just another media channel. It’s personal. It’s powerful. And it’s ours to protect.

“This is what made podcasts special. And this is what we must preserve—lest we find ourselves defined out of existence.”

Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road & Veritone One)