Podcast’s Next $1B Starts with Better Data - Dan Misener Unveils the Bumper Score

If your phone is full of podcast episodes you’ve never actually played, you know a download isn’t the same as an impression. So how can marketers figure out who’s really tuning in, and who’s tuning out? This week’s Media Roundtable discussion has you covered.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) and Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road) welcome Dan Misener (co-founder, Bumper) to talk about the Bumper Score, a major new step toward shrinking the gap between a podcast’s reported listenership and its actual audience. It’s no secret we’re big advocates for better podcast measurement (check out today’s Forbes story, written by Frank Racioppi, about our work on the AMP Accords). The Bumper Score, like AMP, is aimed at helping the industry unlock its next billions through better data.

Join our panel of experts as they discuss how better information can not only lead to better measurement, but can also help prevent billions of dollars from being left on the sidelines.

“There is a gigantic gap between what buyers are paying for and what sellers are actually delivering.” – Dan Misener (co-founder, Bumper)

Minding the Gap – We measure downloads, views, and plays, which collectively adds up to what one panelist describes as “a mixed bag of garbage.” But what we actually care about is ad delivery. And as of now, the gap between what’s being measured and what’s being delivered can be huge. The big-picture takeaway? Bad decisions based on faulty metrics can create even worse decisions (which helps explain why a billion dollars’ worth of investment is being held back from the market, according to our count). TL;DR: When brands don’t trust what they’re buying, they buy less.

Keeping Score – Bumper has found a way to shrink the frustrating measurement gap. The company looks at episode delivery data and compares it to actual playback data from first-party sources. That intel is used to create the Bumper Score, a ranking that determines how effectively a program reaches a real audience when compared against other shows. Bumper Scores range from 0 (Bad) to 200 (Great), with 100 as an average.

Building A Better Yardstick – In practice, the Bumper Score can level the playing field between podcasters with quality audiences (but smaller traffic) and creators with big topline numbers (but weaker audiences). Much like our own ORBIT reports, the Bumper Score helps brands evaluate shows using metrics that actually matter, and allows them to decide if the true CPM is worth the effort (and the spend).

For more details on Bumper, and further insight into how the industry is coming together to fight for better measurement, check out the full episode of Media Roundtable below.