What Brands Really Want—Podcast’s Top Advertisers Weigh In; Podcasts Moving Behind Paywalls; Another Case For Sonic Branding; Magellan Gets Local

The Media Roundtable is back! This week we’re doing a deep dive into our new first-of-its-kind study: What Brands Want.

The study came straight from our CAO Summit where, notably 5 of the top 15 podcast advertising spenders including; DraftKings, BetterHelp, Stamps.com, Indeed, and many others, shared their insights on what they want to see in the industry.

Dan Granger, (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) hosts Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Product, Oxford Road), Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy & Insights, Oxford Road), and expert consulting CAO Rion Swartz, (former Marketing VP at Constant Contact, Shutterstock, & LegalZoom) to sift through the report’s insights, where the industry is, and where it needs to go.

The team is talking: Podcast Measurement Tools, Brand Safety, AI Voices, and more. Let’s dive in.

“If you’re investing in endorsement, podcasts, radio, host-read ads, you’re investing in authenticity and trust. And if there’s anything that’s compromising that, it’s not worth it.” – Rion Swartz (Legendary CAO)

Tool Parity ⚖️ – CAOs agree: audio measurement tools aren’t great. 83% agreed audio tools are less useful than what they can get in other channels. Neal’s ideal solution? Two MMM models. One for sales and one for awareness. Of course, as they say; ‘’attribution is a bit like religion: at some point you have to pick something and decide that’s what you’re going to believe in.’

Lean vs. Extreme – When it comes to brand safety, CAOs are more worried about extreme political views (62%) than they are about political lean (23%). The first steps to filtering out extreme content for your brand? Checking for bias and personal attacks with help from our partners at Ad Fontes and Seekr.

AI Voices – 80% of CAOs we surveyed were uncomfortable using AI voices. Why? Audio works on the triangle of trust: from brands, to hosts, to the audience. Anything that endangers that trust is a liability, and at least right now, that non-zero risk isn’t worth eroding trust for extra efficiency.

Whether you’re a CAO, a podcast creator or on the network side, you need to hear firsthand what these top brands are looking for. First, download the ‘What Brands Want’ report by clicking HERE, then click the link below to hear the Media Roundtable team break it all down.

Download the ‘What Brands Want’ Report

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The Classifieds

Basketball Insider Dunks Another Podcast Deal

Network: Vox / Monthly Downloads: 250 / Current Civility Score: 99, HIGH

As we start winding down for the year, looking toward 2025, it’s worth noting that some podcasts recently found new network homes. One such show is Small Ball with Kenny Beecham, now with Vox Media. Kenny Beecham has been synonymous with the NBA and basketball commentary for nearly a decade. He built a gaming commentary empire on YouTube before branching out into podcasting. Kenny is well-liked in the NBA community for his high energy, sincere critiques, and clear love of the game itself. Over the years, Kenny’s interviewed top athletes like; Grant Williams, Shaq, and Michael Porter Jr. He’s also conversed with several legacy media figures often considered off limits. The show has done exceptionally well for advertisers wanting heavy video simulcasts hosted by YouTubers and for Gen Z skew sports options. Get a beautiful dime this Q4 by clicking below to score more details.

Get The Deal

America’s Government Teacher Is Back at the Blackboard

Network: Audacy / Monthly Downloads: 175k / Current Civility Score: 96, HIGH

Impressive people exist in droves, but inspirational people are much harder to come by. And then there’s Sharon McMahon, who is both impressive and inspirational. Lucky for us, she hosts a high performing podcast to boot. McMahon is a former US constitutional law and government teacher who grew in popularity during the Covid pandemic, due to her social media presence. Though she now integrates current events and self-improvement content into her lessons, she still retains an instructional bent to all she does. These traits have landed her a loyal audience of highly educated listeners, dubbing her as ‘America’s Government Teacher.’ Episodes often foray into law, history, literature, and mental health. Through the years, this opportunity has been a strong performer for many OR clients, especially those targeting a more female skew demo, intent on a healthier mindset and lifestyle. No need to be the teacher’s pet, the knowledge you seek is found in the link below.

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In Case You Missed It

Here Comes the Podcasting Paywall

The Economist’s decision to move most of its podcasts behind a paywall led to seven key lessons.

Here are a few – People will pay; Listeners value quality journalism and are willing to pay for it. Listener numbers remain strong; They retained 80% of their audience post-paywall. This is just the beginning; The paywall strategy will evolve.

If more podcast publishers shift toward paywalled, ad-free subscription models, marketers risk losing valuable opportunities to reach target audiences. But there’s a catch—if publishers continue increasing ad loads, they may push even more listeners toward these subscription services, similar to what we’ve seen in music and video streaming. The challenge for the industry is clear: find the right balance between ad content and listener experience, or risk losing access to key audiences behind a paywall. We already know that ad clutter can hurt performance.

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Branding With Your Eyes Closed

Veritonic‘s new report, ‘The Audio Advantage: Elevating Brand Experience Through Sound,’ highlights the growing importance of a brand’s sonic identity. The study reveals that 50% of podcast listeners engage more with a brand’s sound identity than its visual one, 58% find it more memorable, and 64% feel a stronger connection to brands using cohesive sound across platforms. As marketers aim to deepen consumer engagement, understanding the impact of audio is essential. CAOs, we live in an era of media overload, leading to continuous partial attention. In this environment, it’s crucial to have distinctive brand assets that capture attention and reinforce your brand. Developing a unique sonic identity is one powerful and highly effective way to achieve this. Check out Stew Redwine‘s Ad Infinitum podcast episode Branding with your Eyes Closed to learn more.

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Magellan AI Goes Local

Magellan AI has introduced market-level reporting to its measurement dashboards, enabling smarter targeting for advertisers. Users can now generate regional performance insights directly within the app, allowing for easier campaign optimization based on geographical success. This feature helps advertisers identify successful markets, facilitating targeted buys and strategic spending shifts. Magellan AI steps up its game with DMA-level insights for podcasting, a much needed advancement. This granular data is essential to unlocking local advertising, a cornerstone of terrestrial radio and a key growth opportunity for podcasts.

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#SaveTheLiveReads

L-Nutra is No BS!

The hit podcast Weekly Dose of BS from The Real Housewives of Dallas host Stephanie Hollman and her BFF Trey Stewart show off their #STLR style of keepin’ it real. In true Bravo fashion, the quick witted banter between these hosts keeps their loyal audience hanging onto every word as they deliver a satisfying live read for L-Nutra: Prolon! Trey’s humorous and totally relatable desire to ‘be hotter’ kicks off his substantiation for a fulfilling (and filling) first time experience with L-Nutra’s Prolon, as Stephanie cheerfully chimes in. Trey’s personal endorsement gives an excellent demonstration for those seeking first hand feedback about this plant-based nutrition program. To top it off, Stephanie offers a yummy Prolon sweet treat hack, sure to satisfy even the strongest chocolate cravings

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