Image Credit: Spotify

Powered by Spotify’s Streaming Ad Insertion (SAI), podcast ads are now available to UK advertisers across their original and exclusive titles.

For listeners, podcasts on platforms such as Spotify provide an almost endless supply of news, entertainment and information. In the past couple of years, podcasts on Spotify have grown and dominated the space. Spotify claim over 70 million podcast listeners live on the platform, with consumption growing around the world at triple digit rates year over year. Between 2019 and 2020, the UK alone saw a 11.4% increase in podcast listeners across all platforms and this is expected to grow another 10% in 2021.

Unlike many other forms of advertisements online, traditional podcast adverts could be thought of much like magazine ads. Advertisers are provided with basic statistics such as how many people may come across the ad, but details such as impressions and audience insights were inaccessible. This is because a large amount of podcast content is still downloaded via RSS feed, meaning viewing exactly which part of the audio file are skipped and showing interactive ads is impossible. With Spotify’s Ad Insertion, the streaming service is able to send back key statistics such as confirmed ad impressions, reach, frequency, completion rate, as well as audience insights such as age, gender, device and listening behavior.

Spotify Podcast Ads UK

The popularity of podcasts is rising exponentially in the UK and as a relatively untapped medium for advertisers they offer so much potential for brands to reach diverse audiences in new and engaging ways. Unlike some digital media channels, podcasts are intimate, they are trusted, they reach people in a very direct and personal way. With Spotify Podcast Ads we aim to take podcast advertising to the next level, offering brands unique insights into their audiences and creative solutions that can truly capture consumer attention. We’re really excited about what’s to come.

Rak Patel, Head of UK & Pan-EMEA Sales, Spotify

Advertisers can choose exactly which show they want to advertise on and whether the advert will placed as a preroll or midroll. Spotify can also provide a network of professional talent to voice your ads.

Podcast Ads will be inserted to popular original and exclusive titles in the UK such as “Sorted With The Dyers,” “The Receipts,” “JaackMate’s Happy Hour,” as well as global shows like “The Joe Rogan Experience.” BT Sports were the first advertiser to take part, offering ads to UK listeners of the Joe Rogan Experience from Monday 18th January.

While extra user data given to advertisers isn’t great for consumers, as this data is more valuable to advertisers, they will pay more per play, thus making the podcast creator’s content more financially viable.