News & Insights

Understanding how audio ads drive action with Podsights

Advertisers deserve to know the impact of their digital audio investments. That’s why we’re expanding Podsights reporting and attribution to podcast ads across Europe, and beginning to test these solutions across audio ads in music as well.

Earlier this year, Spotify acquired Podsights, with a shared belief that all great media ecosystems need great measurement to thrive. Podsights is a leading podcast advertising measurement service that helps advertisers better measure and scale their podcast advertising. Beginning today, Podsights reporting and attribution tools will be available to podcast advertisers in the U.K., Germany, Spain, France and Italy.

Podcasts are growing in popularity and are slated to become a €1.5B ads business in Europe by the end of 2023. Ad tech innovations like Dynamic Ad Insertion and Streaming Ad Insertion have allowed advertisers to more easily scale their investments across podcasts. However, digital advertisers, ranging from enterprise brand advertisers to more direct response-focused SMBs, have consistently shared with us that measurement remains an industry-wide challenge across all of digital audio advertising.

The problem is even more pronounced among podcast advertisers, with a recent survey reporting that measurement and attribution remain the two biggest unsolved challenges for podcast advertisers (Ad Perceptions, 2022). Traditional solutions like promo codes, vanity URLs, and post-checkout surveys paved the way as a ubiquitous method to prove the success of podcast ads; however, in isolation, these methods are not able to provide visibility into the key role that podcast ads play in the listener’s journey. Digital-style, pixel-based attribution changed that – directly connecting ad impressions to the actions someone takes on an advertiser’s website or mobile app. And that’s where Podsights comes in.

A better understanding of which podcast strategies are helping you reach your goals

Advertisers across Europe can now easily access real-time insights about their podcast investments and understand how podcast ads drive actions that matter to their business across all campaigns, both on or off Spotify. Podsights utilizes pixel-based attribution to measure digital KPIs such as website visits, leads, purchases, and app downloads.

Imagine you’re an online retailer, and you’re hoping to drive a specific demographic to your website. You build out your media plan and decide to run campaigns across multiple publishers, including targeted podcast ads across the Spotify Audience Network. If listeners in that demographic download your podcast ad and visit your website, Podsights is able to attribute those visits to the podcast ad exposure. In short, with Podsights, you will be able to know how effective your podcast ad was at driving your desired outcome.

Expanding beyond podcast attribution

While Podsights is primarily a podcast measurement service today, our vision is to extend these measurement capabilities to the full scope of the Spotify Advertising platform. In the U.K., Spotify is partnering with Omnicom Media Group (OMG) to begin testing Podsights’ reporting and attribution across Spotify’s audio ads in music for the first time.

"Evolving our unique partnership with Spotify and Podsights is critical in ensuring our clients have the opportunity for deeper insights and improved impact,” said Blake Cuthbert, CEO OMD EMEA. “All great media ecosystems need great measurement to thrive. We’re excited to tap into these new measurement solutions to validate and scale our digital audio investments, whether that’s across podcasts or music."

This follows Spotify’s recently announced Europe-focused podcast advertising deal with Omnicom Media Group (OMG), Spotify’s largest European ad deal to-date.

“Advertisers and agency partners are asking us at Spotify to advance measurement in the digital audio space. As we introduce Podsights across podcast ads and begin test attribution in the Free music experience, we’re thrilled to provide our advertisers the tools to improve marketing investment decisions to drive ROI. Spotify and Podsights are thrilled to continue furthering our joint commitment to audio advertising innovation, in partnership with Omnicom Media Group.” – Rak Patel, Head of Enterprise Sales, EMEA

Investments in full-funnel measurement

These announcements are part of our broader commitment to continue expanding privacy-safe first-party and third-party measurement solutions around the world, providing marketers with choice and control when it comes to proving the effectiveness of their audio investments. Earlier this year we launched Spotify Brand Lift in the UK to understand a campaign’s impact on a brand’s reputation or perception. Whether you’re looking to measure reach, resonance, or reaction — you will continue to see Spotify invest in full-funnel measurement solutions across both podcasts and music.

Podsights reporting and attribution is now available across podcast ads on the Spotify Audience Network, as well as podcast ads sold on a title-by-title basis. Reach out to your Spotify sales rep to learn more about how your business or brand can better measure the impact of your podcast ad investments today.

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