Are you a creative professional who works best under pressure? A game show enthusiast? Someone who gets ad jingles stuck in your head for weeks at a time? For all of you—and anyone interested in discovering what it takes to make a great ad—we've got a new marketing podcast that'll knock your socks off.

The Perfect Pitch, Spotify's B2B podcast which launched in June this year at Cannes Lions, follows teams of creatives as they respond to briefs from renowned industry executives—including heavy-hitter CMOs like Brett O'Brien of Frito-Lay North America, Jessica Jensen of Indeed, and Jonathan Corne of Athletic Greens.

The live episodes recorded in Cannes brought senior marketers and their Creative Director counterparts onto the show to talk about how great work makes it from the pitch to the Palais.

In each episode, two competing teams go head to head, looking to win over the CMO they're pitching their idea to. Television host, actor, producer, and comedian Hunter March guides listeners on the sidelines through the action.

Putting listeners ringside

First, Hunter asks the marketers to share a high-level creative brief about what they're looking for in a new audio ad. Challenges include tasks like creating a 30-second audio spot that captures the feeling one gets upon hearing the words 'You're Hired!' or developing a mnemonic device that evokes the sound of the iconic Doritos Triangle. Audiences listen in as the creative teams hammer out their ideas, explore techniques, and experiment with music and sound effects.

Then comes the face-off: Each team presents their ad, explaining why they took their specific tack. After hearing the ad, the marketer comes back with their immediate impressions and feedback, ultimately crowning the winner.

"I love the fact that this is purely based on audio," says O'Brien, who came up with the Doritos mnemonic device challenge. "There's something really special about great audio that brings you to a place that provides colour; that provides faces; that provides a scenario situation."

Catch the action on Spotify

The Perfect Pitch introduces a fresh perspective to the genre of digital marketing podcasts. By breaking the fourth wall, The Perfect Pitch cracks open the creative thinking at the heart of making truly engaging audio ads—and in the streaming era, engagement is everything.

Our Sonic Science research finds that one in three Spotify listeners focus all of their attention on audio when they're tuning into music and podcasts on the platform.¹ Even more impressive, 60% of that engagement gets carried over to the ads listeners hear—even outperforming ad engagement levels on news and social platforms.²

As global brands continue experimenting with ad formats, audio advertising is proving itself a worthy investment. Get listening to The Perfect Pitch—it just may become one of your new favorite marketing podcasts.