Veritronic And Acast Highlight What Success Sounds Like With Programmatic Podcast Ads

~ jen

Veritonic, the industry’s comprehensive audio analytics and research platform, partnered with Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, to bring new data to market around the commonalities – and divergence – of audio creative on podcast ads served programmatically. 

In addition to identifying these global overlaps and points of differences, the goal of the research was also to help media buyers identify strong tactics and best practices in programmatic podcast advertising across three key media markets: the US, Australia and New Zealand, and EMEA.

Together the companies sourced and and analyzed podcast ads transacted programmatically with Acast and spanning various verticals including: automotive, tourism, retail, healthcare, entertainment, and more. They then identified the common threads and differences in the creative executions by region by examining themes like ad length, number of voiceovers, gender of voiceovers, use of sound effects, call to action placements, and more.

“As an industry there is still a lot of myth-busting to do around programmatic ad buying. At Acast, we firmly believe that programmatic advertising should not be a rigid experience for the media buyer, podcast host, and certainly not the listener,” said Elli Dimitroulakos, Global Head of Ad Innovation at Acast. “Podcast advertising is effective because it’s a seamless part of the listening experience and that shouldn’t change based on how a transaction occurs. Programmatic ads can – and should – have creative elements that enhance the listener experience and brand relationships.”

According to the research, across all markets the majority of ads were a minimum of 30 seconds in length. This was the most predominant in the US and EMEA regions which resulted in 80% and 73% of the examined ads, respectively. The Australia and New Zealand market trailed slightly behind with 56% of programmatic ads running at least 30 seconds long. The remaining 44% in the market were 15 seconds in length.

All three markets also reflected similarities in the use of single voices for the voiceover content. The US led the way with 86% of programmatic ads in the study using a single voice for the voiceover. EMEA and Australia and New Zealand were most similar with 66% and 68% of programmatic ads using a single voice for the voiceover, respectively.

However, when it came to gender detection in voiceover content, dissimilarities across the market presented themselves. In the US, half of ads analyzed featured a female voiceover, 47% of ads feature a male voiceover, and the remaining 3% featuring both male and female voiceover. 

In near equal numbers, the three regions all used sound effects in slightly less than the majority of programmatic ads, indicating that this may be a newly emerging trend in the space. According to the study, sound

effects including birds chirping, phones ringing, engines revving, and more were used on 40% of programmatic ads from the US, 38% from Australia and New Zealand, and 33% in EMEA.

“Hope is not a strategy; it’s no longer enough for a brand to create an audio asset and simply hope it will move the needle,” said Scott Simonelli, CEO of Veritonic. “Having confidence that your marketing efforts and investments will pay off is crucial, especially in today’s economy. With audio reaching more than 214M adults in the U.S. monthly and having a 36% higher impact on memory than video, marketers need to be leveraging creative testing solutions like the Veritonic platform to ensure they are putting their best audio creative forward, regardless of how the ad itself is purchased or served.”

 

Riverside Introduces Magic Clips

~ jen

Riverside, a leading high-res content creation solution, has released a new feature offering users an effortless way to generate short-form clips from long-form content.

This new tool, Magic Clips, handles the clipping process from start to finish at the click of a button. With just a few more clicks, users can format these clips for different social platforms, add captions, customize them, and create more clips as they please.

If there was a time when viewers were willing to commit to an entire podcast or show without a first taste, that time is gone. Nowadays, the journey into new viewers’ playlists and watchlists starts with their social media feeds, where quick, vibrant, and easily digestible content is the name of the game.

And it doesn’t stop at capturing the audience’s attention. Our digital world is overflowing with countless podcasts, shows, and long-form content vying for viewership. You’ll need to continuously engage with your audience, or someone else will snatch them.

What all this means for curators is more work cut out for them (pun intended.)

Social clips? There’s AI for that.

That’s where Magic Clips steps in. This practical feature, powered by the most recent AI advancements, provides a hassle-free solution to transform lengthy recordings into captivating short clips. With a single click, AI identifies key moments in your recording and edits them as standalone clips, perfectly optimized for various social media platforms.

Effortless by automation

With Magic Clips, there’s now need to sift through recordings in search of compelling moments. Magic Clips handles the heavy lifting for you. Leveraging cutting-edge AI technology, the process becomes completely automated, picking out your best moments and editing them.

Time-saving

Magic Clips replaces hours of work with a single click. Not only that, but your clips will be ready chop-chop (pun intended, again). So, by the end of it, you’re all set to share your clips a lot quicker. Plus, you’re left with more time to focus on engaging with your audience and producing more creative endeavors.

Instantly-sharable

By supporting multiple sizes and layouts to choose from, your clips can be tailored to platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and more. Click again to add captions, making your clips accessible to different audience needs and suited for various circumstances where audio can’t be played.

You’re in control

While Magic Clips takes care of the initial clip generation, creators retain complete control over the final product. Using an intuitive interface, you can add your personal touch, brand them, and make any necessary adjustments as you see fit. Of course, you can also create more clips.

How it works

Record

Wait for your guests to arrive (or not if your doing it solo), then hit the record button to start capturing and uploading your long-form studio-quality recording.

Clip 

When you finish recording, enter the editor and click on the Magic Clips button (you can’t miss it). Now, sit back and watch the magic happen.

Caption

Because Riverside transcribes all your recording by default, all you got to do is click to add them as captions to your clips and make them accessible and watchable by anyone, no matter when or where.

Customize 

Re-trim your clips as you see fit, select the right layout and size based on where you want to share them, change backgrounds, and finish off your clips.

Share

Download your work (you can select different file formats, yeah) and post it.

Get the most out of your content

With the introduction of Magic Clips, creators can quickly repurpose highlights from their content and share it with their audience on any platform. With the help of AI, Magic Clip automatically captures the very essence of long-form recordings and turns them into short clips that leave a lasting impression on audiences across social media. Embrace the possibilities, engage you followers, and elevate your content.

 

Seekr And Oxford Road Launch Groundbreaking Civility Score For Podcasts

~ jen

Seekr, a revolutionary artificial intelligence company specializing in transparent content evaluation, and Oxford Road, the leading independent ad agency in audio, announced the launch of the first-ever Civility Score for podcasts. Seekr’s Civility Score harnesses proprietary AI to offer brand marketers a more precise way to measure brand sustainability in podcast advertising, maximizing brand affinity and return on investment. 

“As the marketplace becomes more open to objective, third-party assessments of media content, the Civility Score provides brands with a simple-to-understand and extraordinarily effective way to protect themselves from high-risk content,” said Pat Condo, CEO and Founder of Seekr Technologies. “It is a tool designed to move beyond the traditional brand safety and suitability frameworks and strike at the heart of the polarization problem.”

Seekr’s Civility Score will use AI to objectively measure ad hominem attacks within the nation’s top podcasts – a key contributor to societal polarization and aggression. Brands can use the detailed scoring to guide their media planning, setting polarization and aggression. Brands can use the detailed scoring to guide their media planning, setting tolerance levels that maintain brand integrity and minimize exposure to potentially damaging content. Specifically, key features of the Civility Score include:

Civility Ranking: Seekr scores podcasts from low to high based on the level of personal attack in each show, factoring in content and nuance when presence of an attack is found.

Risk Trends: Seekr tracks civility trends to allow brands to adjust their media spend accordingly and align with quality content.

Detailed Metrics: Seekr provides metrics on the amount and nature of personal attacks found in evaluated show content per hour, giving brands detailed data to speed up the evaluation process.

The Civility Score scans podcast episodes in their entirety, enabling it to spot instances of ad hominem attacks that occur at any point in a program, so brands can avoid getting caught in the crossfire. This also identifies instances where topics of discussion that may not be inherently controversial and therefore not covered by GARM’s 12-point Brand Safety Floor and Suitability Framework.

“We’re proud to have partnered with tech firms in the past to bring content evaluation solutions to the audio space,” said Dan Granger, CEO and Founder of Oxford Road. “Still, what the industry needs most is one metric that transcends subjectivity and promotes a value around which we can all align; respect for others. The strength of the Civility Score is its simplicity, as all brands, consumers, and creators can align around this expression of the Golden Rule. Now, we can reward the most responsible voices, rather than those that are simply the loudest.”

The launch of the Civility Score will take place at the Chief Audio Officer Summit, an event that brings together marketers from the leading brands in audio. Initially, the Civility Score will focus on podcasts, with plans to expand its scope to provide broader applications in all forms of media.

For further information or custom solutions, visit https://seekr.com/

Coleman Insights Launches Pod Predictor

~ jen

Media Research firm Coleman Insights announces the debut of Pod Predictor, a new service for podcasters to test concepts pre-launch.

Pod Predictor surveys 1,000 18- to 64-year-old podcast listeners in the United States and Canada to determine how appealing a podcast concept is. Podcasters test a show title along with one of two sentence elevator pitch, which respondents rate on a 1 to 5 scale. Additionally, they will indicate their interest in downloading the content based on the title and description.

According to Coleman Insights Vice President/Consultant Jay Nachils, Pod Predictor is a game changer. “So much money and time is invested in the launch of new podcasts without any intel as to how that content will be received. Now, with Pod Predictor, podcasters can determine how appealing their concept is at an affordable price point, allowing them to refine their marketing message before launching it to the public.”

Pod Predictor is now available to individual publishers and networks, with the ability to test one or multiple concepts. Results will be delivered with total results, as well as breakdowns by age, gender, ethnicity, geography, and category interest.

Learn more about Pod Predictor by Coleman Insights on the website.

About Coleman Insights

Coleman Insights, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, with offices in Philadelphia and Hamburg, Germany, is a firm that has helped media properties in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia build strong brands and develop great content since 1978.

Rachel Ghiazza Appointed Chief Content Officer At Audible

~ jen

Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling announced Rachel Ghiazza has been appointed Chief Content Officer, effective immediately.

In this expanded role, Ghiazza will oversee all aspects of content including development, production, operations and business affairs, as well as talent, publisher and partner relations. She will spearhead the continued globalization of Audible Originals as well as grow Audible’s vast library of podcasts and audiobooks. Ghiazza will continue to report to CEO Bob Carrigan.

Carrigan said: “Rachel has proven to be a formidable leader whose passion and pursuit of excellence has been internal to our success. During her tenure, she has consistently championed great storytelling — the lifeblood of Audible — and constructed a best-in-class team that continues to drive our business forward.”

He added: “Her work in developing our impressive slate of originals, and ushering in world-class talent while successfully expanding our unmatched library has been instrumental to our growth. We couldn’t be more pleased to acknowledge her with this well-deserved promotion.”

Ghiazza said: “It is a privilege to work alongside an incredible team whose commitment to creativity and innovation in the audio space inspires me every day. Audible is iconic – a company that has set audio’s gold standard and it is our fearless, audience-first approach to storytelling that makes the very best in the business. I look forward to what’s ahead – badly shepherding Audible’s next chapter in global content creation.”

During her tenure, Ghiazza has helped grow Audible into the leading creator of audio storytelling, developing new genre-bending categories, elevating unique and diverse voices, and forging groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders. 

Her accomplishments include supporting the launch and development of Audible Plus, scaling-up in-house brands such as Audible Theater and Words + Music, the launch of Dolby Atmos on Audible, and spearheading multi-project relationships with top artists, writers, and creators across the entertainment industry, including President and Mrs. Obama’s production company Higher Ground, Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment and James Patterson Entertainment. 

Prior to joining Audible, Ghiazza was at Spotify, where she held a variety of roles including leading the Global Content Experiences team. Ghiazza previously held roles at Viacom and Yahoo!. She has an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Veritonic Empowers The Future Of Audio Branding

~ jen

Veritonic the industry’s leading platform for comprehensive audio analytics and research announced its ability to deliver brands an unrivaled level of holistic data and analytics meticulously designed to aid in the creation and optimization of branded podcast initiatives.

The AI-powered Creative Management solution within the Veritonic platform provides brands with robust pre-market insights that delve into the emotional resonance, recall, and engagement of their audio content. With this actionable information in hand, brands can optimize their content for maximum impact, ensuring that every element of their branded podcast captures the attention and hearts of their target audience.

Moreover, Veritonic’s Competitive Intelligence solution grants brands access to a wealth of data related to their competitors’ audio ads, distribution channels, and audience response. This comprehensive and proprietary information equips brands with the necessary tools to stand out amidst the noise, enabling them to strategically craft promotional ads that not only capture attention but also resonate on a profound level with their target audience.

As it relates to performance measurement, Veritonic’s built-for-audio Brand Lift and Attribution solutions allow brands to gauge if the ads they are using to promote their podcast are meaningfully increasing their reach and impressions, and if their CTAs are resulting in URL clicks, show shares, social media follows, and more.

“Branded podcasts are an incredibly effective vehicle for telling a brand’s story and increasing its reach,” said Scott Simonelli, CEO of Veritonic. “Similar to the creation of optimization of audio logos, audio ads, and podcast ads, data should be at the root of every decision that a brand makes around their podcast – from ideation to promotion and everything in between. We are committed to continuously innovating our platform and the data it provides to enable brands to make more informed decisions across all channels and formats where audio is utilized, while increasing their ROI.”

The exclusive provider of independent and holistic audio data and analytics, the Veritonic platform is supporting the audio strategies of leading brands, agencies, and platforms around the world. For more information or to request a demo, visit www.veritonic.com or contact sales@veritonic.com.

About Veritonic

World-renowned brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms rely on Veritonic’s comprehensive audio research and analytics platform to research, test, and measure the ROI of their audio assets and campaigns pre-market, in-market, and post-campaign. The resulting insight enables clients to gain confidence in their audio investment, mitigate risk through optimization, and increase their return as they engage consumers with compelling audio experiences.

 

Ausha Recognized As One Of The ‘Best Workplaces For Women’

~ jen

Since its creation, Ausha  has been actively committed to supporting women and recognizing their essential role in the podcasting industry.

In 2020, the company joined the ‘One in Three Women’ network, which aims to raise awareness and combat violence against women. In March 2023, Ausha also became the official partner of ‘Women and Podcasts’ network, the first influential network in France that promotes women professionals in the podcasting field.

With only 30% of podcasters in the US being women, supporting and amplifying women’s voices remains an ongoing mission for Ausha.

With a score of 99.100 for gender equality within the company, Ausha provides an inclusive and fair environment for its employees.

In a society where women are often underrepresented, Ausha celebrates the representation of women in pivotal roles within the startup, challenging stereotypes and fostering their career progression.

“At Ausha, we firmly believe that every voice matters. In mainstream media, women are often underrepresented and their voices are overlooked. That’s why they’ve turned to podcasting, where they’ve fond more freedom to make their voices heard. It was a no-brainer for us to support them – not only through our external initiatives but also within our own company. It’s a value we uphold and defend every day. That’s why we’re particularly proud to receive this recognition today.” – Jennifer Han, Chief Marketing Officer at Ausha.

In addition to this recognition for its commitment to women, Ausha is also honored to be featured in the ‘Best Workplace for Tech’ ranking.

This distinction highlights the company’s ambition to provide an environment where technology professionals can thrive and fulfill their full potential. In an ever-changing industry landscape, Ausha takes pride in cultivating a great work environment.

Futuri Launches SpotOn, To Generate Fully Produced Commercials And Spec Spots.

~ jen

Futuri, the leader in AI-powered software solutions for the media industry, announced the launch of SpotOn,  a revolutionary new technology designed to streamline the commercial creative process. SpotOn optimizes AI to instantly generate effective, standout creative to vastly improve operational efficiencies and help close more business.

SpotOn is an end-to-end AI solution that uses generative AI to craft compelling copy to promote a client’s product or service. Users can select voiceover talent from a vast library of human-cloned or synthetic voices, available in dozens of languages. To finish the production, SpotOn offers a fully licensed music library designed to help users match the right tone and tempo to appeal to the audience, captivating their attention from start to finish.

Each spot is meticulously structured and scripted to hit the right points and make a brand’s message resonate. Spots can run on-air as-is, or serve as a powerful first draft for a brand’s production team to fine-tune. The SpotOn system is so simple and intuitive that media account executives can even create commercials “on the spot,” delivering the wow factor to earn the client’s business and expedite the sales profess. The AI-powered audio production system can also generate spot tags and station liners.

“Futuri’s SpotOn is yet another example of how AI can be an incredible assistant for growth. With SpotOn, brands can save countless hours by streamlining the production process and speeding up the sales cycle,” said Futuri CEO and Founder Daniel Anstandig. “Now sales teams can deliver spec spots and commercials to any client, regardless of size, instantly. We believe the best way to get clients to appreciate the power of audio is for them to hear it themselves, and SpotOn makes that possible at scale.”

About Futuri

Futuri is the leading provider of AI-driven content, audience, and sales technology for media companies and creators. Brands rely on Futuri solutions to make their content more relevant, accessible, engaging, and results-driven. Founded in 2009, Futuri holds 18 published or pending patents in 151 countries. Named to the Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for eight consecutive years, Futuri is known for helping media companies grow their revenue, audience, and content.

Canadian And International Digital Content Creators Take Spotlight At T.O. Webfest 2023

~ jen

T.O Webfest will celebrate its 10th Anniversary on September 19th and 20th at the Artscape Daniels Launchpad Building. Distinguished web creators of short-form series and podcasters from various regions of Canada and the world will present their works during an exclusive showcase.

In addition, guests will have the opportunity to participate in the festival’s comprehensive conference programming, collaborating with luminaries in the industry, including panelists:

Alyssa Petru, Manager of Digital Development at Bell Media

Zach Feldberg, Director of Current Production, Comedy CBC & Head of Scripted Gem Originals

Aron Levitz, President of Wattled Webtoon Studios

Heather Gordon, Managing Director of Canada of Acast Podcast Hosting

Michael Mongiardi, Co-Founder of The Sonar Network

Lindsay Michael, Senior Podcast Manager Canada at Amazon Music

Matkai Burmaster, Co-Founder of Fearless Streaming

AMI Television, and international guests!

Two days of professional development will culminate in the T.O. WebFest 2023 Gala Awards on Wednesday, September 20th, celebrating the best in the world. The 100 official selections for the festival represent 15 countries from around the world. The lineup is packed with outstanding short form web series from diverse cultures and backgrounds, showcasing an array of perspectives and styles to captivate audiences. Nominees in each category will be announced July 24. Tickets are currently on sale on Eventbright.

T.O. Webfest is an internationally recognized annual short form digital content festival and conference that aims to celebrate, support and connect digital content creators from Canada and around the world with top tier panels, workshops, networking, screenings, awards and more. 

“T.O. Webfest’s chief purpose is to create a space for emerging and established creators to pave the way toward a stronger, more connected web series ecosystem in Canada and beyond.,” said Leah Rifkin, President, WebSeries Canada.

The festival is presented by WebSeries Canada, a creator driven non-profit organization helping to advance the short form series industry in Canada. It is committed to supporting and preparing web series creators and producers for successful careers in screen-based entertainment. The festival is presented in partnership with Canada Media Fund, Ontario Creates, Independent Production Fund, Bell Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund, Telus Fund and CMPA.

SBS Audio Call Out For Podcast Pitches

~ jen

From novices to veteran podcasters, SBS wants to hear your podcast ideas that feature diverse Australian voices with original storytelling for multicultural, multilingual and First Nations audiences.

Submissions are now open to the public to pitch an idea for a podcast in the categories of news, information, or entertainment categories and in any language including English.

Last year’s call our generated 175 pitches from across Australia, eight pilot episodes and six commissioned projects including BLA.C.K. Medicine, SEEN, and The Idiom.

Shortlisted submissions will be invited to work with the award-winning SBS Audio podcast team to further develop their ideas. SBS has more than 6 million streams and downloads each month.

David Hua, Director of Audio and Language Content at SBS, said the podcast call out is another opportunity to amplify diverse voices and bring nuanced stories to a larger audience.

“We’re incredibly proud of SBS Audio’s distinctive podcast offering which continues to grow and tell stories from all walks of Australian life and we were thrilled to be named Best Publisher at the Australian Podcast Awards in 2022,” he said.

“SBS Audio is in a unique position to commission projects in any of our over 60 languages, but also produce bilingual and multilingual podcasts which help capture the nuances of migrant and cross-cultural experiences.”

SBS Digital Audio and Podcast Manager, Caroline Gates said, “It’s been exciting to see these commissioned projects reach new audiences for SBS and many have gone on to win industry awards, so it’s an excellent opportunity for both established and emerging podcasters to turn a great idea into a great podcast with the support of SBS Audio.”

Submissions close on Monday 31 July and must be made through the online form on the SBS website.

Listen to SBS Audio podcasts on the SBS Audio website, the SBS Audio app, Apple Podcasts, LiSTNR and Spotify.