Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Pod One Out
Podcast advertising is in a tough spot.
Although ad sellers are cautiously optimistic about 2024, as more listeners tune in and programmatic audio grows (albeit slowly), podcast advertising overall has been stuck in first gear for years, Digiday reports.
What the channel needs is a step change in user behavior, advertiser adoption or something to get off its current plateau.
For one, podcast publishers have ridden waves of bubble-type demand. Direct-to-consumer brands like Warby Parker, Manscaped and True Classic were stalwarts. Crypto and Web3 companies were also big podcast advertisers in 2022, as were AI startups in 2023.
But programmatic targeting and dynamic ad insertion can’t find their hook.
Programmatic represented 11% of all streaming audio ads last year, up from 5% in 2022. But growth didn’t accelerate – direct audio sales simply dropped in 2023. Programmatic remains, despite its relatively better year, a blip in the total streaming audio market.
Podcast advertisers often want a host-read ad, too, which doesn’t jibe with programmatic.
The other headwind is intense competition for a finite number of podcast listeners. There are fewer breakout hit programs now, and it’s prohibitively expensive to find new listeners using paid media.
Island Of Misfit Pluses
Bundles are dead. Long live bundles.
It’s becoming harder and harder for even the biggest entertainment companies to find and retain streaming subscribers, which is making old school cable-like bundles look newly attractive.
One in four people who unsubscribe from a streaming service return within four months, The Wall Street Journal reports. One-third are back within seven months, and half are resubscribed within two years.
Creating long-term customer relationships starts to get really complicated with this stop-and-go style of subscriber bounce.
Another headline this week: T-Mobile will bundle a free ad-supported subscription to Hulu as part of its priciest wireless plan, Variety reports.
One way in which this new form of cable bundle diverges from the old cable package is with the integration of commerce. Prime Video and Walmart+, for example, are at the forefront of the retailer-centric entertainment bundle. There’s no doubt we’ll see more examples of retailers adding streaming services to their cart.
The Boring Companies
LinkedIn gets a bad rap for its humorless corporate palaver, which runs the gamut from humblebrags to overshares to sententious thought leadership. But the social platform’s bland sincerity is attractive to brands, and advertisers are rushing in.
LinkedIn’s ad revenue rose 10% YOY in 2023 to nearly $4 billion, according to Business Insider. It’s projected to increase 14.1% in 2024 to $4.6 billion.
Meanwhile, X, which has experienced wave after wave of brand safety and suitability scandals since owner Elon Musk seized the reins in 2022, saw ad spend decline 55% to $1.06 billion in 2023. Advertisers and users have fled X, and the value of its shares has subsequently tumbled 71%, according to Fidelity, one of X’s investors.
Perhaps in a nod to LinkedIn’s good fortune with brands, X is reportedly working on a job search feature.
But while X’s loss is LinkedIn’s gain, neither is a major platform player. Meta and Google together comprise nearly half of US ad spend. Even pre-Musk, X’s share was 1%.
But Wait, There’s More!
Eric Seufert: 2024 predictions for mobile marketing. [Mobile Dev Memo]
What marketers should expect at CES in Las Vegas next week. [Ad Age]
Brian Wieser: Streaming ad inventory grows, but total TV ad volume continues to decline. [Madison and Wall]
AI is coming for the influencers. [NY Mag]
Snap taps Samba to measure conversions for streaming, broadcast and entertainment advertisers. [Ad Age]
