Prime Time Pods
Amazon wants advertisers to stop thinking about podcasts as “audio” and start treating creator-led podcasts more like TV shows, Digiday reports.
At its New York upfronts presentation this week, Amazon pitched video-based podcasts, which most are nowadays, as multiplatform media franchises capable of winning TV ad budgets and extending into retail, livestreaming and events. Amazon is focused on creators that can act like networks, not just sell media inventory, says Angie More, head of revenue at Wondery.
The podcast pivot to video is hardly a surprise. Video ad supply is more lucrative than audio-only, and video distribution reaches more people. YouTube has fallen sideways by accident into being the world’s top podcasting channel simply because it’s the video hub.
Measurement remains a sticking point, though. A podcast viewer might “discover a creator clip on social, watch a long-form episode on YouTube … hear the audio version on Spotify and later convert through Amazon or a retailer,” says Nova Studio Chief Commercial Officer Matt Barash.
Podcasting’s plight is similar to influencer marketing, actually. Popular podcasters and creators know that they’re driving sales. Like when a viral TikTok mac and cheese recipe post clears grocery shelves nationwide.
But how to prove it?
The Aducation Business
In March, Sallie, the major issuer of US education loans, launched a retail media business, “Backpack Media.” Sallie’s own sites and online properties will show ads, and buyers can also access first-party audience segments with partner DSPs and SSPs (as a managed service).
The idea was that more than just education industry advertisers would be interested in the data.
“Who is about to graduate, and what did they study? Where did they go to school? Who’s likely moving into their first solo apartment in the next year?” Marco Steinsieck, Sallie’s managing VP and head of advertising, told AdExchanger during the launch.These are some of the audience segments that general advertisers might be interested in working with Backpack to reach.
Which leads to a New York Times report on the recent trend in ‘No Essay’ online scholarships. These awards soak up search traffic for the term, and college applicants stream in because they can apply easily and at no cost. There’s no merit; it’s a sweepstakes.
Sallie Mae and other scholarship search services are posting more “No Essay” scholarships because they absolutely hoover up valuable personal data. People are happy to fork over a few data points for even a distant shot at a scholarship worth a couple of thousand bucks.
Non Prophets
Nonprofit orgs occasionally turn into strange, ad-driven perpetual motion machines.
Perhaps you’ve seen Shen Yun, a Chinese dance troupe that’s also an advocacy org opposed to a communist-run Chinese government. You’ve seen scores of Shen Yun ads, though.
Some presidential campaigns even fall into the bucket, being self-propelled by donor ads.
An example that’s recently broken into the public consciousness is Kars4Kids, an organization recognizable by the eponymous jingle (as in, “1-877-Kars4Kids”). Orange County, California, brought a false advertising suit against Kars4Kids, SFGate reports. The org can no longer advertise in California until it discloses its affiliations and where, geographically, the money is spent.
Californians may not know that Kars4Kids is an advertising Rube Goldberg contraption run by an Orthodox Jewish group in New York and New Jersey. Kars4Kids blasts commercials nationwide in solicitation of used cars (for the kids). The funds send New Jersey teens on Jewish heritage trips to Israel, while the ad messaging shows much younger, multiracial kids.
The jig may be up, though. Most of these circular, nonprofit ad plays only work if they fly under the radar of general awareness. And Kars4Kids was ruled misleading by omission.
But Wait! There’s More!
Marketers and agencies are turning to fixed-fee pricing, per Dentsu and Forrester report. [Adweek]
Is the sheer volume of the AI boom driving us all mad? [The Atlantic]
Mayo Clinic is using AI to listen to emergency room visits on an opt-out, rather than opt-in, basis. [404 Media]
‘We should own it’: Hershey’s programmatic chief on AI agents and media mix modeling. [Digiday]
How many AI agents is too many? [WSJ]
