Magellan AI released its Quarterly Benchmark Report for Q2 2024, which noted that podcast advertising continues its upward trajectory, with spending increasing 22% year-over-year in Q2 2024.
The report covers podcast advertising data from the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Australia, analyzing English, Spanish, and German content.
The company employs AI-driven ad detection and spend estimation models, factoring in ad frequency, estimated download numbers, and reported CPMs.
Credit: Magellan AI
The quarter saw 1,516 brands advertising on podcasts for the first time, a 1.9% increase from Q1.
The report analyzed data from over 101,628 episodes of popular podcasts in the U.S., revealing that the average advertiser ad load increased from 6.44% in Q1 to 7.19% in Q2.
This contributes to an overall average ad load of 9.11% across episodes sampled, up from 8.69% in Q1.
Top Spenders
Top spenders maintain dominance, with seven out of the top ten advertisers from Q1 retaining their positions. These top ten spent an estimated $94 million in Q2, down 11% from the previous quarter.
BetterHelp leads the pack with $22.4 million in spending, followed by Amazon at $13.5 million and Shopify at $10.1 million.
Mint Mobile emerges as a newcomer to the top ten list, securing the fourth position with $7.9 million in ad spend.
The gaming industry experiences the most significant growth, with ad spending more than tripling quarter-over-quarter.
Credit: Magellan AI
Notable gaming advertisers include Monopoly Go, Senua’s Saga, and NYT Games. Other fast-growing industries include jewelry (94% increase), eyewear (74% increase), and real estate (67% increase).
Direct response advertising continues to be a significant driver, accounting for 44% of overall spending in Q2.
However, brand awareness campaigns are gaining ground, representing 54% of spending and showing a 15% year-over-year increase in average monthly spending.
What Influenced Ad Spending?
The report highlights shifts in ad placement and duration. The share of 30-second ad units fell to 40% in Q2, 2% lower than Q1. Mid-roll remains the most common ad placement, particularly for brands new to podcast advertising.
Podcast popularity continues to influence ad spend distribution.
The top 500 shows by popularity attracted about $4.70 out of every $10 in podcast ad spend, a 4% decrease from Q1.
These top-ranking shows generated an average of $252,000 in revenue, while podcasts ranking 501-3000 averaged $30,000 monthly.
Ad loads vary significantly across genres and episode lengths.
True Crime leads with a 17.23% average ad load, followed by Society & Culture at 12.88%. Episodes under 15 minutes have the highest average ad load at 24%, compared to 7% for episodes over 60 minutes long.
The report also sheds light on the performance of podcasts simulcast on YouTube compared to traditional RSS-fed podcasts.
Simulcast shows have a higher share of host-read ads (53% vs 41%) and direct response advertisers (37% vs 28%), but a slightly lower ad load (6.95% vs 7.24%).
Sports podcasts remain the most popular genre for new advertisers, with about one in five new brands including them in their media plans. News, Comedy, Business, and Society & Culture are the top five genres for new brand adoption.
Nii A. Ahene is the founder and managing director of Net Influencer, a website dedicated to offering insights into the influencer marketing industry. Together with its newsletter, Influencer Weekly, Net Influencer provides news, commentary, and analysis of the events shaping the creator and influencer marketing space. Through interviews with startups, influencers, brands, and platforms, Nii and his team explore how influencer marketing is being effectively used to benefit businesses and personal brands alike.
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Magellan AI released its Quarterly Benchmark Report for Q2 2024, which noted that podcast advertising continues its upward trajectory, with spending increasing 22% year-over-year in Q2 2024.
The report covers podcast advertising data from the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Australia, analyzing English, Spanish, and German content.
The company employs AI-driven ad detection and spend estimation models, factoring in ad frequency, estimated download numbers, and reported CPMs.
Credit: Magellan AI
The quarter saw 1,516 brands advertising on podcasts for the first time, a 1.9% increase from Q1.
The report analyzed data from over 101,628 episodes of popular podcasts in the U.S., revealing that the average advertiser ad load increased from 6.44% in Q1 to 7.19% in Q2.
This contributes to an overall average ad load of 9.11% across episodes sampled, up from 8.69% in Q1.
Top Spenders
Top spenders maintain dominance, with seven out of the top ten advertisers from Q1 retaining their positions. These top ten spent an estimated $94 million in Q2, down 11% from the previous quarter.
BetterHelp leads the pack with $22.4 million in spending, followed by Amazon at $13.5 million and Shopify at $10.1 million.
Mint Mobile emerges as a newcomer to the top ten list, securing the fourth position with $7.9 million in ad spend.
The gaming industry experiences the most significant growth, with ad spending more than tripling quarter-over-quarter.
Credit: Magellan AI
Notable gaming advertisers include Monopoly Go, Senua’s Saga, and NYT Games. Other fast-growing industries include jewelry (94% increase), eyewear (74% increase), and real estate (67% increase).
Direct response advertising continues to be a significant driver, accounting for 44% of overall spending in Q2.
However, brand awareness campaigns are gaining ground, representing 54% of spending and showing a 15% year-over-year increase in average monthly spending.
What Influenced Ad Spending?
The report highlights shifts in ad placement and duration. The share of 30-second ad units fell to 40% in Q2, 2% lower than Q1. Mid-roll remains the most common ad placement, particularly for brands new to podcast advertising.
Podcast popularity continues to influence ad spend distribution.
The top 500 shows by popularity attracted about $4.70 out of every $10 in podcast ad spend, a 4% decrease from Q1.
These top-ranking shows generated an average of $252,000 in revenue, while podcasts ranking 501-3000 averaged $30,000 monthly.
Ad loads vary significantly across genres and episode lengths.
True Crime leads with a 17.23% average ad load, followed by Society & Culture at 12.88%. Episodes under 15 minutes have the highest average ad load at 24%, compared to 7% for episodes over 60 minutes long.
The report also sheds light on the performance of podcasts simulcast on YouTube compared to traditional RSS-fed podcasts.
Simulcast shows have a higher share of host-read ads (53% vs 41%) and direct response advertisers (37% vs 28%), but a slightly lower ad load (6.95% vs 7.24%).
Sports podcasts remain the most popular genre for new advertisers, with about one in five new brands including them in their media plans. News, Comedy, Business, and Society & Culture are the top five genres for new brand adoption.
The full report is available here.