Podscribe has introduced new audience intelligence features on its platform aimed at enabling advertisers to gain deeper insights into podcast campaign performance and audience targeting.

Powered by TransUnion data, obtained from credit reporting agencies in the U.S., the tools offer advertisers, agencies, and publishers enhanced visibility into campaign audience reach and facilitate discovery of similar podcasts.

The first feature, TransUnion Audience Reporting, allows advertisers to analyze campaign performance across more than 560 household-level audience segments. Categories include income, occupation, parental status, political affiliation, and pet ownership. The reporting includes two proprietary metrics: Performance Index and Population Index, which help identify high-converting segments and verify reach at scale.

The second enhancement upgrades the Discover Shows tab with reverse-searching capabilities based on verified audience traits. This functionality enables filtering podcasts by household characteristics to find shows that over-index for top-performing segments.

“It’s like lookalike audiences for podcasting—except based on verified household data, not social media profiles,” Pete Birsinger, CEO of Podscribe said in a press release. “You can see what worked and instantly find more shows with that same audience.”

Both new TransUnion-powered features are currently available in all Podscribe dashboards.

Expansion of Analytics Capabilities

These releases follow several product enhancements introduced throughout 2024. In May, Podscribe launched International Research, expanding its database with insights on the top 600 podcast shows across six countries outside the United States: Germany, Mexico, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

In July, the company unveiled an Automated Pixel Distribution Feature designed to streamline campaign management. The tool allows users to distribute tracking pixels to multiple publishers with a single click, addressing a process that previously required up to 10 hours per week of manual work.

Performance Factors

Podscribe’s Q3 2024 Performance Benchmarks report, analyzing 63,000 podcast campaigns, reveals that high-quality ad reads achieve over 50% better performance than lower-scored advertisements. 

The research identifies mid-roll placements as superior performers, achieving a 0.35% visitor rate compared to 0.29% for pre-roll and 0.23% for post-roll positions.

The study also introduces the industry’s first podcast reach curve, indicating that 99% of advertisers reach only one-quarter of potential podcast listeners. Accessing all 130 million U.S. monthly podcast listeners requires more than 1 billion impressions per month, according to the research.