Tag: Call to Action Cards

Spotify Acquires Podsights and Chartable To Advance Podcast Measurement for Advertisers and Insights for Publishers

February 16, 2022

In 2020, Spotify set out to modernize podcast advertising with the launch of Streaming Ad Insertion. Then, we built on this game-changing innovation with the introduction of our audio-first ad marketplace, the Spotify Audience Network. Just last month, we expanded even more through an interactive ad experience called call-to-action cards. With these investments, we’re delivering impact for advertisers and growth for podcast publishers like the Wall Street Journal, ViacomCBS, and AdLarge.

According to eMarketer, annual U.S. digital audio advertising revenue is poised to grow to nearly $8 billion—and of that, $2.7 billion for podcast advertising alone—by 2025. We believe the next step to unlocking this growth is demonstrating audio advertising’s impact through innovations in measurement and attribution for advertisers and audience insights for publishers.

That’s why today we’re excited to announce our acquisitions of two podcast technology companies, Podsights and Chartable. 

Podsights is a leading podcast advertising measurement service that helps advertisers better measure and scale their podcast advertising. Chartable is a podcast analytics platform that enables publishers to know and grow their podcast audiences through promotional attribution and audience insight tools.

Here’s what these acquisitions mean for advertisers and publishers.

Upleveling Measurement for Podcast Advertising

Advertisers come to Spotify to reach our engaged and immersed audience. But, according to a recent Advertiser Perceptions survey, measurement and attribution remain the two biggest unsolved challenges for podcast advertisers. Spotify plans to solve this pain point through the acquisition of Podsights. As part of Spotify, Podsights will be able to utilize Spotify’s technology and intelligence to bring more accurate measurement and actionable insights to podcast advertisers around the world.

In short, with the acquisition of Podsights, Spotify will be able to help advertisers understand how podcast ads drive actions that matter to their businesses. Over time, we plan to extend these measurement capabilities beyond podcasts to the full scope of the Spotify platform, including audio ads within music, video ads, and display ads.

Helping Publishers Grow Their Businesses With Robust Insights & Promotional Tools

Over the past year, we’ve been strengthening Megaphone’s already robust offering—most recently with the acquisition of Whooshkaa and its broadcast-to-podcast technology—to ensure it’s the best place for podcast publishers to create, monetize, and measure their podcast businesses. And now with the acquisition of Chartable, we will be further enhancing Megaphone’s suite of tools with the integration of Chartable’s audience insights and cutting-edge promotional tools, SmartLinks and SmartPromos. These tools will make it easier for publishers to turn audience insights into action and expand their listenership while ultimately growing their businesses.

The Future of Digital Audio 

We believe the opportunity for digital audio and podcast remains significant. With these acquisitions, we’re taking a big step in upleveling digital audio measurement and insights to help the entire industry scale to new heights.

Check out a Q&A with Podsights Founder Sean Creeley and Khurrum Malik, Head of Advertising Business Marketing on Ads.Spotify.com. For a deep dive on Chartable, head to Megaphone.fm. 

Spotify Introduces Call-to-Action Cards for Podcast Ads

January 6, 2022

What’s the next great frontier in audio? We believe it’s interactivity. Over the last year, Spotify has introduced new tools for creators to interact more directly with their audiences through video podcasts, Q&As, and Polls. We’ve also enabled experiences like Blend, which allows listeners to merge their musical tastes with their friends’ in one shared playlist. Finally, we introduced our voice-controlled in-app experience, “Hey Spotify.”

Now we’re bringing interactivity to the audio ad experience. 

Whether you’re blasting your personalized On Repeat playlist during your morning run, catching up on the week’s pop culture news with Higher Learning while you make dinner, or listening to Monica and Dax unpack the struggles of being human while stuck in traffic on Armchair Expert—music and talk are your constant companions.  

But what happens when you hear an ad letting you know about Ulta’s “Hello Holidays” sale or an offer from Athletic Greens giving you 25% off when you sign up for a monthly subscription? You’re often forced to remember a promo code or URL, or make a mental note to look up the offer when you return to your phone or laptop. This process is far from seamless. That’s why we’re excited to announce a new ad experience launching across podcasts called call-to-action (CTA) cards.

 

 

CTA cards will appear in the app as soon as a podcast ad begins playing, and will resurface later on while you’re exploring the Spotify app—making it easier to check out the brand, product, or service you heard about while listening. CTA cards will make it easier for you to directly discover the products and services you’re interested in without having a hard-to-remember promo code or vanity URL.

With the launch of this new ad experience, we’re making podcast ads interactive for the first time, transforming the format from something that can only be heard, into an experience that you can also see — and, most importantly, click.

With digital audio being such a multitasking-friendly and engaging medium, more people are listening than ever before. In fact, in the U.S., mobile time spent listening to audio content is now outpacing time spent on social media, video, and gaming, according to eMarketer. CTA cards are the latest step in Spotify’s vision for the future of audio as an interactive, multi-way experience. 

CTA cards will be available across select Spotify Original & Exclusive podcasts in the U.S. beginning today. Advertisers can be especially excited—our tests have shown twice as many site visits with these new clickable ads compared to non-clickable podcast ads. Learn more at Ads.Spotify.com.