How podcasters get ahead in advertising

How podcasters made advertising part of the show for their listeners

‘ADVERTISERS WHO WERE DABBLING IN PODCASTS FOUND IT WORKED ’ — GLENN RUBENSTEIN, ADOPTER MEDIA

It was March 2016. True crime was having a moment. Podcasts were having a moment. And the Crime Writers On podcast – where four crime writers gather every week to discuss crime and pop culture – had climbed high enough up the iTunes podcast charts to start attracting advertisers.

When the show got its first sponsor, co-host and crime writer Kevin Flynn took on yet another role: podcast pitchman. In his debut performance, he steered listeners from a discussion about Netflix’s mega- hit documentary, Making a Murderer, to the merits of mattresses made by Casper, a major player in podcast advertising. “We started talking about if you were accused of killing someone on a bed and needed to get rid of that mattress fast, you could replace it with a Casper mattress,” recalls Flynn. He then explained how Casper mattresses are easily ordered online, delivered to your door in a compact box, and expand like an inflatable liferaft. No cop would think you were guilty if you had a mattress like Casper, he added, as his co- host Lara Bricker giggled and expressed surprise that that he had received a free mattress for his efforts. Flynn’s wife, fellow crime writer and co- host, Rebecca Lavoie, admonished her husband for his “bad taste” in linking mattresses to murder but agreed with him that their new Casper mattress was both comfortable and reasonably priced. She advised interested listeners to use the promo code CRIME to get an additional $50 off.

Since then, Flynn has made crazy segues into podcast ads part of his schtick. Kopari coconut lotion would work wonders on a recently released prisoner’s dry skin. An FBI profiler, who has gone off the grid, will no doubt regret his decision due to the fact he can’t get Plated meals delivered to the door of his shack. And there is always “that time of the podcast” when Flynn hands the mic over to Lavoie for the My Lola organic tampon spots.

The ads on Crime Writers have become a feature, not a bug, and even generate regular groans and praise on social media. “Nobody does an ad segue like @kevinpflynn on @CrimeWritersOn,” tweeted one fan. “Smooth as @KopariBeauty coconut melt.” As podcast ads go, the Crime Writers approach is not unusual. Podcast advertisers prefer to have their ads delivered by the hosts listeners have come to know and trust. Hosts are given talking points, but more often than not they are encouraged to put their own spin on things as they deliver the message of major podcast advertisers like Casper, Blue Apron, Audible books and Harry’s razors.

While more mainstream media outlets might still be reluctant to let their journalists read ads, in the podcast world you’ll find Mark Geragos, superstar lawyer and frequent CNN commentator, happily shilling for everything from LegalZoom to Tommy John underwear, which he swears fits so well you’ll never have to “pluck another wedgie.” On Reasonable Doubt, which he co- hosts with Adam Carolla, Geragos regularly publicizes the fact he uses LegalZoom to take care of routine legal tasks. It gives him more time to concentrate on the important stuff like launching class action lawsuits.

Glenn Rubenstein, who runs the full- service podcast advertising agency, Adopter Media, says podcast advertising is more “engaged, authentic and natural. That’s what people love about it. The hosts are telling a story, making it very real to their audience.” Unlike ubiquitous TV and radio ads, it’s a different story from podcast to podcast. It’s not like hearing the same ad spot or annoying jingle over and over again (even if there is a temptation to hit the skip button after the umpteenth Blue Apron ad when the raves about the chili and salmon are dragging on a bit too long).

As for how effective the ads are, Rubenstein says data is sparse but the repeat advertiser business shows they are working, which is why the big podcast advertisers keep coming back. Ad campaigns tied to distinct promo codes and URLs provide companies with measurable results. The next big hurdle will be attracting what are known as brand advertisers – Coke, Tide, State Farm, for example – that aren’t necessarily looking for consumers to take immediate action but rather to boost good feelings about their brands. While the hit podcast Serial brought podcasting to a much larger, more mainstream audience, Rubenstein says that even back in the pre- Serial days, “advertisers and agencies who were dabbling in podcasts found out that it worked and started telling people. It was a kind of a secret of the business.” With more and more listeners now tuning into podcasts, however, and new advertisers signing up, Rubenstein says podcasters need to be mindful of ad saturation and “not killing the golden goose.”

That’s definitely something Jesse Brown, who hosts the popular Canadaland podcast about media, has considered. His founding sponsor was FreshBooks, which makes small business accounting software and still advertises regularly on Canadaland, although not on every episode. Listeners know by now why Brown likes FreshBooks – freelancers get paid faster, tax season is easier, the invoices look great – and Brown knows that his audience might well be getting bored with hearing the same pitch. He’s constantly trying to change things up and enjoys coming up with new angles for ads. Recently, he ran a spot telling a little bit of the FreshBooks back story. And he also did a “weird reverie” about FreshBooks and small business, that included a line about how even though he runs a small business, he’s actually a large person. “I thought it was amusing,” he says, unsure whether his listeners did too. Maybe they just assumed it was something he picked up at a second Second City improv session. After all, Second City is another one of Canadaland’s sponsors.

Both Brown and Flynn emphasize that they are transparent with listeners and have policies in place to avoid conflict- of- interest situations. “The pride journalists take in being completely removed from economic side of journalism is a luxury we can’t afford any more,” says Brown, who calls such attitudes “pious” and “holier than thou.” He sees no contradiction in being the rabble-rousing scourge of Canadian media companies while selling Frank And Oak shirts, HelloFresh Meals, and, yes, Casper mattresses on his podcast. Just the opposite, in fact. “What I really like about the brands we found ourselves working with,” says Brown, “is that there is a common thread, a thematic connection to Canadaland, a sense of the new versus the old, companies challenging monopolies.”

Canadaland turns down ads from any company or organization it might cover including the CBC, which Brown says, once tried to buy ads on his show despite getting regularly bludgeoned on the podcast. Flynn and his co- hosts won’t accept ads from financial investment companies. It’s one thing, he says, if listeners are disappointed in a meal kit or a mattress delivered to their door. It’s another for them to take a flyer with their life savings. Besides, unlike investment companies, Casper promises a full refund within 100 days of purchase, but because podcasters don’t tend to dwell on topics like dissatisfied customers, Crime Writers fans may never hear whether the hosts think returning a mattress would be a smart way to get rid of evidence or a really dumb one.