As advertisers direct more dollars to podcasts, radio broadcasters dial up new content, ad opportunities

Amid rising demand from advertisers and audiences, podcasts are the hottest topic in the audio industry. In response, radio broadcasters are building up their podcast offerings, and are monetizing that content to grow new business in the podcasting space.

By 2020, podcast advertising revenue is expected to eclipse $650MM, up from $314MM in 2017, according to the latest estimates from the IAB and PwC. The podcasting space offers marketers a unique business proposition: instant access to engaged, loyal audiences who often complete full-show podcast audio content, including listening to the embedded advertisement in its entirety.  

Integrating an an advertiser’s message into a podcast requires different skills and strategies than traditional over-the-air advertising.  At Futuri Media, a global leader in SaaS Technology for broadcast media and digital publishers, we have the tools and expertise to help with our revolutionary POST content management system, and our Futuri Ad Network offers three options to monetize your on-demand content, which are tailored just for your operation’s needs.

POST makes podcasts simple to create, distribute, and monetize.

Futuri’s innovative POST platform is a destination for podcast creation, distribution, and monetization. In less than two minutes, a producer can take original or OTA (over-the-air) content, edit and merge sections of audio, and distribute to any digital, social or RSS platform they desire. In addition, with the seamless ad insertion technology only POST offers, pre-mid-and post-roll audio is instantly embedded within each podcast with a live dashboard to track engagement metrics for immediate ROI to the advertiser.

Using an intelligent, real-time technology, POST provides a in-studio touchscreen making it simple for show hosts and producers to grab portions of broadcasts, in-studio interviews, and performances, and instantly transform them into snackable short audio content or long-form podcasts.

“POST is extremely flexible for editing and including OTA or original content,” said Sophie Fry, Futuri’s SVP, Sales. “With POST, we can help broadcasters create, edit, craft, and distribute whatever programming content and advertiser sponsorship platforms the station desires.”

Monetizing On-Demand Audio

As broadcasters double-down on podcasting, they’re eager to develop advertising opportunities. Both local and national brands are interesting in podcast sponsorships, creating a new revenue line for stations. To execute, local broadcasters need resources to manage ad sales, allowing sellers to focus on developing new business and educating clients. To help, Futuri Media offers three options that leverage the power Futuri Ad Network’s national ad sales platform and simplify on-demand ad sales.

One-Stop Service: Our team can handle all your digital sales needs, including selling the audio and video pre-roll and mid-roll inventory and paying publishers their share of network ad revenue.

Managed advertising operations: We work together to manage and develop your sales efforts. With this hybrid model, stations can submit pre-roll and mid-roll insertion orders, and those always get first priority. Futuri manages start orders are managed for the station, which reduces your workload. And any unsold inventory is sold through the Futuri Ad Network.

Self-serve advertising operations: Broadcasters can sell and traffic all of their inventory directly, but we still offer our support.

“The Futuri Ad Network provides flexible, turnkey options for broadcasters to generate digital revenue with their existing content, no matter how they’re staffed or what their immediate needs are,” explained Futuri Media CEO Daniel Anstandig.

Developing Fresh Advertising Models

Along with different ad sales operations, broadcasters are also tackling a variety of advertising strategies according to POST product manager Clint Marsh.

“Host-read ads are the most popular and most effective form of podcast advertising.  As stations experiment, there are many other options from fully produced short-duration ads, client reads, 10-second audio messaging, to long-form to air as pre-mid-or post roll content,” said Marsh.

As with traditional radio advertising, clients come to expect return on investment from podcasting. With the POST system, dynamic ad insertion capabilities are built-in to easily plug in pre-mid and post-roll audio messaging at varying lengths. To measure results, POST’s real-time analytics dashboard provides live metrics to track audience engagement from listens, to length of engagement, and number of unique downloads from various distribution channels.

“The podcasting audience is a passionate, loyal consumer. Messaging from an ad standpoint needs to speak to them uniquely, and we need to be able to showcase to our client our performance in real-time. POST provides not only the environment to create great podcasts, but provides multiple distribution platforms so advertisers can be a part of the podcast revolution today and see real ROI tomorrow,” said Fry.