Spotify Unveils Clickable Podcast Ads

A new podcast advertising format from the audio platform Spotify hopes to make hard-to-remember vanity URLs a relic of the past. The new feature, called a Call to Action card, offers a visual, clickable accompaniment to the audio ads that punctuate podcasts. The cards not only appear during the ad read itself; they also linger as an interstitial ad on the podcast page, the episode page and the now playing view when the episode is playing. The cards will live on those surfaces for seven days or until the campaign ends, said Jay Richman, the vice president and global head of advertising business and platform at Spotify. “In podcast advertising, where the listener experience has been defined by hosts repeating coupon codes ad nauseam or spelling out overly long website addresses with unique tracking codes in hopes that we can remember at all, this is a huge innovation,” Richman said. “I think of the breakthrough as the equivalent of being able to see a personalized ad in a print magazine and being able to click directly on them.” The new development follows on a year of massive investment by Spotify in its podcasting show roster and ad technology, which has lagged behind digital ad tech in its capabilities. The audio platform says that its early testing has shown the CTA cards yield a two-fold increase in site visits compared to non-clickable podcast ads. Podcasting ad spend is expected to reach $1.74 billion this year, according to eMarketer, with splashy acquisitions spurring more interest. But audience—and ad-buying—fragmentation is a growing challenge. Longevity makes Spotify’s CTA Cards unique The CTA cards are powered by Spotify’s Streaming Ad Insertion technology, and advertisers can customize the language and visuals of the cards. They will be included as added value to an advertiser’s campaign and will be automatically applied unless otherwise specified. The cards will linger in relevant surfaces for up to a week, making it easier for listeners to explore a particular offering without having to remember a company name or coupon code. If the user is looking at their phone during the advertisement, the CTA cards will present a visual in place of the podcast artwork. The platforms Pandora and iHeart offer similar services, though the key difference will be the length of time the ads linger on the Spotify network, said Bryan Barletta, creator of Sounds Profitable, a newsletter about podcast ad technology. “The big standout is the fact that for seven days or until the campaign ends the ad is associated with both that episode and that show,” Barletta said. “That gives it additional exposure, which is really important because most people are not listening with their phone actively on them.” The buyer perspective The new technology and the ease it brings to the clickthrough process are immediately appealing, but marketers will likely need to see definitive case studies before shifting their ad spend significantly, said Patty Mertes, vp of media at Ad Results Media. The strength of podcast advertising lies in the intimate connection between host and listener, so host-read advertisements are still the superpower of the medium, Mertes said. But the CTA cards create additional opportunities for interactivity, going beyond the listen and giving consumers another way to engage with the advertisement. Additionally, in lingering on the app for up to a week, the CTA cards also introduce visual advertisements to the Spotify experience, a potential point of concern for premium users who have paid for an ad-free experience. The ads are subtle and live only in spaces related to the podcast they appeared on, but user reaction to the shift could play an important factor. “The cards are a ‘nice-to-have’ for right now, and after we see a post-campaign summary and understand what happened, whether or not it drove incrementality, then we might consider moving ad dollars from one channel to another,” Mertes said. Are You Ready to Get Serious About Attention?

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Spotify Unveils Clickable Podcast Ads With Its Call to Action Card

The new ad format aims to streamline site visits

Mark Stenberg

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