Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, today released the results of a first-of-its kind industry study which surveyed the knowledge and feelings of US marketers about programmatic advertising in podcasting. According to the research, only 42% of US marketers said they have a detailed understanding of programmatic advertising, yet nearly 60% have bought ads programmatically before.  

The study, which Acast conducted in order to understand the sentiment and overall knowledge that US marketers and advertisers have towards programmatic advertising, revealed that just 39% of respondents could correctly define programmatic ad buying. Despite these misconceptions, respondents said they expect the share of podcast advertising bought programmatically to nearly triple by 2027.  

“Podcast advertising and programmatic ad buying are in this moment of simultaneous, rapid growth, yet there are still so many myths and misunderstandings about both held by media buyers,” said Global Head of Ad Innovation at Acast Elli Dimitroulakos. “As the first study that looks specifically at programmatic ad buying in podcasting, this research enables Acast to better meet the needs of advertisers by first understanding – and filling – the knowledge gaps that are so prevalent in the industry.”  

When it came to advertising as a whole, the research found marketers remain confident in the continued growth of podcasting. According to the study, podcasts rank most effective with marketers for accurate targeting, reaching mentally engaged consumers, sustainability, and unduplicated reach. As US marketers prepare for the death of the cookie next year, only 3% expect podcasts to be most negatively impacted, compared to the nearly 70% who expect social media to be most hurt by this shift.  

Marketers also see room for growth in podcast advertising, with 84% of respondents saying that podcasts currently have low ad loads, which was higher than all other tested mediums.  While 65% of respondents expect to increase their marketing spend on podcasts, when considering marketers who have previously purchased podcast ads, 83% expect to increase their spend on the medium year-on-year. Interestingly, more than half of marketers prefer to book advertising campaigns through self-service tools.  

Looking ahead, as macroeconomic uncertainty continues to impact marketing budgets, 54% respondents to this study said that better reporting is the key solution to driving their increased investments in programmatic advertising.  

As the global pioneer in podcast advertising, Acast knows that reporting is integral to understanding the effectiveness of each campaign. As such, Acast partners with leading third party measurement and attribution platforms including Podsights, Charitable, Nielsen, KANTAR, Claritas, ArtsAI, Veritone and others to offer a full suite of measurement tools that can be catered to any media objectives. Additionally, Acast works with more than 2,400 advertisers each year including  major brands such as Amazon, State Farm, Macy’s, Ikea, Klarna, Ulta Beauty, and more.  

To learn more about Acast’s programmatic and podcast advertising offerings, please reach out to [email protected].  

Research Methodology

To conduct the research, Acast ran a study with N=500 marketers/advertisers in the US with a third party research body (Attest). The research was conducted from December 5th to 21st 2022.    

Respondents chosen for the study had to be able to correctly select the definition of programmatic buying from a list of marketing terms. Interestingly, only 39% of marketers selected the correct definition and were allowed to continue with the study, further indicating the education gap this report serves to address.