Podcasting’s top 15 advertisers spent more in October than in September, according to Magellan AI. Their research shows six of the top 10 advertisers increased their investments in podcast advertising, including perennial top 10 brands Better Health, HelloFresh and DraftKings.
The combined spend of the top 15 was $48.47 million, up 3.5% from September. Six of the top 15 advertisers made their largest push in the comedy genre, while another six advertisers preferred the Spots category, according to Magellan AI. The third most popular genre in October was Society & Culture.
Magellan AI analyzes podcast advertising data from the top 3,000 podcasts in the U.S., as ranked by Apple Podcasts. Magellan AI’s proprietary model is used to estimate advertising spend. It includes factors such as the number of ads and variation in ad load detected for a given episode, number of downloads for each episode, and estimated CPMs as reported in select media kits and estimated based on popularity.
DropApp Drops Out
DropApp may have decided in advance to do a quick hit when they spent over $1 million on podcast ads last month. They spent nothing in August or in October. Drop is a rewards app that allows you to earn points when you shop at some of your favorite stores, or complete other microtasks, such as taking online surveys or playing games. Also absent from the top 15 in October is Peloton.
But some brands made significant investments in podcasting in October. Kia increased their spending 1023% to $289,000, and Amtrak allocated $267,000 in October, a huge increase from the $1,000 spent in September.
A brand new to Movers and Shakers is Plunge, described as a cutting-edge and accessible direct-to-consumer cold plunge wellness solution. For the first time, Plunge spent $167,000 on podcast ads in October.