Podcast ad revenue increased during the second quarter, and so did ad loads. Magellan AI estimates total podcast ad spending jumped 22% during the quarter compared to a year earlier. And while it does not release a dollar figure, Magellan says there were 1,516 brands advertising on podcasts for the first time during the second quarter, a 1.9% increase over Q1.
“April’s spend saw a healthy jump over the Q1 average, steadily tapering through the end of the quarter,” Magellan says in its quarterly podcast advertising benchmark report. It says ad spending not only increased year-to-year, but it also climbed 7% between the first and second quarters.
The top advertiser in Q2 was BetterHelp, which spent $22.4 million. Amazon ranked second, spending $13.5 million, followed by Shopify, which invested $10.1 million in the medium. The top ten also included one new entrant – Mint Mobile – which was the fourth largest spender, at $7.9 million.
Overall, Magellan says the top ten advertisers during Q2 spent an estimated $94 million, which was $94 million less than what the top ten spent during Q1. It indicates the gains in ad spending came from a more diverse list of brands. The industries that had the most growth included gaming, which more than tripled spending between first and second quarters with brands like Monopoly Go, Senua’s Saga, and New York Times Games topping the list. Other big increases were seen among jewelry, eyewear, real estate, and travel advertisers.
“In Q2, direct response made up 44% of overall spend in the market, with brand awareness at 54% and tune-in at 2%,” the report says. It says brand awareness ads averaged 15% above what was spent each month a year ago, while direct response ads were off one percent versus last year.
It was not just spending that was on the rise during Q2. So were ad loads, continuing a trend that began last year. Magellan says average ad loads across 101,628 episodes sampled increased five percent between the first and second quarters. Among its sample, 9.11% of episode time went to advertising during Q2 compared to 8.69% in Q1. And ad loads jumped 53% versus a year ago when 5.95% of episode time went to ads.
Among the major genres examined, Magellan says all categories had increased average ad loads. Not only are brand advertisers filling up show avails. So is cross-podcast promotion. Magellan says pod-on-pod promotions jumped to 7.25% of episode time on True Crime shows. It means that when combined with traditional time, nearly 20% of episode time on True Crime shows it reviewed was advertising, not content. Other genres with high ad loads included Society & Culture (12.88%), Education (9.43%), TV & Film (8.4%), and Kids & Family (8.23%).
The most common episode length for shows during second quarter was 30 to 60 minutes, with four in ten of the episodes Magellan examined falling into that group. It points out True Crime shows that ran 15 minutes or less had an average ad load of 55% in Q2.
Magellan AI’s quarterly analysis shows that despite efforts to spread ad dollars deeper into the medium, ad buyers continue to focus heavily on the top podcast. During Q2, it says an estimated $4.70 of every $10 spent on podcast advertising went to a top 500 show. That is a slight dip from Q1. And advertisers spent an average of $252,000 per month on podcasts in the top 500 versus a $30,000 average for shows ranked 501 to 3,000.
The medium does continue to attract new brands, however. Magellan says it detected 1,516 new brands advertising for the first time during Q2. “Sports continued to be the most popular genre for new brands to run on in Q2,” the report says. “About one of every five new brands included Sports podcasts in their media plan.” Other big destinations for newcomers were genres including News, Comedy, Business, and Society & Culture.
Magellan AI says 40% of ads run during Q2 were 30 seconds, making that length the most popular pick among advertisers. Another 9% of ads were 15 seconds, while 19% were a minute in length. A majority (53%) of ads ran in the midroll position, with 27% running before the episode began. The other 18% ran at the end of the episode.
Download a copy of Magellan AI’s Quarterly Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report HERE.
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