What to expect from this year’s IAB Podcast Upfront

NewFronts are behind us. Upfronts season looms. But before the TV networks make their annual pitches to advertisers, podcast companies will do the same Thursday at the IAB’s Podcast Upfront.

This year’s agenda includes big names like Emily Ratajkowski, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Conan O’Brien. Still, even the glitzy, star-studded TV and streaming upfronts presentations don’t always make an impact on advertisers and media buyers.

Some podcast network execs told us they’re not expecting a big boost in deals stemming from the event. Nevertheless, they acknowledged it can have value.

While advertising revenue within the sector has grown in recent years, the podcast industry as a whole has been in a state of flux as of late. As YouTube tries to court podcasts, Spotify is in the midst of changing its podcasting strategy, all while some wonder if the sector’s rapid growth has come to an end.

With all that in mind, here’s what to expect from this year’s podcast presentations.

Who’s who

Amazon’s Wondery, iHeartPodcasts, NPR, Paramount, the Wall Street Journal, Acast, Sony Music’s podcast division, WNYC Studios, and SXM Media are among the presenters.

NPR will be homing in on several different topics, according to Gina Garrubbo, CEO of NPM, NPR’s sponsorship division:

• NPR’s “50 year heritage in audio journalism and storytelling;”
• Its emphasis on developing “homegrown” podcasts as opposed to acquiring preexisting ones;
• Listener trust in the brand;
• And its roster of daily podcasts, which Garrubbo said advertisers “really appreciate” because it gives them a way to “be plugged into people’s daily routines.”

Soundrise, which helps PRX and other “independent, mission-driven organizations” monetize their podcasts, wants to meet with brands that are looking to forge an “authentic connection:” AKA “the right kinds of brands, and people that would look a little deeper than just…trying to buy an impression at a cheap CPM,” CEO Harry Clark said.

Soundrise’s presentation will feature speakers including Kelsey McKinney of Normal Gossip and Rick Wilson of The Lincoln Project and The Enemies List. It will also spotlight networks like Headspace Studios, which is making its shows available to advertisers for the first time, according to Clark.

SXM Media is leveraging a bit of star power, from relatively new podcast host Kelly Ripa to veterans like Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers and Pod Save the People’s DeRay Mckesson. Lizzie Widhelm, SVP of B2B marketing and ad innovation, said she hopes buyers walk away thinking, “I very much understand how I can activate against this moment, in this medium, at this time, with the biggest partner in the space.”

Acast is taking a more data-focused approach:

• The company conducted research using Podchaser, the podcast database it acquired last year, and found 44% of all podcast investments in the US are concentrated with the top 500 shows. That leads to “inflated CPMs” and high ad loads on those shows, according to US Director of Sales and Brand Partnerships Christiana Brenton.
• Acast will be pitching its first-party data tool as a way for advertisers to plan campaigns based more on audience than show, incorporating a case study with Orangetheory, Brenton said.

Wondery plans to convey its efforts around “extending into fandom beyond the podcast” (shows including Dr. Death and The Shrink Next Door have been adapted for streaming) and its video podcast strategy, according to Angie More, who joined as head of podcast ad revenue from Spotify in February.

Who cares

Agencies including Mediahub, Right Side Up, and Ad Results Media will be represented, buyers told Marketing Brew. But others are opting out. Glenn Rubenstein, founder of podcast ad agency Adopter Media, said he’s not planning on going this year.

“I went to the first few upfronts, and it seemed like the idea behind them was to reach these elusive, major brand media buyers and more traditional advertising agencies that have been reluctant to jump into podcasting thus far,” he said. “A lot of these networks might as well just get on the stage and start screaming and pleading, ‘Why won’t you love me?’”

Brenton said she has geared her presentation toward the “major holding companies” and CMOs in particular. Since the Acast sales team is regularly talking with agencies, she said she doesn’t notice a major difference in sales around industry events, but that they’re good for networking and gathering insight into competitors.

Similarly, Widhelm said she hopes to make an impression with “upper funnel” decision-makers who have the power to allocate spend toward podcasting. Garrubbo said NPR “always sees great results” after the Podcast Upfront.