Podcast fans may not like having ads mixed in with what they signed up to listen to, but Irish listeners are going to be exposed to more of them now that digital sales agency i-Believe has inked a deal with Acast which will allow it recruit advertisers to Acast’s services.
Acast says its platform “connects audio makers with the financial support they need to create their content while delivering the audiences advertisers want”. It is used by media brands including the the Financial Times, the Guardian and VICE, and hosts podcasters such as My Dad Wrote A Porno, Blindboy and Adam Buxton.
Last May the company was chosen by the BBC as its commercial partner to help build audiences for all BBC podcasts and audio outside the UK, the first time that the BBC has allowed advertising into its podcast library.
The platform hosts almost 3,000 audio shows globally, and in Ireland its reach extends to 3.5 million ‘listens’ per month. The company says advertisers can choose from “pre, mid and post roll advertising, to show sponsorships incorporating host reads. Targeting can be based on context, audience and interests, and genre as well as being show-specific”.
i-Believe describes its business as working with “publishers and platforms to bring their online audiences and advertising technologies to market in Ireland”.
In Association with
The company says that the most popular podcasts here on which advertising will be available as a result of the new partnership include BBC podcasts, the Economist podcasts, Financial Times podcasts, and Guardian Football Weekly, plus independent podcasts such as Blindboy, My Dad Wrote A Porno, The Football Ramble, The HighLow, and Adam Buxton.
Acast chief executive Ross Adams said: “Advertisers find podcasts so effective as a medium due to the uniquely intimate way listeners interact with our content. Both our own research as well as industry studies show that consumers are far more likely to engage with podcast advertising compared to other channels, with our recent study finding that 76% of listeners in the UK have acted on a podcast brand message they’ve heard.”
i-Believe director Lee Thompson (pictured) added: ““The scale, content, quality environment and ability to help advertisers reach ‘the unreachables’ in a personal and engaging way is what is driving advertiser demand.”
