Spotify Unveils Streaming Ad Insertion Tool

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) took place in Las Vegas last week, announcing new products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry. Spotify had an announcement that was particularly valuable to us media buyers – the unveiling of Spotify Podcast Ads and its accompanying Streaming Ad Insertion (SAI) tool.

Podcast advertising has historically lagged in its ability to strategically target particular audiences and provide measurement afterwards, but Spotify is striving to change this. The capabilities of SAI will allow advertisers to access real-time data on their campaigns, which will include “how many listeners heard the ad, how many times listeners heard the ad, and certain anonymized information about the audience like age, gender, location, musical tastes and preferences, and the kind of device being used” ( The Motley Fool).

The introduction of Spotify Podcast Ads and SAI will make Spotify the single biggest podcasting platform, putting them ahead of the former leader, Apple Podcasts.

So what does this mean for your media plan? While Spotify’s announcement makes it seem that all advertisers should have a presence in this space, it’s important to evaluate each brand and campaign individually to ensure it’s a proper fit for the message:

·         Is your audience listening to podcasts? While it may seem that everyone is tuning in, only 32% of Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month (source).

·         Does your message fit the context of the program? Looking to advertise your BBQ joint on a local foodies podcast? Great! Just check the content of the program to ensure that vegan or vegetarian lifestyles aren’t the subjects of the day.

·         Define your KPI expectations. With this new ability to measure podcast performance, make sure your KPIs are defined ahead of time. You’ll want to fully measure the success of your campaign in order to evaluate if podcasting is a medium you’d like to continue with.

We are excited to start evaluating our campaigns using SAI and look forward to the insights it will provide to our podcast campaigns!