Since Apple began cracking down on data sharing in 2021 in the name of consumer privacy, targeted advertising has become increasingly difficult for direct-to-consumer brands that once relied on that data to target consumers. Now, many of these brands are rethinking how to make other forms of media, such as podcasts, work harder for them.

More DTC brands are experimenting with buying podcast ads programmatically to better access those audiences, according to representatives for podcast networks such as Vox Media, Acast and Betches. Acast estimated that as of September, spending on programmatic ads from DTC brands in the U.S. doubled compared with the previous year (the company did not share specific dollar amounts). The uptick follows a prediction from the Interactive Advertising Bureau in 2022 that programmatic podcast buying would increase for all types of brands as they seek contextual audience targeting.

But DTC brands interviewed by Ad Age reported mixed results when buying programmatic podcast ads across a variety of networks. Some brands, such as Wisp, Orangetheory and Mint Mobile, said that the trials went well, while others including ThirdLove, Manscaped and BetterHelp said programmatic podcast advertising did not always produce the intended results. (In podcast advertising, the word “programmatic” generally refers to ads that are produced in advance and dynamically inserted into audio. These ads are typically not voiced by podcast hosts.)

Wisp, which sells sexual wellness and reproductive products and services, first started experimenting with programmatic podcast ads in 2021 before adding the format to its marketing budget about a year ago, said Jennifer Dwork, Wisp’s VP of brand marketing. 

Since then, Dwork has found that programmatic podcast ads offer more flexibility than traditional host-read podcast ads.

Because programmatic ads are dynamically inserted and not an actual part of the podcast—and because the host isn’t the one recording them—it’s easier to go in and edit a part of the podcast ad creative that isn’t working well, or adjust accordingly if the ad is working better on some podcasts than it is others, she said.

Dwork equated the channel to display advertising or “other lower funnel channels” due to how easy it is to optimize the creative according to performance. “You’re able to do network buys and run multiple variations of creative across multiple networks, and then optimize, so we are able to see more of a strong direct ROI tied to those buys,” she said. 

The other advantage of programmatic ads is that they are generally cheaper—they typically run for between a third and a quarter of the price of a host-read ad, according to Kit Gray, president and co-founder of podcast network PodcastOne.

Also read: Podcasters’ impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions

But what brands might gain in flexibility and price, they can lose in authenticity. Programmatic ads are never going to be as impactful as host-read podcast ads, Gray said. “When you get a host that you’re listening to to use your product, talk about it in a way that relates to their audience … it’s going to be much more effective than a pre-produced spot,” he said. 

Men’s grooming brand Manscaped has been testing programmatic podcast ads for the past few years, but found that they “don’t come close to having the same impact as a host-read podcast ad read,” said Marketing VP Joey Kovac. 

Undergarments brand ThirdLove also favors host-read ads because they bring a greater level of authenticity to a more engaged audience, said Jamie Zimmerman, the brand’s director of paid media marketing. Although the brand has currently paused all podcast ads as it tests a shift in strategy, when it returns, it will “continue to leverage a majority of host-read spots” in order to build trust with its community, as well as podcast hosts themselves, she said. 

Part of the appeal of host-read ads is having a trusted voice that the listener is familiar with promoting a brand. Programmatic ads, on the other hand, are often read by voice actors whom the listeners may not be familiar with. Mint Mobile worked around this problem by having its founder, actor Ryan Reynolds, read its programmatic ads. 

As a result, the listener was still hearing a voice they were familiar with, even if the message was delivered programmatically. Aron North, chief marketing officer at Mint Mobile, said that having the famous actor read the ads “100% has an impact” on their positive performance. 

“Ryan adds a high degree of credibility,” North added.