Spotify is working with Integral Ad Science to establish brand safety standards for podcast advertisers as the space becomes more cluttered and demand grows. The goal is to create a third-party brand safety and suitability reporting tool to bring more transparency and confidence to podcast advertising.
“We know that podcasts work, and now what we need are brands and agencies to feel fully comfortable with their investment and their continued increased investment,” said Julie Clark, head of advertising revenue innovation at Spotify.
UM Worldwide will be the first media agency to test the offering and will be part of the learning and development process. “The challenge with podcasting, like a lot of the media sector, there’s been a lot of growth and brand safety and stability controls have been absent,” said Joshua Lowcock, global chief media officer at UM Worldwide.
Podcast listenership and awareness have boomed in recent years, with about 62% of Americans having listened to an audio podcast as of 2021, according to Statista. This number is expected to increase by 20 million listeners each year. Podcast ad revenue has skyrocketed in the U.S., surpassing $1 billion in 2021, and is forecasted to almost triple by 2024, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, an industry trade body.