Programmatic audio is booming, yet still misunderstood. From podcasting to streaming, this session breaks down how brands and agencies can unlock the full potential of audio advertising especially through a programmatic lens. Hear from both supply and demand-side experts on what’s holding audio back, how to overcome barriers, and why now is the time to get serious about this rapidly growing channel.
Adam Friedland (comedian, host of The Adam Friedland Show), Oxford Road and Chime discuss the evolution of podcast sponsorships an how creators and brands can work together creatively to achieve greater results.
Podcasting isn’t just having a moment – it’s becoming the proving ground for advertising’s next era. With 5x the ROI of traditional media, unmatched brand recall, and a built-in trust dynamic, audio remains one of the most underleveraged growth engines in an advertiser’s toolkit.
Now in its high-growth “teenage” phase, podcasting stands as the ultimate form of authentic storytelling for audiences, creators and advertisers alike. It’s no longer just participating in the media revolution – it’s driving it. Join Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, to explore the forces propelling this nascent industry, from influential voices to omnichannel creator opportunities. This is a bold reality check on why and how brands need to unlock the most valuable media real estate to get ahead.
Join Brent Lightfoot of iHeartMedia and Jim Ballas of Magellan AI as they explore how attribution advances are elevating podcast, streaming, and broadcast radio measurement to the same level as display, digital video, and CTV. This panel will show how multi-touch and cross-channel tools capture audio’s full impact, provide brands and agencies with accountable insights, and illustrate how it fits into the broader media mix.
As podcast advertising fragments across short-form daily updates, longform discussions, audio-first experiences, and YouTube-native video, brands need sophisticated strategies for each format. This panel brings together industry leaders to decode the host endorsement vs. non-endorsed landscape across every platform. Not all podcast formats-or host reads-are created equal. We’ll reveal what’s working for advertisers now and what’s coming next.
For advertisers, cultural credibility can be the difference between good placement and wasted spend. Podcast awards like the Signal Awards are increasingly shaping perceptions of what content deserves premium pricing and partnership.
For advertisers aiming to connect with diverse audiences- locally, nationally, and internationally. Ad strategies often overlook what makes audio unique: its power to cross cultures and borders. This panel explores how brands can scale campaigns across regions without losing impact. Learn how to adapt creative for local nuance, reach multicultural and diaspora audiences, and measure success globally.
Podcast advertising isn’t complicated – but most brands overthink it. In this session, hear how Ollie’s CMO Allison Stadd leveraged podcasts as a growth strategy, alongside insights from Adam McNeil (ADOPTER), Matt Bahr (Fairing), and Matt Drengler (Podscribe). Learn why podcasting works, how to launch and scale effectively, and how to measure ROI with confidence. Walk away with data, strategies, and actionable steps to grow your brand through this channel.
The 2024 presidential election was called “the Podcast Election” because of the candidates’ engagement with the medium and the perceived impact on the outcome. But do podcasts really influence voters? Voxtopica and Signal Hill Insights provide the first look at a study revealing what registered voters who listen to podcasts think of shows, candidates, and advertising fueling political conversation in podcasting. Advertisers, buyers, and publishers will get the inside scoop on maximizing the opportunities with this audience.
Sports audio is surging, and podcasts sit at the heart of fan engagement, storytelling, and brand partnerships. This panel brings together leaders across the industry to explore the evolving landscape of sports podcasts and the opportunities they create for creators, networks, and advertisers.
“In 2025, Latino purchasing power soared to $4.1 trillion, and Latinos will make up to 30% of the US population by 2050. Yet brands and media companies often struggle to reach the sector, which contains huge diversity in terms of national origin, cultural references, language preference and many other factors. In this panel, podcast executives and creators will talk about what has worked and what hasn’t in their quests to build media brands that speak to Latino audiences.”
Join Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster has he walks attendees through the very latest in advertising effectiveness research on podcasting, focusing on trust, attention and effectiveness. Podcasting plays a very important role in a media buy that few other channels can replace, and Tom has the data to show you why.
Host-reads are powerful, but are you maximizing their impact? This panel will reveal the keys to scaling the ROI and value of host-read ads with help from audio investment experts and media industry leaders.
Join us for a fast-paced discussion of the research highlights behind our new multi-market podcast study. We will unpack where spend and consumption diverge, which markets are under-monetized, and what the real podcast audience looks like by age and gender. We will also cover why contextual targeting dominates, how to use market-specific personas to plan with precision, and where brand suitability filters risk limiting reach to highly engaged communities.
Local podcasts are powerful platforms for brands to build trust where it matters most, close to home. This panel will explore the art of securing and retaining local sponsors: from finding the right partners and setting smart ad rates to proving ROI and scaling success. Learn how creators and advertisers turn community connection into long-term sponsorship wins. We’ll share a roadmap that will unlock the full potential of local podcast advertising, whether you’re on the brand side or the sell side.
With the top 10% of U.S. households fueling more than half of consumer spending, advertisers need smart ways to reach this influential group. In today’s economic climate, it’s more important than ever to identify audiences that have real impact.
“The lines between podcasters, influencers, and brands are blurring fast.
Podcasters are building 360° media companies while brands are creating in-house production studios.
Zoe Oz (Co-Founder and CMO, Bilt) and Trevor Baruh (Founder, The 3050 Co) discuss how to win and stay ahead in this new environment.”
Pixel-based attribution often devolves into a game of claiming credit, obscuring the real drivers of performance. This session reveals how incrementality cuts through the noise by mathematically proving impact and lift. Discover how marketers can move past surface-level metrics to validate ROI, optimize spend, and unlock audio’s true potential.
With more marketing channels than ever, choosing where to invest is critical. This panel will share a framework to evaluate your options, align with your goals, and run scalable experiments that drive long-term strategy.
Clipping short-form video has become the backbone of discovery in the creator economy. In this session, we’ll trace its meteoric rise-from underground Discord communities to mainstream adoption-and unpack how brands are now harnessing creators and the art of ‘clipping’ to capture attention at scale.