Audio ad control isn’t game…until it is!! – The Short Stack
Caught between the longing for love and the struggle for the legal tender .... (Jackson Browne)
Friends,
Apart from their closest friends, partners, children, and maybe a few select family members, who do podcast publishers love more than their audiences?
Granted, when Jackson Browne sang the above in “The Pretender,” he probably wasn’t talking about podcast audiences, and not just because podcasts wouldn’t be invented for another 28 years. But you get the point: audio publishers love their listeners for all that listening and support. So when it comes to generating as much ad revenue as possible to keep that beloved content coming, podcasters have to be just as mindful of ensuring those ads “fit” the listening experience people love to keep that audience relationship strong.
What makes an ad appropriate – or not – for a specific podcast? Lots of things. Family-focused show? You should probably leave out the ad for ED medication. News-focused show that prides itself on being neutral and purely fact-based? Maybe the partisan attack ad stays behind the lines. Public radio podcast? Maybe the super-loud online gambling ad is off the table. Clean energy-focused show? Maybe a big-oil company ad doesn’t power up.
But then again, what if that big oil company is doing a big campaign for its new, more eco-friendly initiatives? In situations where the lines aren’t entirely clear, the answer is “it depends.” Some of those “green podcasters” could be fine with that ad (maybe in the spirit of “well at least big oil is trying”). Others could find that ad antithetical to what their show is about. The point is that each can make a choice based on what they know to be “right” for their podcast – a choice built from transparency, and activated by the ability to exert control easily.
That balancing act is at the heart of “Who let that ad through? The GAMESHOW!”, coming up at The Podcast Show London. Three of the best brains in the biz – Jenni Skaug of Audioboom, Jen Oon from DAX US, and Michael Bayston of Acast – will join me for what’s sure to be the best non-panel panel at the show. I’ll be playing the role of the account manager on the buy side, trying to get my ads on their 👆 podcasts.
Will my audio ads be a fit for their shows? Spoiler alert: the lines won’t be entirely clear. And that’s going to make for some fun – and revealing – exchanges.
See you at the Ask the Experts stage at 3pm on May 20!
Scott Klass , CMO 
The stunning 82% that currently use programmatic audio advertising is based on a just released March 2026 Advertiser Perceptions study of 301 advertisers and agencies commissioned by the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®.
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“I think that the greatest mistake that public media can make at this point is to continue to have so much unsold inventory. At this point, we need to look at every opportunity we can to maximize the stream … and to do it in a way that does reflect public media's values….”
Public Media Company director Carlos Barrionuevo kicked off our “virtual standing-room-only” webinar with Paragon Media and Buffalo Toronto Public Media, giving attendees a clear view of the opportunity before them. If you missed the event, you can watch the entire thing below.
Somehow, June is right around the corner. That means a lot of things, not the least of which is the annual Cannes Lions festival, coming on 22-26 June. This year, Stackers will not only be there, but our own Mike Reznick will be on the panel “Riches vs Niches: A discussion about the value of community in podcasting and where smaller shows can deliver big results.” Pack up that sunblock now.
Monday, June 22; 3:30-4pm. More details to come!