Andre Woolery

A busy morning in the podcast world as the IAB has released the 2023 podcast advertising study & iHeartMedia reported Q1 earnings. Let's dive in! First: IAB The headlines are simple: - Podcast ad revenue grew by 5% in '23, just shy of $2b (US). Yes, this is slower growth than we have seen previously (I can hear those misinformed headlines being typed as we speak!). If you look at the major players and their quarterly earnings over the last year, they all saw growth. So, what slowed down overall revenue? Simply, it was the middle & lower tier of podcasting. Brand dollars went to Spotify, iHeartMedia, SiriusXM, etc., increasing the delta between those platforms & the independent publisher. - But wait, there's more... Podcast revenue is projected to more than double its 2023 ad revenue growth rate in 2024 and is tracking to a total spend of $2.6b by 2026. So what does this mean? This means that podcasting remains very healthy and the best revenue growth opportunity in digital media for the foreseeable future. We're seeing increased revenue growth from all the big players, and those dollars do trickle down to the mid-tier, especially as they tap into existing marketplaces. All is good. https://lnkd.in/eCGxgnUs --- Now, onto iHeartMedia: Overall, the company made $799 million, down YoY by 1.5%. If you take out political revenue, they're down 2.5% (and the stock reflects that, down ≈31% today as of writing this... eesh). Their Digital Audio Group saw revenue of $239m, up 7%. Not bad! Thankfully, iHeart breaks out their podcast numbers, which were $91m, up 18%! If you remove podcast revenue, the digital group is only up 1%. So, like with SiriusXM, we see podcast revenue as the tide raising all boats. So what does that mean? It's the same story as SXM: a declining business focused on radio that is desperately trying to grow its digital initiatives to offset losses from its bread and butter. And podcasting is the only digital venture that is working—and it's working well! But will it work quickly enough? That's a tough one. Podcasting now makes up 11.3% of the overall revenue, which is tremendous growth but needs to be bigger to offset the rest. So, what happens? While the company tries to grow digitally as quickly as possible, it is also creating quite a valuable asset that could be attractive to an outside buyer. $400-500m/yr in revenue with an extensive podcast network, ad marketplace, and technology could be quite the bundle for larger companies that have yet to enter the podcast space... 👀 Never a dull moment! --- I'm the CEO and founder of DWNLOAD Media, a fund focused on acquiring majority stakes in podcast companies. With continued audience and revenue growth, podcasting continues to be the most under-valued medium, making it time to invest in audio. If you're interested in investing in the podcast space, DM me! #podcasts #audio #investing #podcasting #iheart #radio

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🔥Deepfake summer 🔥 This summer is fast approaching - where GenAl capabilities are so good (particularly audio cloning and facial mapping), and the world is flooded with content, that it will be hard to tell real from fake. ✅ Brands need a proactive approach involving content credibility, brand monitoring and rapid response to prepare now for what's to come (#Gartner's TrustOps Model) 💲Creators need to prepare with new digital monetization strategies. Thanks to Trishla Ostwal at ADWEEK for a great conversation on this rising #Al Influencer Space. #CMO #GartnerMKTG #GenAI #InfluencerMarketing

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Our latest #AANHPI report, in collaboration with Gold House, highlights the shift in the conversation from community to industry as Bing Chen shares here. Check it out in his own words! And check out Nielsen for our latest report!

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https://lnkd.in/gSNGxFQp The Spencer Stuart annual CMO Tenure Study offers compelling insights into the evolving role and stability of CMOs, particularly noting the tenure stabilization at 4.2 years for Fortune 500 CMOs. It's intriguing that B2B CMOs tend to have longer tenures compared to their B2C counterparts, with 4.5 years versus 4.0 years respectively. This difference likely reflects the distinct challenges and market dynamics each sector faces. The study also highlights the increasing trend of CMOs taking on broader responsibilities and the significant number of first-time CMOs being promoted internally, suggesting a strong emphasis on leadership development and succession planning within organizations. It is great to see that women now represent half of Fortune 500 CMOs. I believe it's important now for companies to turn their attention to improving development and support systems for diverse high-potential leaders. #CMOtenure #B2BMarketing #Leadership #WomeninMarketing

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💡 #Brands Take note how the #NYPost mitigated #cookiepocalypse risk by using Aqfer's identity resolution tech, informed by Prohaska Consulting. In a post 3rd party cookie 🍪 world killer content and segmentation hooked to an adtech #frankenstack results in risk & loss. Pubs and brands need their own 1st party IDR systems to avoid fragmented customer views that result from multiple ID providers & other partners who are all hooked to each other in an attempt to create their own scale. This many-to-many-middlemen scenario has plagued adtech from the start. The result is redundancy, media waste, inconsistent customer experiences and inaccurate measurement. Think of Aqfer IDR like Data tech’s version of SPO 😉 #DPO, enabling clients like the NYPost, to get a single, deduplicated, omnichannel view of their customers. More here - https://lnkd.in/ggjDGWn5 https://lnkd.in/gTNURTu2

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TV right now is wall-to-wall "mid." But why? I think a lot of pieces right now are missing the true culprit. For example, this James Poniewozik piece does a fantastic job of laying out what exactly that looks like: all-star casts and highly-competent direction, but familiar and low-stakes. Like a fancy cheeseburger. He, like most pieces on the subject, pins it on the streaming business model. I think there's something else going on that's different about TV today versus when people were glued to The Wire, The Sopranos, or Twin Peaks that goes deeper than the underlying business model. It's our second screen. When I talk to friends about what they're watching, a lot admit they can't watch foreign language TV, or stuff that's too complex, because they have their phone or laptop open. We’ve relegated TV to comfortable background noise. The streaming model gives people what they want, but what they overwhelmingly want is comfortable and mid, not because that's where their tastes lie if something has 100% of their attention. It's because they are calibrating their TV taste to what works for 40% of their attention. I don't have a solution, but I'm pretty sure that's the cause. I don't think Hollywood has lost its spark or financiers have lost their taste for risk. We've lost our taste for stuff that requires our full attention.

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Over 2 million views for the Sundar Pichai CEO Google interview in just 11 days. Way to go Lauren Ellis and Bloomberg Originals The Circuit with Emily Chang. Click the picture below to see Emily interviewing the Google CEO on his 20th anniversary at Google. ⭐️ Check out the Google Campus ⭐️Hear about the future of AI ⭐️ How does Google feel about Microsoft ChatGPT? ⭐️ Was Gmail really launched on April 1-April Fools day? ⭐️ Does Sundar like coffee or tea? #AI, #Bloomberg #Google

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https://lnkd.in/eRsW6V_9 Must-have bundle indeed, and further reinforces the value of BrightLine's inter-operable CTV ad formats that work across both streamers - the only advanced ad experiences that advertisers can build and execute across both. #ctv #ctvadvertising #thestandard

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EdTech giant 2U's recent struggles reflect the shifting landscape of marketing and delivering online degrees and programs. Once valued at $5 billion, 2U is currently valued at $30 million and a staggering $900 million debt. This WSJ podcast highlights the company's journey, citing increased competition and changing university capabilities post-pandemic. Partnering with specialized providers ensures graduate programs the expertise and stability desired to deliver positive enrollment outcomes. #graduateadmissions #legalmasters

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Profound insights from Bozoma Saint John (ex Netflix and Apple CMO) on the future ahead with AI at a brilliant event hosted by Microsoft & Magnet Media, Inc. earlier in the week. - We all want to show up smart but not one of us is an expert in so we must all be deeply curious - AI will change the course of history so we must think consciously now about how we want that future to be shaped for future generations Yesterday Elon Musk spoke at the Palais in #CannesLions and shared his view that he believes there is a 4 out of 5 chance that AI in 5 years gives us all unthinkable abundance so we don’t know what to do with our spare time and a 1 out of 5 chance that it takes the world to a very dark place.. My own insights from the table I facilitated earlier in the week were: * If you launch a drug or new food a company must jump through regulatory hoops yet new AI can be shipped without any checks or balances today * AI can do good by removing the bad from the digital ad industry - fraud, misinformation, bad actors * AI gives the opportunity to create a better balance of work and play for our children * With great power comes great responsibility and there’s no established standard for now * Those with more data and more willingness to experiment will gain competitive advantage * AI will fundamentally change the creative process and agencies forever The thing about technology is that even if you’ve just missed the train that left the station, there’s always another train about to come in..whether that’s in 10 mins, 10 hours or 10 years and if you jump on that train faster than others, you get another chance to lead.. Strikes me that Microsoft Advertising is a great example of this as indeed is NVIDIA which this week became America’s most valuable company.. Theo Theodorou Ravleen Beeston Kya Sainsbury-Carter #Ai -#generariveAI

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🚀 Exciting Audio Case Study Alert! 🚀 I'm so thrilled to share the details of a 1st-of-it's-kind audio industry study driven by the teams at SiriusXM Media, Wavemaker US, and DoorDash! The campaign leveraged the sonic expertise of our #StudioResonate team who built tailored ads for both platforms and our study, in partnership with Claritas, revealed how combining #streaming audio and #podcasts boosts campaign reach and effectiveness for brands. *Spoiler Alert* Adding Podcasts drove 70% incremental reach to the streaming campaign while driving incremental actions from App Downloads to First Order Completes that wouldn't have otherwise happened! Learn more about the campaign, listen to the creative, get the results, and hear from the team here: https://lnkd.in/ezMmYmQH Thank you to Caitlyn Fuoco, Luna Catini, Evelyn Lopez Mendoza, Melissa Paris (Wright), and Victoria Beth Chow for your partnership on this campaign, for your innovative thinking, and continued support of 3P measurement in proving out the efficacy of #audio and the opportunity for #marketers! #MarketingStrategy #AudioAdvertising #PodcastAds #StreamingAudio #DigitalMarketing #CaseStudy #Pandora #SiriusXMPodcastNetwork #GroupM #Leadership #3PMeasurment #OpenEcosystem #CaseStudy #AudioIncrementality #PowerofAudio #Reach #IncrementalReach #ROI

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D.S. & DURGA, started by David and Kavi Moltz, is a high-end fragrance brand that plays with media in some very cool ways. First of all, they make music. An EP in 2019 (”Aromatic Landscapes”) and a single in 2024 for the release of Black Magenta, plus a curated playlist for every fragrance they make. But the crown’s jewel is Perfume Quest, a YouTube show about making perfume for interesting people. Each episode features a different scent, which is then sold on the brand’s website and through all other sales channels. Perfume Quest is entertainment, not advertising: the genuine, fun narrative and high production quality make it something worth watching, even if you’re not into D.S. & DURGA, and potentially even if you’re not into perfume in the first place. This is the same approach Liquid Death has taken to build up the fastest-growing CPG brand in history or that A24 has followed to build the first direct-to-consumer movie studio. Tom Garland and Christopher-Jacques Morency at edition+partners have explained this much better than I ever could in “The Next Big Bang,” their inaugural research report—which I strongly encourage you to check out. For the brand of the future, selling things is just one of a million possible entry points for the consumer. We’ll see (and, in fact, we are already seeing) brands that show up through services, content, and other forms of consumer engagement, all interweaved to tell the same story. At the end of the day, brands are brands—how they monetize is an implementation detail. #ecommerce #retail #dtc #marketing #branding

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The relentless march of advertising tech has spawned trends that keep turning the industry on its head. Over the past decade, we've seen a tectonic shift from the old-school ways to a world where programmatic ads and paid searches reign supreme. From hyper-targeted ads to AI-driven campaigns, the advertising landscape is evolving faster than ever. Read on for more: https://bit.ly/4ea1QIN #AdTech #DigitalMarketing #ProgrammaticAds #FutureOfAdvertising #Innovation #MarketingTrends #DigitalTransformation

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Excited to share my recent interview with Julian Druker on AMAKA! 🌍 In this interview, I share my insights on creator marketing, diversity representation, and the benefits of leveraging social platforms for brand collaborations. We delve into the unique challenges and opportunities faced by Pan-African creators in the global market, as well as the evolving of fashion and beauty marketing industries. You can watch the entire interview here: https://lnkd.in/dXgenmYH

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A great post from Cindy Gallop on why the make-up and governance of any AI Council or SteerCo must be carefully considered.. ..not just gender and ethnic representation but also representing different perspectives that combine both commercial, the customer and ethics.. ..shockingly and somewhat unsurprisingly Meta has got it wrong with an all white male crew. The future of AI can not be white and male - Zuck, Musk, Besos with their 💵’s are controlling the development right now.. ..thankfully Satya of Microsoft brings greater diversity and also the importance of empathy. It will be crucial to consider the origination of LLM’s and bias as businesses make decisions about which GenAi platforms to back and teach models on the back of their tech. It’s not just about whether your data is being used to inform their model, it’s whether the leadership and engineering team are representative of our society today.. #AI #GenAI

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Samba TV introduced new Samba AI capabilities today at our New Front presentation in New York. When we launched ACR 10+ years ago, we were able to answer some of the hardest questions about linear and streaming television. But that pales in comparison to what insights we can offer now. With #SambaAI, we are now entering the next generation of TV data + measurement. #NewFronts #IABNewFronts #Upfronts #SambaTVinsights #TVMeasurement

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This year's presidential election is set to disrupt the advertising landscape like never before. With consumer emotions already running high, digital advertisers are bracing for unprecedented challenges. My latest article on Forbes explores: 💰 The surge in political ad spending and its impact on competition, cost, and inventory 🌐 Shifts in consumer media consumption habits 🎯 Strategies to help your brand stay ahead of the game Prepare now to safeguard your brand and drive success through the election cycle. #DigitalAdvertising #ElectionYear #Marketing #BrandResilience #Media Forbes Agency Council

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A pragmatic approach that asks the industry to "reinforce the foundations of a digital advertising ecosystem that values authenticity and penalizes deceit." It's time to go back to the future and demand that advertising is placed alongside quality content.

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