Is there a bigger disconnect between marketers and consumers than we initially thought? 

A recent iHeartMedia study exposes a growing divide between how marketers perceive their audience and how consumers actually experience media and advertising. 

The research reveals a striking statistic: nearly half of Americans — 44% — feel ignored by advertisers, indicating a significant disconnect that could have real consequences for brands. In fact, 72% of consumers say they are unwilling to buy from companies they feel are overlooking them, and 75% express a willingness to pay more for brands that align with their values. These insights challenge brands to reassess their strategies and find more meaningful ways to connect with their audience.

This disconnect, alongside a clear cultural divide in values — from religion and law enforcement to perceptions of luxury — highlights the urgent need for brands to bridge the gap between their strategies and consumers’ real-world preferences and behaviors.

“We marketers have more data at our fingertips than ever before, yet almost half of American consumers are feeling ignored,” said Gayle Troberman, CMO, iHeartMedia. “As marketers, we have to be careful not to let our personal perception guide our marketing decisions. This study lays out where our perception matches the marketplace and where there are major differences.”

Who Feels Ignored Across Geography, Race, and Income? 

While the bigger picture here is important – that stats say nearly half of consumers feel ignored – it’s also important to look at the minute details. Based on IHeartMedia’s study of consumers’ geography, race/ethnicity, and income, there are some startling stats. 

Geography:

• In suburban homes, about 40% of consumers fit in the ignored and non-ignored categories. 
• About 32% felt ignored in urban homes, and 38% fit in the non-ignored category. While more fit in the non-ignored category marketeers will still want to hit the other 32%. 
• In rural areas, 27% fit in the ignored category and 22% fit in the ignored. 

Race/Ethnicity: 

The race and ethnicity category is a bit more complex. While the stats show that 63% of white consumers fit in the ignored category, about 58% of white consumers fit in the non-ignored category. This is a stark difference in Black (22%), Hispanic (13%), and Asian (4%) consumers who fit in the non-ignored category. 

While it is no secret that multicultural audiences are often ignored and underrepresented in marketing strategies, it should still be an eye-opening statistic when the numbers are laid out plainly. These audiences hold massive amounts of influence, spending power, and essential data that marketers are ignoring. 

AdMonsters just covered this in our Spanish-language streaming article: experts expect Spanish speakers in the U.S. to grow to over 75 million by 2030 and projected Hispanic buying power in the U.S. to reach $1.9 trillion by the end of 2023.  But this is true for all diverse audiences. 

Income: 

When it comes to the ignored and non-ignored categories, most participants from a salary under $50,000 to a salary over $100,000 fit in the 40 – 50 % range. 

Personalization: The Creep Around the Corner 

Marketers love personalization. It helps them connect more closely with consumers and ensures that the ads that consumers engage with result in a final purchase. 

Research company Advertising Perceptions recently conducted a study showing that 82% of advertisers attributed 2023 revenue growth to customized ads. They further argued that, without personalized ads, one in five businesses would face closure or layoffs, and nearly half would need to raise prices. 

It’s no surprise that advertisers bank on personal ads for their business. However, many consumers feel personalized targeting is creepy, and I know marketers do not want audiences to equate them with creepiness. Ad tech is still fighting against this narrative. 

According to IHeartMedia’s study, 68% of consumers hated personalized advertising and are two times more likely to hate AI personalization. I know this puts a screw in most advertisers’ practices, but it is also important to listen to the consumer. 

Even further, the study reveals that this level of ad targeting may not be working as intended. Seven out of ten consumers claim digital ads are irrelevant despite targeting. Will this change the $9.5 billion that IHeartMedia projects marketers to spend on personalization and hyper-targeting in 2024? 

Consumer Values vs. Marketing Trends: Why the Disconnect Matters

There’s a significant gap between how consumers and marketers approach advertising, purchasing decisions, and values. A striking 44% of Americans feel ignored by both media and advertisers. Both groups must understand that most consumers prefer to support brands that align with their values. 

Unlike marketers who can swiftly make higher-value purchases, consumers take a more deliberate path to purchasing, often consulting family and saving up for weeks before making decisions on $100 purchases. 

The divide continues with contrasting preferences. While consumers enjoy activities like buying lottery tickets, marketers find them cringeworthy, and while marketers are enthusiastic about health trends, consumers remain skeptical. Furthermore, religion, law, and order are twice as important to consumers as to marketers. 

All these stats highlight that advertisers must meet consumers where they are. This could be the difference between further alienating your audience and bringing them into the fold.

The post How Can Marketers Bridge the Gap Between Their Goals and Consumers’ Needs? appeared first on AdMonsters.

How marketers think and how consumers think is completely different. That is why marketers must strategize and align their marketing and media plans with consumers’ wants and needs. This strategy is crucial to successful campaigns in an increasingly polarized post-COVID society.

During iHeartMedia’s AudioCon 2023, Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group, sat down with author and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell to examine this growing consumer marketing disconnect. They discussed the results of a Morning Consult and Advertiser Perceptions study that examines the growing divide between consumer values and behaviors and “marketing priorities.” 

Values is a loaded term; when we think of values, we think of the things we hold near and dear to our hearts. While marketers are consumers, we consume different things, so finding the right synergy with your marketing audience creates better outcomes.

“Consumers in America will say the military actually matters a lot to me, and so does freedom of speech and religion,” Byrne explained to a packed audience. “Much more so than marketers. For many people in this room today, it’s not that it doesn’t matter to us; it’s just it matters a lot more to the people we’re talking to every day in the marketing we do.”

As a seasoned professional, we know you know what you’re doing, but it’s safe to say you can’t just trust your gut and personal experiences when properly engaging with your consumers. Use real consumer data over personal biases. Speaking of real consumer data, see some of the findings from the report below and keep them at the forefront of your marketing.

The Disparities Between Marketers and Consumers

One drastic disparity between marketers and consumers is that marketers tend to emphasize shiny objects that consumers can care less about. For example:

• 33% of consumers reported that they’ve never heard of charcuterie, while ALL marketers are familiar with it.
• 62% of consumers have never heard of the show “Succession,” while less than 5% of marketers have never heard of “Succession.”
• 50% of consumers who responded had never heard of an Aperol Spritz, while only 3% of marketers reported unfamiliarity. 
• About ⅓ of consumers have never heard of pickleball, while all marketers surveyed have heard of it.

When it comes to spending priorities, if given $1,000, marketers reported that they would put that money towards booking flights, whereas consumers preferred to use that money to pay off bills and debt. In terms of electric vehicles, marketers are four times more likely than consumers to drive one. 

Perspectives for consumers and marketers were different across the board. Eighty percent of marketers reported their careers as a huge part of their identity, while only 42% of consumers agreed. Seventy-seven percent of marketers are optimistic about their finances, while only 54% of consumers are. When it comes to social media, giving up Instagram is twice as hard for marketers as it is for consumers. It’s twice as hard for consumers to let go of their favorite podcast. 

Marketers should keep these stats in mind, and stop trying to over-glorify things that your consumers don’t give an F about. They are most motivated by their family and friends, unlike marketers, who are inspired most by fortune, fame, and fear. The best marketing strategy of all: Know who you’re talking to.

Areas Where Marketers and Consumers See Eye-to-Eye 

For both groups, their biggest guilty pleasure and hardest habit to eliminate is snacking between meals. Everybody loves to eat, so that’s not surprising. One-third of both marketers and consumers think radio is “cool.” Both also agreed that they want to hear from real people, as the influencer thing is pretty much played out now. Marketers and consumers also agreed that if given an extra hour a day, they’d use it for sleep.

The takeaway from all of this is whether you’re a marketer or a consumer, we all live in bubbles. The uniqueness of a marketer’s job is to see through that bubble and understand how to engage with the person on the other side who may think and act a lot differently. This is only the first step in using the power of data to shore up your marketing plans , but, overall, the future of consumer-centric marketing is bright.  

The post Understanding the Gaps Between Marketers and Consumers in the Post-COVID Era appeared first on AdMonsters.

Advertisers and brands should keep podcasts as a promotion channel in their media plan because podcast ads are effective and memorable.

Traditionally, podcast monetization relied on host-read sponsorships: ads were baked into the show, effectively becoming part of the content forever. However, suppose a new FTC guideline — about endorsements reflecting the experience of the advertising party — gets approved. That would place more scrutiny on the definition of personal endorsements done by podcasters, similar to other media. 

The next evolution in podcast advertising was the ability to dynamically insert ads into the podcast, enabling more flexibility in planning and managing campaigns. However,  sales strategies remained largely the same: the publishers (or their sales arm) negotiated an insertion order with the advertisers (or their agencies). 

The Rise of Ad Trading in Podcasting

Programmatic advertising changes how agencies and independent trading desks trade ads: it uses computers to create efficient marketplaces where one or more bidders compete for a particular opportunity.  

Programmatic podcast advertising is gaining market share, and more and more publishers are interested in integrating it within their monetization strategy, dramatically increasing revenue generation. 

Old-school hosting platforms cannot trade programmatically, but now these efficiency features are available on the platforms that seriously invested in ad tech from the early days.  

In this article, we will explore the value chain of podcast monetization and how programmatic advertising has changed the game for publishers and advertisers alike. However, we all know that with opportunities come unique challenges, so let’s start with the difficulties. 

Publisher-side Challenges 

Coherent ads in line with content: This is easy from a direct sales approach.  But it is more of a challenge with programmatic buys at scale.

Finding a sponsor/brand/agency: Finding the right sponsor or brand to support content can be a significant challenge for publishers. With so many options, it can be difficult and lengthy for publishers to stand out and attract the right brand for their audience.

Running campaigns across inventory: Ad operation teams manage campaigns, but ensuring that a campaign runs smoothly across the entire inventory requires technical expertise and resources.

Renewing a sponsor or finding new ones: Sales ops is another challenge for publishers when it comes to advertising. Finding new sponsors and renewing existing relationships requires a dedicated sales team and a well-established process.

Reporting and doing make-goods: (If under-delivered) or giving inventory for free (if over-delivered). Ensuring that the right metrics and measurement solutions are in place and that the inventory is utilized effectively is essential for success.

Advertiser-side Challenges

Targeting capabilities (content and audience): On the demand side, finding the correct audience and delivering the right content can be difficult without the necessary data, tools, and resources. Especially today, where privacy and security laws are constantly getting more constringent. 

Brand safety & suitability: Ensuring brand-safe and suitable content is also challenging for demand side partners. This requires a strong understanding of the content itself and the audience.

Monitoring and Reporting on ROI: Finally, monitoring and reporting on ROI can be challenging for demand-side partners. To achieve success, it is important to have the right tools to monitor the correct metrics and ensure that the ROI is measured effectively.

Solution

At Spreaker from iHeart, we have developed the secret sauce for successful programmatic podcast advertising. 

Conveniently the solutions all begin with S — we like to call it the 3 S’s of monetization and advertising success:

•     Sustainability
•     Scalability
•     Safety

Sustainable: Avoid the “once in a Blue Moon”

When starting a podcast, you want to make sure that earnings, supported by multiple ad opportunities, are constantly coming in. Publishers should not let any inventory remain unsold. It also means the programmatic strategy is fully compatible with other revenue streams, including direct sales and sponsorships. Conversely, advertisers can rely on programmatic buys to customize and adjust their clients’ needs throughout the year.  

Scalable: From Download #1 to #1 Billion

No podcast starts with one million downloads on the first day, so progressive audience growth needs to be accompanied by a scalable revenue stream. Moreover, dynamic ad injection coupled with programmatic buys allows publishers to place and replace ads over time after the initial exclusivity and grace period at scale.

On the buyer side, brands and advertisers use advanced audience targeting, reach, scale, real-time campaign monitoring, and attribution reporting to justify investing wisely in programmatic.

Safe: Safety Lasts

Safety should come first, but it’s also last in podcast advertising. Safety creates a bond of trust between the publisher and the advertiser by targeting safe content and by making sure that the ads are correctly assigned to the targeted content. Under this umbrella, the ad tech and programmatic ecosystem can provide tools to empower brand safety and eventual suitability (with products by companies like Barometer and Sounder and many others), content transparency, and ad quality at scale, like our AI + human solution called M.A.G.D.A..

The 3 S’s of monetization success, Sustainability, Scalability, and Safety, are the crucial combination for any publisher looking to monetize their podcasts and advertisers looking to invest their budget wisely. 

By focusing on these three key factors, we can ensure that podcast advertising efforts are effective, efficient, and profitable for both advertisers and publishers. 

The post What Are the 3 S’s of Programmatic Podcast Advertising? appeared first on AdMonsters.

Currently, podcasts account for nearly one-third of digital audio ad spend, and that projection will increase over time. 

We spoke with some ad tech professionals in the podcasting world about their 2023 predictions. One thing we can expect for sure is more programmatic ads. 

Capabilities and offerings within podcasts are growing, allowing for more monetization and opportunities like programmatic audio, shared Lucy Ford, Director of Ad Operations, Slate Magazine, during a podcast monetization breakout session at Publisher Forum Nashville. However, concerns about ad quality and filtering out bad programmatic ads still need to be addressed. 

As the sector continues to grow, podcast ad professionals have also learned through trial and error that podcasting measurement, data tracking, and technology are still in their infancy. See what the media experts had to say for all those wondering what’s to come in 2023 for podcasts.

More Listeners Shift From Terrestrial Radio to Digital Alternatives 

Many media experts agree that listeners will continue to shift to digital formats. 70% of media experts see this happening, according to IAS.

One reason for this widespread shift is the growing mistrust of media outlets. Consumers are rethinking their media sources as fake news continues to fly around the open web at breakneck speeds. Placing empathy and transparency at the core of their messaging, brands need to hone in on building trust with their audiences. In the era of constant multitasking, podcasts reap the benefits because people are always looking for something to listen to simultaneously.

Laura Connell, Senior Trends Manager at GWI

“Since last year, the number of US consumers who trust the media fell by 14%. Forty-five percent of Americans say they have no trust in social media companies, up 8% from Q2 2020. Meanwhile, over half of Americans reported listening to music, podcasts, audiobooks, or talk radio to help them relax, and over one in three say it helps relieve stress and anxiety. Ninety-two percent of consumers listen to audio content in a given week, so brands have a huge opportunity to engage with listeners. Millennials spend more time daily listening to broadcast radio than baby boomers do — so the format still has a strong following. Even children are listening to podcasts at an increased rate, with an 11% rise in the past year among Generation Alpha.”

“Consumers of all ages now spend more time listening to podcasts than they did in 2020, with Gen Z (+5 minutes) leading the way and brand discovery via ads on the radio and music streaming ticking upward since this time two years ago. In Q4 2021, 18% of US podcast and music streaming listeners discovered new products/ brands via podcasts. Hosts can cater ads to their style, which consumers in eight markets prefer.”

Videocasts on Youtube Will Continue to Be a Thing

For the past five years, podcasters have been uploading their content to YouTube, and this trend will only continue to take off. During Advertising Week NY this past October, Donald Albright, President and Co-founder of Tenderfoot TV, talked about  how posting clips of your show on YouTube helps with marketing. However, having the entire RSS feed in two different places can become counterproductive. 

Grant Durando, Director at Right Side Up

“The number of creators uploading their podcast to YouTube will “reach critical disruptive mass” in 2023. This can spark a new need for attribution solutions. The industry has largely addressed tracking campaigns in RSS feeds “via pixel and prefix-based attribution,” but as more podcast engagement comes from YouTube, we will need a new technological solution to deliver conclusive performance marketing attribution.”

Conal Byrne, CEO at iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group 

“So — should podcasts become videos? Capturing the recording session of a podcast for video may serve certain creators well. But, overall, this will anchor the medium back into video’s rules of fast, cheap, and good. Moreover, and maybe counterintuitively, the video won’t hold a candle to the audio podcast’s intimacy, engagement, and innovative qualities. This medium’s creative freedom and mass reach, its ability to slip into our media consumption in the places that video couldn’t and can’t fill, is still today unrivaled.”

Audio Buying Will Accelerate in a Saturated AVOD Market

While on the go and staying home, people stream audio all day. With quality content, precise targeting, and a large market, audio is the medium that most budget-conscious consumers choose. They want entertainment without being dependent on subscription services.

Sixty-two percent of media experts say ad-supported digital audio streaming will expand to match adoption rates among consumers in 2023, according to the IAS. And 61% think ad-supported digital audio streaming will become more popular among consumers. 

Also, many professionals are purchasing audio and voice-assisted devices these days. A quarter of media experts are expected to prioritize investments in smart speakers as they are the new, shiny object for advertising. One-third of consumers are more likely to consider a purchase from a brand after hearing its ad on a smart speaker.

Michelle Swanston, VP Data Marketplace, Media & Entertainment Vertical, TransUnion

“According to The Infinite Dial Edison Research Report, 60% of all US homes have two or more smart speakers. Innovative advertisers can look to streaming audio as it provides a unique marketing platform that combines the quality content of radio with the precise audience targeting, dynamic messaging, and outcome-based analytics of digital.”

A Rise of Programmatic Advertising in Audio 

Trending with the upward tick of ad spend on podcasts in the US, programmatic podcast ad spending will make up an increasing portion of total podcast ad spending, reaching nearly 10% by 2024, according to eMarketer.

We will only see more programmatic ads in 2023, considering people can consume them alongside other media, says Connell from GWI. “We’re likely to see major players in the audio-streaming industry expand their offerings – like Spotify, which now offers audiobooks alongside music and podcasts,” she added.

Stephanie Donovan, Global head of revenue at Triton Digital 

“Ad spend via programmatic exchanges will grow significantly as brands aim to reach an engaged, mobile audience. The volume and publisher CPM rates for podcasting will continue to rise in 2023, with programmatic podcast advertising again leading all other audio channels. We’ll see dynamic ad insertion (DAI) continue to steal the spotlight from baked-in ads, building upon 2022 momentum.”

Endless Opportunities to Engage New Audiences  

The podcasting industry is growing into a diverse space. In an email to AdMonsters, Byrne from iHeart pointed out that in 2023 podcasting will continue to expand into a mix of creator-host-read advertising combined with mass, longtail podcast inventory that is audience-segmented and targetable. 

Publishers are really starting to see how podcasts provide an opportunity for growing and diversifying revenue streams. The podcast listener boom has not only impacted advertiser spend, but the number of podcast advertisers grew by 42% in the US, which is expected to increase significantly in 2023. 

Consumers might be downsizing their subscriptions in other areas, but podcast subscriptions are taking off. Many publishers are capitalizing on this trend and are offering audio versions of their stories and other news-driven audio content. And they’re using these audio offerings to convert listeners to paid content subscribers. Some pubs have also been successful with premium podcasts. Maybe it’s time you get into podcasting too. 

The post 5 Podcast Predictions Shaping the Future of Digital Audio in 2023 appeared first on AdMonsters.

It’s similar to how many companies avoided the internet and digital when they first went live. Like Sharon Harris mentioned in her PubForum Montreal keynote, they didn’t believe in it. However, just as the internet did in its early stages, podcasting is already proving its value.

On average, Podcast listeners stream an average of 7 seven podcasts per week, which is rapidly increasing.

Nearly 51 percent of the US population consumed podcasting content in 2021, and the number of “super listeners,” US adults that listen to 5+ hours of podcasts a week, is also growing. 

There’s an opportunity for publishers in this space, but getting started and setting up shop is often more challenging.

Regarding understanding podcast monetization, this year’s Advertising Week in New York was extremely educational. During the “Understanding the Podcasting Ecosystem” session, audio executives discussed what’s to come, initial bumps in the road that have successfully been cleared, and where things still need a little work. 

From 2017-2022, Soundrise, a spinoff of the Market Enginuity Podcast Group, generated about 55 percent annual growth in client revenue from podcast advertising sales. Soundrise is a senior team of podcast advertising experts that has tripled in size over the past five years while successfully supporting PRX and podcasts distributed by the public media organization.

Panelists Donald Albright (President and Co-founder, Tenderfoot TV), Conal Byrne (Chief Executive Officer, iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group), and Shelby Schenkman (Agent in Audio, United Talent Agency), along with moderator and multimedia mogul Charlamagne tha God, examined how podcasts are developing into a thriving medium for creative storytelling. 

They also explored the industry’s growth, increasing distinct communities that are receptive to the right content at the right time — benefiting advertisers, listeners, and creators/publishers alike.

Here are four reasons why podcasting is on track to be the next best revenue driver.

We May See a Subscription Model Soon
Currently, podcasts are a widely distributed free model where RSS feeds are everywhere and are under creator ownership. Over the last five to six years, platforms began experimenting with only making podcasts accessible to subscribers. According to Byrne, Spotify has tested this, but there needs to be current evidence showing that people want to pay for podcasts.

On the other hand, Albright held an alternate perspective. Instead of seeing the situation as a publisher or creator losing control, it can be viewed as an additive to the entire ecosystem that benefits everyone involved.

“There are no ads on subscription episodes, but the promotion that goes into a Spotify subscription show or an Apple subscription show can boost the overall audience of a show,” Albright explained. “So unless you monetize every impression, you aren’t losing any money on the ad side. Advertisers shouldn’t get shaken up about a podcast with a subscription offering unless it’s completely behind a paywall. Most of the time, it includes a free episode, or offer it a week early, giving incentives.”

If priced correctly, there is still an opportunity for everyone to make money, and it’s also easier to monetize and show that an advertiser isn’t interested in a particular publisher or creator because of their numbers. If you super-serve your core audience with a subscription model, you’ll ultimately make money and build your audiences in time for brands to step in and buy.

You Can Leverage Your Audiences With Partnerships
In many aspects of advertising, we’ve heard that collaborations and partnerships are a significant way to see quicker revenue increases and, for lack of better terms, just getting things done in general. iHeartMedia likes to utilize a strategy they got from TV and film called “office on the lot” or an “imprint” in the book publishing world. With this approach, instead of partnering with a creator on one podcast show, they build a slate together that acts as a creator’s playground. What’s best about this is there is room for trial and error and podcast publishers to screw up a few times before finding that hit.

Five years ago, iHeartMedia launched its first show with TenderFoot TV; they now have 10-15 existing podcast shows. This model allows iHeartMedia to have slate partnerships instead of thousands of podcasts across the board.

“How can we leverage the Tenderfoot TV audience alongside the iHeartMedia audience to make something even bigger?” Schenkman asked. “These are the questions we ask at UTA when connecting companies to establish partnerships. It’s all about leveraging that audience and building more. Those are the best collaborations.”

Podcast Distribution Is Growing; Consumption Channels Are Expanding
Podcasts hit between 110 and 120 million American homes a month, and the most amazing thing about that stat is that podcasts still need to be distributed and consumed on the platforms where people get the most of their content. While they are largely absent on Facebook, they are making their presence known on YouTube. iHeartMedia is starting to see data showing that there might be many more podcasts on YouTube. Still, podcasts are mainly absent from Google search results.

“The search results issue with Google is changing,” Byrne explained. “Google wants to populate search results more with great podcast episodes because they designed a system with the best content and most brand-safe content getting made in the world. Over the next 5-10 years, you will see growth upon growth if Facebook, YouTube, and Google hit, and they will.”

Podcast Technology is Improving
How ads are put into podcasts has improved fast, basically catching up to digital media. Just four years ago, podcast ad technology was pretty primitive. Most ads were baked in, meaning they were a part of the audio file. Today, most podcasting ad serving is dynamic. Publishers and creators can insert and pull out an ad or an impression in a podcast before a download, and they can also conduct geotargeting and audience targeting. Byrne pointed out that at iHeartMedia, the conversations they are having with brands today are similar to those they are having with anyone in digital media.

The podcast industry had to play catch up, and now they are caught up.

“Now I can sit down with a brand and say ok, you’re targeting moms ages 28-54 who intend to buy a car in ten geo territories in the next 90 days,” Byrne said. “We couldn’t have these conversations with brands three to four years ago because the technology didn’t exist. Now that the audience is there, it creates business development, and the ad spend can only go up from here.”

According to Albright from Tenderfoot TV, Baked ads also led to impression discrepancies or instances of having a $250,000 ad in the same episode as a $25,000 ad. The technology improvements have fixed these issues, and now that everything is all impression based, you can monetize that spot with a different advertiser after a certain amount of impressions.

Underrepresentation in the Podcasting Space

While podcasts are a great medium that breaks down the walls between creators and audiences, iHeartMedia sees the same issues in podcasting that we see with multicultural audiences in other forms of media. Byrne mentioned that there had been efforts in the last 1-3 years to tackle this underrepresentation problem. Still, he is also wondering if advertisers feel that brand safety is sometimes in question. 

“The question of brand safety that we talk about a lot in the media is starting to get talked about more and more in podcasting,” Byrne pointed out. “In the eyes of brands and multiculturalism, sometimes they consider some shows sponsor worthy and others “not sponsorable” because they are not brand safe. We have to have these conversations because what does that mean? Do you mean it’s uncomfortable content? Because that is not brand unsafe content, just content that doesn’t look or talk like you, that’s different.”

Companies need to hire more Black people because Black content ultimately creates culture and Black audiences are a very targeted market that sets trends. So the answer is more diversity behind the scenes versus only being represented in front of the mic, according to Albright.

The post 4 Reasons It’s Time to Get in Where You Fit in the Podcast Game appeared first on AdMonsters.