Audio insights don’t stay in Vegas – The Short Stack
Friends,
Nothing helps someone get settled into a new role more than being out on the road and meeting friends and partners face-to-face.
I had it in spades over the past couple weeks, with multiple events back-to-back including NAB Show, the Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC), and an amazing internal strategy meeting with a number of Stackers. I also had the chance to catch up in person with my amazing team mates who held it down at Podcast Movement Evolutions.
It’s hard to cover everything I learned from so many great thinkers – from what’s working in audio now, to what needs more help, to where this never-boring space is headed. But here are a few highlights:
Valuing the help of real humans.
Broadcasters and podcasters are continually looking for more help from their vendors; alongside all of the amazing, often AI-driven innovation that can help audio publishers to be more efficient, smart and collaborative people are more essential than ever to help navigate the complexity. Nearly everyone I spoke to made a point of discussing this.
A climate of cost savings.
Everyone always wants to save money, obviously, but in the current climate of uncertainty, it’s become even more critical. Savings can come from many places, from more efficient ad injection tech like HLS interstitial to streamlined workflows, and audio publishers are paying attention.
Aligning analytics.
Reliable, standardized measurement across podcasting (and audio overall) are also more important than ever, especially as it relates to the ongoing challenge of bringing more ad dollars to audio and balancing the disparity. Also plenty of chatter about podcast measurement moving toward more of an engagement model, as it would translate more easily into video (which, I think, will help make audio more approachable to traditional video buyers).
Again, just skimming the surface here. As I settle into this role more over the coming months, I'd love to discuss any of the above and more. Feel free to reach out directly at jmorris@soundstack.com.
See many of you in London for the Podcast Show shortly!
John Morris , CPO 
Podcast advertising came back to strong growth, with a significant increase compared to 2023, over 26%. “This rebound is driven by continued expansion of podcast networks, deeper brand integrations, and advancements in audience targeting.” Ad revenue hit $258.6 billion in 2024, its highest since 2021.
Digital audio and connected TV (CTV) were least likely to be slashed by survey participants — just 14% and 12% said they would reduce spending in those channels, respectively… Audio is ascending, thanks in part to the growing adoption of programmatic capabilities.
“Given the commonalities of the industry, there's no reason to go it alone…there's no easy answer to engagement and turning a listener into a member, but through collaboration and the sharing of ideas and efforts, successful or not, it’s a step in the right direction.” Todd Callahan, Director of Technology for KUT/KUTX, weighs in with great insights for this third installment of our article series.
In one week, Stackers Mike Reznick and Stacy Newhuis are headed down to the Fontainebleau in Miami to join marketers, publishers, tech platforms, and many more at what’s become one of the premiere summits on the advertising/media event calendar. Shoot an email to stacy@soundstack.com if you’d like to meet up! Show starts on April 28.