Independent podcast hosting company Acast has announced that it will allow advertisers to create more targeted podcast campaigns by using their own first-party data.
Acast has released a ‘first-of-its-kind’ identity graph which combines the user’s IP address and other listening consumption signals. Advertisers can then import their first-party data and match it against the identity graph to create more targeted direct and programmatic campaigns via the Acast Marketplace that match with high-value customers.
“Similar to connected TV, the podcast advertising ecosystem is a data scarce environment, with limited availability of user identifiers for inventory addressability,” the company said in a statement. “This has created challenges for advertisers to target podcast audiences with the same strategies they often use across other forms of media.”
This initiative will act as a solution to Google’s planned updates to its privacy policy, which will remove all third-party cookies in the second half of 2024. This is predicted to particularly affect the advertising industry, as it relies heavily on this data to identify consumers.
“The UK podcast market isn’t only growing at pace – up 61% in 2021 – it’s also evolving to offer advertisers increasingly sophisticated and innovative ways to reach listeners,” said CMO of IAB UK, James Chandler. “This was in full display at the IAB’s fourth annual Podcast Upfronts last week, and is further evidence of the fact that podcasting is no longer ‘an emerging channel’. It’s fully emerged and is a valuable option for advertisers as third-party identifiers become increasingly obsolete.”
“We’ve created a bridge between the media buyer and podcast content supply that effectively enables brands to use the first-party insights they already have to serve more relevant ads in podcasts,” said Acast’s global head of ad innovation, Elli Dimitroulakos. “It’s a massive first for the industry that not only drives revenue for brands, but creates a more enjoyable experience for listeners and ultimately increases monetization potential for podcasters – which is at the heart of everything Acast does.”
Acast’s US and Australian market users are now able to access the identity graph and other first-party data through direct and programmatic buys. It’s unclear when it will be open for access globally.
