The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has revealed the agenda for its podcast advertising summit, the 2023 IAB Podcast Upfront, taking place 11 May.
Every year, this IAB event brings together brands, agencies, and media buyers to preview the latest innovations in podcasting through content and insights presentations from a number of speakers. This year’s show includes sessions from podcast and media companies such as iHeart Podcasts, Wondery, Paramount, Acast, Sony Music, Cumulus Podcast Network, YAP Media, SXM, Zibby Media, Soundrise, and WNYC Studios.
Additionally, a number of media publishers with podcast portfolios will be holding speaker sessions, such as NPR and The Wall Street Journal, and tech company ArtsAI will be revealing industry insights.
"There’s nothing like the energy that comes from bringing podcast buyers and sellers together. The podcast market reflects the shared passions of creators and audiences alike,” said IAB Media Center vice president Eric John, who will present the show’s opening keynote session and closing remarks. "This year’s presentations will highlight not only exciting new content opportunities but also innovations for ways advertisers can engage listeners at scale with insights to quantify the value of those audiences."
This year’s theme will focus on how podcasts have grown in terms of their overall reach and measurement capabilities, programmatic advertising, being used as an influencer medium, and how it can drive ROI through direct response advertising as well as increasing brand awareness. In addition to the presentations, the IAB will also release its seventh annual Podcast Ad Revenue report on 11 May which will present insights on podcast ad revenues in 2022 and project future revenues through to 2025.
"Podcasts have become a vital part of the digital opportunity, indispensable for reaching the passionate, engaged audiences advertisers want most,” said IAB chief executive officer David Cohen. “It’s still a fast-moving marketplace with innovation across content, ad tech, ad formats, and beyond. The Podcast Upfront highlights the insights and opportunities leaders need to make important budget and partnership decisions.”
The event will be held in New York City and will also be available to watch online on the IAB website. Nora Ali, CEO and co-founder of entertainment company Mason Media and host of The Business Casual Podcast, will also be hosting this year’s event.
A number of the attendees at this year’s IAB Podcast Upfront have previously reported that they have cut back on podcast investments as the market slows down during the current economic climate.
NPR recently announced that it cancelled four podcasts from the network in an effort to cut costs after facing $30 million in operating budget loss reported in February this year but decided not to cut any of its radio programs. Additionally, entertainment giant Paramount also recently announced that it will be launching a lot less podcasts this year compared to heavy investments it made into podcasting the year before.
