Audio giant Spotify has expanded the Spotify Audience Network to five new markets across the globe, including India, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and Sweden.
The audio advertising marketplace, which connects advertisers with listeners across Spotify originals and exclusives, as well as other creators on the platform, was previously limited to the US, UK, New Zealand, Germany, Australia, and Canada. Earlier this year, Spotify also expanded the marketplace to France, Italy, and Spain.
Since expanding the Spotify Audience Network, the number of publishers in these markets that have joined the Spotify Audience Network has grown significantly, increasing by over 70% from September 2022 to September 2023. Publishers on the platform include NPR in the US, Goalhanger in the UK, Novelo in Brazil, Sonoro in Mexico, and more.
“NPR’s audience trusts and appreciates the brands that sponsor NPR’s high quality journalism and storytelling,” said National Public Media president and CEO Gina Garrubbo. “We continually innovate in how brands can connect with NPR’s content and audience in keeping with the voice and tone of NPR.”
“Over the past year, the Spotify Audience Network has been a valuable addition to our sponsorship business, bringing new brands and unique demand that is in keeping with the quality and tone of NPR.”
The number of advertisers within the Spotify Audience Network has also grown, up by 45% year on year according to the company, and include brands like Heineken and BT. To continue meeting the demands of podcast advertisers, Spotify’s AI-powered contextual targeting tools now support podcast content in various languages including French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Other new developments include adding sensitive topic filters on Spotify’s self-serve ads manager Ad Studio in the US, which allow advertisers to choose their level of tolerance for sensitive topics, as well as expanding the list of contextual targeting options that allow advertisers to exclude certain topics or keywords with more precision.
According to Spotify, more brand suitability tools will be added to the Spotify Audience Network in the future as part of its ongoing partnership with technology company Integral Ad Science (IAS).
Spotify’s UK and Northern Europe head of sales Ed Couchman told PodPod in a recent episode that it is important for brands to create authentic campaigns with podcast hosts as it can create more trust with the listeners, especially if the host has an affinity or personal connection with the brand they’re promoting.
“One of the things that we try to do at Spotify is be pretty close to the talent and try to understand their likes, tastes, and preferences,” said Couchman. “Obviously we have a whole bunch of teams that do that, through producers and talent agencies, so we try to service what we think might be the right sort of products or ideas to the right host.”
