Bryan Barletta on AdTech, Audio Advertising Wars, and the Power of Attribution
04/29/22 • 29 min
1 Listener
It's my pleasure to welcome Bryan Barletta to the show, a name that will be instantly recognizable to anyone in the podcasting and AdTech space.
Bryan is the founder of Sounds Profitable, a collection of media properties that covers the changing face of AdTech and the business of podcasting. Bryan's goal with Sounds Profitable is to make the AdTech space less daunting for podcasters and brands alike, and with over 13 years experience in the AdTech space, he's the ideal person to do so.
A Career Shaped by Mobile
Bryan's been in the ad tech space for over 13 years, but his early career was in the mobile tech/app space, where he was a journalist for various publications. He was there at the birth of Android, and shared what he thought of their chances when they first launched.
How Building Rich Media Ads for Mobile Led to AdTech
While Bryan's career started off in mobile journalism, it was he moved into mobile ads through an agency that he really caught the AdTech bug. He was part of the team that brought a very cool interactive ad to mobile, back when animated gifs were viewed as high end tech. This led to building data points that would track how successful the ads were when it came to conversion.
The Power of Attribution
It was Bryan's work in the mobile space that saw him work at an agency that came out with a solution called One Pixel, that went beyond javascript implementation for tracking ad campaigns and successes. As Bryan shares, this tech is still being used today in a variety of forms, and is helping drive ad spend increase in podcasting.
The Genesis of Sounds Profitable
It may seem that the hugely popular and respected Sounds Profitable newsletter and podcasts has been around for a long time, but it only came to life in 2020. When Megaphone was sold to Spotify, Bryan had a lot of ideas that he had wanted to implement around ad tech and advertising in podcasting, but didn't get the chance while at Megaphone. So when the platform was sold, he decided he'd take the rein and create a publication where he could share these thoughts, and Sounds Profitable was born.
Why Monetization is Not Selling Out
With his place in AdTech and monetization of podcasting, Bryan has a wealth of insights around the topic of what it means to monetize. When it comes to accusations that podcasters have sold out if they accept ads, he has a very definitive viewpoint on why podcast monetization is not selling out.
I think the closer you are to the podcast space, the more you hear the negatives about ads. I think the general public understands that ads are how things go around.The Promise of Dynamic Ads for Any Podcaster
With the increase in support for dynamic ad insertion for podcasters of all levels, it's never been easier for smaller podcasters to make money. From baked in ads to dynamic to programmatic, the opportunities are there. The trick, as Bryan mentions, is implementing it properly.
Spotify has Won the Audio Advertising War
If there's been one thing that's driven a lot of conversation in the podcasting space in the last 12-18 months, it's been the aggressive acquisitions by Spotify. From buying podcast hosts to data analytics platforms, the streaming giant is clearly setting its stall out when it comes to its goals for podcasting. Bryan shares why he firmly believes that Spotify has won the audio advertising war, but podcast advertising still has its own place outside of Spotify.
Key points:
00:00 Bryan on the Future of Podcasting and Ad Tech
08:13 The One Pixel Mindset and Barometric's Focus on Podcast Attribution
11:13 The Benefits of Expanding Your Podcast to a Second Language
16:35 The Different Ways That Monetization Can Impact a Podcast
19:03 The Benefits and Risks of Programmatic Advertising for Podcasters
24:54 The Future of Advertising: Spotify
26:52 The Impact of Spotify's Acquisition of Megaphone
Connect with Bryan:
Contact me: danny@dannybrown.me
Products I use for Pod ChatNote: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.
My equipment:
It's my pleasure to welcome Bryan Barletta to the show, a name that will be instantly recognizable to anyone in the podcasting and AdTech space.
Bryan is the founder of Sounds Profitable, a collection of media properties that covers the changing face of AdTech and the business of podcasting. Bryan's goal with Sounds Profitable is to make the AdTech space less daunting for podcasters and brands alike, and with over 13 years experience in the AdTech space, he's the ideal person to do so.
A Career Shaped by Mobile
Bryan's been in the ad tech space for over 13 years, but his early career was in the mobile tech/app space, where he was a journalist for various publications. He was there at the birth of Android, and shared what he thought of their chances when they first launched.
How Building Rich Media Ads for Mobile Led to AdTech
While Bryan's career started off in mobile journalism, it was he moved into mobile ads through an agency that he really caught the AdTech bug. He was part of the team that brought a very cool interactive ad to mobile, back when animated gifs were viewed as high end tech. This led to building data points that would track how successful the ads were when it came to conversion.
The Power of Attribution
It was Bryan's work in the mobile space that saw him work at an agency that came out with a solution called One Pixel, that went beyond javascript implementation for tracking ad campaigns and successes. As Bryan shares, this tech is still being used today in a variety of forms, and is helping drive ad spend increase in podcasting.
The Genesis of Sounds Profitable
It may seem that the hugely popular and respected Sounds Profitable newsletter and podcasts has been around for a long time, but it only came to life in 2020. When Megaphone was sold to Spotify, Bryan had a lot of ideas that he had wanted to implement around ad tech and advertising in podcasting, but didn't get the chance while at Megaphone. So when the platform was sold, he decided he'd take the rein and create a publication where he could share these thoughts, and Sounds Profitable was born.
Why Monetization is Not Selling Out
With his place in AdTech and monetization of podcasting, Bryan has a wealth of insights around the topic of what it means to monetize. When it comes to accusations that podcasters have sold out if they accept ads, he has a very definitive viewpoint on why podcast monetization is not selling out.
I think the closer you are to the podcast space, the more you hear the negatives about ads. I think the general public understands that ads are how things go around.The Promise of Dynamic Ads for Any Podcaster
With the increase in support for dynamic ad insertion for podcasters of all levels, it's never been easier for smaller podcasters to make money. From baked in ads to dynamic to programmatic, the opportunities are there. The trick, as Bryan mentions, is implementing it properly.
Spotify has Won the Audio Advertising War
If there's been one thing that's driven a lot of conversation in the podcasting space in the last 12-18 months, it's been the aggressive acquisitions by Spotify. From buying podcast hosts to data analytics platforms, the streaming giant is clearly setting its stall out when it comes to its goals for podcasting. Bryan shares why he firmly believes that Spotify has won the audio advertising war, but podcast advertising still has its own place outside of Spotify.
Key points:
00:00 Bryan on the Future of Podcasting and Ad Tech
08:13 The One Pixel Mindset and Barometric's Focus on Podcast Attribution
11:13 The Benefits of Expanding Your Podcast to a Second Language
16:35 The Different Ways That Monetization Can Impact a Podcast
19:03 The Benefits and Risks of Programmatic Advertising for Podcasters
24:54 The Future of Advertising: Spotify
26:52 The Impact of Spotify's Acquisition of Megaphone
Connect with Bryan:
Contact me: danny@dannybrown.me
Products I use for Pod ChatNote: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.
My equipment:
Previous Episode
AJ Churchill on How Apollo is Driving Podcast Findability, and the Future of Podcast Apps
In this week's Pod Chat, I chat with AJ Churchill, co-founder of Lunar.fm, the company behind the Apollo podcast app and the audio fiction sci-fi drama, Earth Eclipsed.
We talk about how audio production quality is changing with new technologies, as well as the innovations behind the Apollo app that are helping audio fiction podcasts be found, and how that can help other podcast app developers improve their own products.
The Power of Regular Stereo
While AJ's background is in soundtracks and high end audio composition, he's a huge component of regular stereo when it comes to podcast audio. As he explains, humans only have two ears and there's only so much they can process.
The Importance of Testing Audio on Different Sources
Podcasts are listened to on a multiple of devices. While we'd love to believe our listeners all wear great headphones and set aside time just to listen to our voice, the reality is very different. As AJ shared, it's key to listen to your episode on as many different sources as you can to highlight what can be improved, based on device.
Why Apollo Is Purely for Audio Fiction and Drama
With the Apollo podcast app, AJ and the team at Lunar have built a platform solely for audio fiction podcasters and listeners. Indeed, it's an even more niche approach because each podcast is hand curated by other audio fiction creators and listeners. This has ensured a high quality database that's also super easy to navigate, thanks to the intuitive UI of the app.
How Podcast Findability Drives Apollo
AJ shares how an experience trying to find a podcast on Spotify, and the amount of non-relevant results that came back in search, spurred Lunar on to defining what features Apollo would have. Key to this was an intuitive and highly intelligent search system based on tags, recommendations, and ongoing learning.
Key points:
00:00 A Composer's Journey
11:47 Lunar Productions: Quality and Timelessness in Storytelling
15:12 AJ and Danny Discuss the Success of Audio Fiction Apps
19:25 The Benefits of Apollo for Fiction Podcasts
24:33 The Power of Tagging in Apollo
28:45 AJ and Danny Discuss the Future of Fiction Podcasts
34:12 AJ on Apollo, Lunar FM, and Earth Eclipsed
Connect with AJ:
Contact me: danny@dannybrown.me
Products I use for Pod ChatNote: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.
My equipment:
- Electro-Voice RE320
- Motu M2 Audio Interface
- Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
- Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White
Recommended resources:
- Captivate.fm
- Aweber email marketing
- Boomcaster remote interviewing
- My Podcast Reviews
- Reel.so audiogram creator
Mentioned in this episode:
Check out Trailer Park Podcast
Trailer Park Podcast focuses on the art of the audio teaser, and is hosted by Arielle Nissenblatt and Tim Villegas. Season 1 consists of 8 episodes featuring trailers from very different podcasts.
Get your daily podcasting newsletter with Podnews
Pod Chat is sponsored by Podnews - get a daily email with all the latest news about podcasting. It's free at podnews.net. From jobs across the industry to events and conference...
Next Episode
Elsie Escobar on Leading From the Front for Women and Diversity in Podcasting
1 RecommendationsElsie Escobar is a highly respected member of the podcasting industry who has been podcasting since 2006. She is the co-host and co-partner of She Podcasts, a podcasting movement whose mission is to empower women to continue to share their voices while creating a safe community of podcasting education and support.
She is also the community manager for podcast hosting company Libsyn, where she has been since 2007. In this episode, Elsie discusses her impressive career in the podcasting industry, including her work with She Podcasts.
Yoga as an Introduction to Podcasting
Elsie shares how her very first podcast was as a teacher of yoga, and how that wasn't as strange as it might sound (teaching yoga via an audio format as opposed to a visual medium). It's through this podcast that her career at Libsyn began.
From Life Changes to A Podcast Career with Libsyn
Not long after this, Elsie was chatting with Rob Walch of Libsyn, and mentioned she was going through some big life changes, and as things would have it, this tied in perfectly with something Rob was looking for with Libsyn. The rest is history.
Leading From the Front
It wasn't long after Elsie started at Libsyn that she wanted to have an official podcast from the team, to help podcasters with their questions about the medium. Despite being the new person, she was driven to create the show, and pitched it to Rob, and from there The Feed was born.
The Multiple Sides of Diversity in Podcasting
Elsie shares where she sees advances have been made in podcasting when it comes to diversity, and where we still struggle, as individuals and the bigger medium, at promoting and lifting more diverse voices up. For Elsie, this really needs to start at the board and decision-makers level.
How Bad Podcasting Advice Led to She Podcasts
As a regular attendee of various podcast shows, Elsie soon realized that a lot of the advice given at these events was pretty generic, and wouldn't help with the goals she had. Along with Jessica Kupferman, she co-founded She Podcasts, where women could find a private, supportive space that shared the type of advice needed to grow, and flourish.
The Power of Being Undeniable as a Woman in Podcasting
The theme for this year's She Podcasts Live event is "undeniable", and this is something that Elsie is very passionate about for all women in podcasting. It goes beyond the goal for the event itself, and looks to make sure every woman can say "I won't be denied".
Key points:
02:23 Podcasting and Yoga: How Elsie Found Her Balance
09:59 How to Balance Work and Life
18:05 The Importance of Diversity in the Podcasting Industry
26:58 The Rise of She Podcasts: How Two Women Created a Safe Space for Women Podcasters
43:20 The Impact of the Role v. Wade Decision on Women's Lives
47:17 The Importance of Supporting BIPOC Podcasters
50:54 Podcast Recommendations for Leaders in the Industry
Connect with Elsie:
Contact me: danny@dannybrown.me
Products I use for Pod ChatNote: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.
My equipment:
- Electro-Voice RE320
- Motu M2 Audio Interface
- Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
- Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White
Recommended resources:
Pod Chat - Bryan Barletta on AdTech, Audio Advertising Wars, and the Power of Attribution
Transcript
I think that the closer you are to the podcast space, the more you hear the negatives about ads and about the industry. But I think the general public understands that ads are how things go around. I mean, Hulu has two options that you can and pay for. One has ads and one doesn't. So you're still paying and you get ads. Cable TV, radio, magazines, all full of ads. We get ads through the mail constantly. I think podcasting has the biggest risk of ruinin
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/pod-chat-198072/bryan-barletta-on-adtech-audio-advertising-wars-and-the-power-of-attri-20693477"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to bryan barletta on adtech, audio advertising wars, and the power of attribution on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy