The first-ever Podcast Movement-Evolutions event debut in Los Angeles with great success
Podcast Movement-Evolutions drew hundreds of podcasters and industry professionals from around the world to Los Angeles on February 12-15, 2020. Wondery kicked off the event with a welcome party on Wednesday night. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were packed with sessions focused across three tracks for Creators (new podcasters), Professional Podcasters, and Industry Professionals.
Standout Keynotes
Throughout the over 100 sessions and keynotes, a few key themes emerged: Scaling your podcast, dynamic ad insertion, monetization, and attribution. On Thursday night, Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeart Media’s keynote brought optimism and excitement for the bright future ahead for podcasting, while Misha Euceph inspired hosts to follow their hearts and produce content that reflects themselves. On Friday morning, Hernan Lopez of Wondery took the stage and announced Academy Awards of podcasting, and a new award show, the Golden Mics that will launch in 2021. The news was met with mixed feelings which were probably best summarized by podcast research guru, Tom Webster, here.
Our session with Westwood One
Later on Friday, Kelli Hurley, SVP, Digital Partnerships at Westwood One hosted a panel on Ad Insertion Dynamics with Conor Doyle, our SVP, Strategy & Investment and partner Rachel Roberts, Marketing Manager with Native. When it comes to using dynamic ads, there is much to consider. On the positive side for the advertiser, there’s creative control and the ability to target audiences based on geography or specific flights (times). Plus for the podcaster, a major pro is the ability to re-monetize an ad-unit over and over. On the con side, dynamic ads typically show lower engagement, they are more likely to be skipped by a listener, and overall performance can be lower than embedded. Historically, Veritone One has placed 75% host-read embedded ads, but that number continues to drop dramatically as the number of shows offering dynamic insertion increases. According to Westwood One’s latest study, dynamic ad insertion now accounts for 55% of spend. The verdict on dynamic ads? It depends on your goals, budget, and audience you want to reach.
If you missed the excitement in LA, Podcast Movement will be back in Dallas this August 5-8. We look forward to seeing you there.