61 brands leveraged summer to get their message across to podcast listeners.
More than 5,000 brands have advertised on podcasts. Get a heads-up when new brands test podcasts as a marketing channel for the first time: learn more.
With summer already here, we analyzed how advertisers leveraged summer to get their message across in podcast ads. In 2018, Magellan picked up a total of 61 advertisers running summer-targeted ads on the top 400 podcasts.
Who ran summer-themed ads in 2018?
Advertisers in 31 different industries advertised about summer in 2018. Advertisers in the bedding, online entertainment, and food industries advertised their products or services highlighting summer the most. These three industries made up 58.4% of the ads.
“58.4% of the summer specific ads from 2018 were from three industries — Bedding, Online Entertainment, and Food.”
However, when we looked at the number of advertisers from each industry the data tells a different story. Although the bedding, online entertainment, and food industries ran more ads, we picked up the most advertisers in the food, clothing, and nutritional supplements industries. The food industry contained nine advertisers but ran 36.6% fewer ads compared to the online entertainment industry, which contained two brands.
The top 5 advertisers running summer themed ads were:
- Audible
- Lessa Mattress
- Casper
- Blue Apron
- HotelTonight
What did the hosts talk about in these ads?
Audible ran a radio-style ad about how Audible is perfect for your summer activities. Ads were similar to this one on Discovery. The ad offered a 30-day free trial and one free audiobook with the code “new science”.
58% of Leesa Mattress’ ads promoted their Labor Day sale. In this mid-roll ad on Small Doses, the host, Amanda, talks about all the features of a Leesa Mattress. She personally endorses the mattress by saying, “I was really happy to start fresh with Leesa Mattress”. At the end of the ad listeners received up to $235 off for Labor Day by going to leesamattress.com/doses.
Casper, traditionally a direct response advertiser, ran brand awareness campaigns for Labor Day and Memorial Day. Ads highlighted their breathable material that guarantees you sleep cool and offered listeners 10% at Casper.com for a limited time. In this host-read ad from Stuff You Should Know, the host talks about their breathable material and personally endorses the mattress. She says, “I can’t stress this enough, I love my Casper. I’m recording this on tour right now and I am so eager to get home to sleep on that bed”.
Blue Apron advertised their new grilling option for summer. In this ad from Undisclosed, the host talks about one of the meals she made with her family. She received their summer grilling box with step by step instructions. At the end of the ad, listeners get three meals free by going to blueapron.com/undisclosed.
HotelTonight ads were about how easy it is to book your last minute summer vacation using their app. In this ad from Business Wars, the host talks about using HotelTonight’s app to easily book your last minute summer vacation at top-rated hotels. Listeners get $25 off their first booking with code Biz Wars.
What Apple Podcast categories did summer-themed ads run on?
“57% of the summer-specific ads were run on three Apple Podcast categories — Comedy, Society & Culture, and News & Politics.”
Top 5 shows and what brands advertised
- Business Daily — Business — 18 ads from Audible
- The Documentary Podcast — category — 14 ads from Audible
- Drinkin’ Bros Podcast — Comedy — 12 ads from Black Rifle Coffee, GhostBed, Grill Your Ass Off, and Strike Force Beverage
- Pod Save America — News & Politics — 10 ads from Audible, Blue Apron, MVMT, Sleep Number and ZipRecruiter
- Business Wars- Business — 10 ads from HotelTonight
So who’s advertising on podcasts for summer
While some brands capitalized on summer holidays like Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day to offer big deals to their customers; other brands focused on why their product or service was perfect for summer. Ads targeted listeners looking to save big and listeners who were going to be spending their time by the pool or beach last summer.
Get the full list of the 61 advertisers that ran summer-targeted ads in 2018 by searching “Event: Summer” in Magellan or sign up for a demo.
Interested in how advertisers are talking about other major events in podcast ads throughout the year? So are we! Reach out to research@magellan.ai with ideas or questions.
Magellan AI creates tools that help marketers at brands like SimpliSafe, Wix, and ThredUP spend intelligently on podcast advertising. Podcast publishers like WNYC and Gimlet Media use Magellan to track advertisers spending money in the podcast space. Learn More.
Want to get notified when we publish a new post? Sign up here
