November: Bombas increases ad count and 23andMe joins the Top 15
More than 4,000 brands have advertised on podcasts. Get a heads-up when new brands test podcasts as a marketing channel for the first time: learn more.
Bombas
Magellan has been seeing Bombas ads on podcasts since we started tracking podcast advertisements in September 2017. In September and October, however, they tested only 4 shows on our Top 200 index. The brand shifted in November, testing 13 shows on the Top 200 index.
In addition to the 13 new podcasts Bombas tested from our Top 200 index in November, we picked up their ads on 5 podcasts they’d advertised on previously. The new podcasts included several each from PRX and Midroll, in addition to some single buys. The podcast categories were all over the map, including three each from Comedy and Society & Culture, and one to two shows each from another 5 categories.
We picked up only mid-roll ads for Bombas, on average beginning just over halfway through an episode. Each ad contains a vanity URL (e.g. www.bombas.com/conan on Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend) that leads to a landing page that looks different than Bombas’ homepage. Each podcast’s landing page, however, is identical to the next other than a banner welcoming listeners of a particular show.
In addition to the vanity URLs, several ads mention the research and engineering that go into their socks. A number of the ads also mention Bombas’ philanthropic commitment — to donate a pair of socks to a homeless shelter for each pair sold. These ads point out that socks are the #1 requested item in homeless shelters but are an item that can’t be donated used.
23andMe
23andMe was new to the Top 15 in November, but had been close in previous months (the brand was at #22 in October). We’ve picked up more 23andMe ads on NPR shows than any other network, including 4 in November and 8 overall.
Pre-roll advertisements dominate 23andMe’s ads on NPR podcasts, but we’ve picked up nearly twice as many mid-rolls as pre-rolls overall. In November, 23andMe ran almost exclusively mid-roll ads.
Some, like an ad on NPR’s Up First, are pre-recorded and follow a script. Many, like the ad on Crooked Media’s Pod Save America are host read and cover certain talking points, but add in their own humor and commentary.
Most of the November ads were Thanksgiving focused, alerting listeners about a 50% off promotion for 2 or more kits that lasted through Thanksgiving. Some of the ads also include copy about the brand’s name — the 23 in 23andMe is for the 23 chromosomes in our DNA.
November 2018 Rankings
Magellan identified 2,082 pre- or mid-roll ads placed on the top 200 podcasts in November 2018. Out of 495 brands or products advertised during the month, the top 15 are listed below. Click to play a sample mid-roll or pre-roll ad for each advertiser:
1. ZipRecruiter
2. SimpliSafe
3. Stamps.com
5. Quip
6. Squarespace
7. Robinhood
8. 23andMe
9. Cash App
10. Audible
11. Bombas
12. ADT
13. Capital One
14. SeatGeek
15. Madison Reed
Methodology
Every week, Magellan samples episodes from 200 shows that rank in the Top Podcasts view available through Apple Podcasts in the US. This sample includes up to two episodes from shows that published new episodes in October 2018.
The brands listed above were ranked by the number of individual pre- and mid-roll ads that appeared in our sample. Podcasts advertising on other podcasts, foundations, and those advertising on only one show were excluded from the sample.
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