Podcorn launches self-serve podcast advertising platform

Podcorn, a marketplace where brands can connect with podcasters, has launched a self-service platform that allows advertisers to create podcast ad campaigns based on budget, ad creative and podcasts that best align with their brand.

Brands can sign up on Podcorn to create a campaign, and the platform will use its sponsorship graph to match the campaign with the “best-suited” podcasters. “When both partners agree to the deal, the system sets up a virtual workroom for the project,” the company said.

Why we should care

Podcasts listenership continues to grow, but the podcast advertising market is still nascent. There are more than 700,000 podcasters, but just 15% are monetizing their content, according to a 2018 report from Hackernoon.

Podcorn’s solution narrows the gap between podcasters wanting to monetize their programs and the advertisers ready to invest — giving brands the ability to run native podcast ad campaigns at scale. The company says its machine learning-powered algorithm analyzes campaign data along with each podcaster’s sponsorship graph to determine the podcaster-advertiser relationships that will prove most valuable for both parties.

“Every podcaster has a unique sponsorship graph. We built the infrastructure to connect the dots to gain more context about each podaster’s identity, their content, and what our brands are looking for,” said Podcorn Co-founder David Kierzkowski.

More on the news

• Once a campaign is created, advertising funds are kept in escrow during the campaign and released upon completion of the project.
• Brands from a number of industries — including gaming, fitness, fashion, B2B, food and entertainment — have already begun investing “hundreds of thousands” of dollars via the platform during the last three weeks, reports Podcorn.
• Podcorn was founded by the same creators that developed Famebit, a marketing platform that connected YouTube creators with brands that was bought by Google in 2016.