New Acast offering aims to supercharge influencer marketing in programmatic podcasting

Independent podcast company Acast has today announced the launch of Talent-Voiced Ads, a new format which will allow advertisers to leverage the recognisable voices of podcast talent across scripted audio ads.

Brands can now pay to have Acast talent voice their scripted ads, run across its network of more than 140,000 shows.

Talent-Voiced Ads are available programmatically, allowing advertisers to harness Acast’s network at scale and opening up further revenue streams for creators.

Acast says Talent-Voiced Ads have been successfully tested so far with its talent including We Mean Well, Equity Mates and Money Money Money with Glen James, for advertisers including Telstra, Samsung, HBF and La Trobe University.

It says unlike host-read sponsorships – where the podcaster promotes a sponsor in relation to their own podcast – Talent-Voiced Ads use the trusted voice of the podcaster for the voiceover of a brand’s own ad, to be distributed at scale across Acast’s network.

Henrik Isaksson, Managing Director for Acast ANZ, says “Talent-Voiced Ads bring together the best elements of host-read ads – traditionally only available through direct-IO in Australia and New Zealand. Now, brands and agencies can tap into authentic, trusted voices across the Acast marketplace, all while achieving true scale in podcast advertising.”

“This innovation opens up yet another way for podcasters to monetise their shows. Born out of market demand, the project marks a significant step forward for podcasters, agencies and, importantly, listeners too.”