Podcast Upfronts 2024: True crime, 10/10 storytelling & shiny new podcasts

“Podcasts are gaining the lion’s share of my media day - from soundtracking my commute to being a companion for insomnia,” explained James Chandler, CMO of IAB UK, opening our sixth annual Upfronts, hosted at The Steel Yard. Podcast advertising grew by 23% YoY according to latest Digital Adspend data, with James pointing out that it’s a safe bet that podcast advertising will overtake streaming to become the dominant format within audio this year. What followed was a snapshot of some of the best content and most exciting trends from some of the podcast industry’s biggest hitters… 

Tapping into the true crime movement 

“Is true crime content unsuitable for advertising placement?” This was the question put forward in Mail Metro Media’s courtroom-themed session where two sides battled it out to reach a verdict on whether true crime is a largely untapped opportunity to reach a highly loyal, engaged and lucrative audience.

The evidence proved that it is. “Podcasts like ours offer a level of intimacy that you don’t get elsewhere… our audience trusts us to deliver highly sensitive information in an accurate way”, explained Caroline Cheetham, host of award-winning Mail Metro Media podcast The Trial. She added: “Brands willing to embrace true crime will be rewarded with an engaged, attentive audience.” Building on the case for true crime, veteran marketer Stacy Fuller pointed out that 60% of the massive audience tuning into true crime does not skip advertising, offering advertisers highly-impactful opportunities to stand out in a space that isn’t being fully utilised.

The time & space to tell stories 

With Novel creation, Kill List, topping the international podcast charts, its host Carl Miller sat down with Alice Beverton-Palmer, Commercial Creative Partnerships Director, to discuss why it has captured so much attention. “I genuinely can’t see how this could have been anything other than a podcast for the simple reason of time and space”, Miller explained. “It’s 18 episodes long and we really needed those episodes to tell the story.” The podcast - which sees Miller access an assassination list on the dark web and intercept kill orders across four years - has a “creepy, reedy cello” soundscape to create “a constant sense of hand ringing, sweat inducing anxiety every time we intercepted a new order”. 

The power of sound was a core theme within Novel’s session, with Beverton-Palmer and Craig Strachan, CEO, doing a live demo of how it can shift our emotions and move us to act. As Strachan said: “People who engage with podcasts, particularly branded podcasts, are more likely to take action at each level of the funnel.”

Creating connections for Paris 2024

How the National Lottery partnered with Global to supercharge connections for the Paris Olympics was the focus of Global’s session. “92% of people who listen to a sport podcast feel that it is an emotional experience”, explained Sarah Ray, Commercial Podcast Director, before being joined on stage by Natalie Littlechild, Senior Brand Manager at Allwyn, and Jenni Falconer, presenter of Smooth Radio and host of RunPod. 

The duo gave a fascinating insight into how the National Lottery - which has long funded initiatives to support the UK’s sporting talent - worked with Global to bring Team GB’s voices to engaged audiences during the Olympics. Utilising a multidimensional strategy of branded episodes, host reads and live reads, the campaign was able to deliver both enviable reach and depth of conversation, with awareness of how the National Lottery funds elite sport up by 10 percentage points as a result. 

The freedom to create

Bauer Media Group’s Lucie Cave was joined by Jordan & Perri, hosts of KISS Breakfast, and presenter Ashley Banjo MBE, to share plans for a new podcast that will see the three members of Diversity bring audiences into “the conversations we’re having on a daily basis”. On why he’s excited to shift into podcasting, Ashley pointed out the creative freedom that the channel offers from both the creators and for advertisers: “There’s no middle man - you have the freedom and the direct relationship”. 

The podcast - which will launch in early 2025 - will be the first project that all three men have worked on together, giving brands the opportunity to align with the brotherly dynamic and open conversations they have. Their dream guest? Perri didn’t hesitate: “Claire Balding - I met her at Crufts”. Tune in next year for plenty more!

Digital Upfronts ran from 2-24 October 2024. Find out about all the events here.