The podcast advertising glossary

A

Air check

Confirmation that a purchased ad actually ran as sold: right episode, right position, right copy, right disclosure. On large campaigns a few percent of buys fail somewhere, and documented failures become makegoods.

Attribution

Connecting ad exposure to listener action. In podcasting this means promo codes, vanity URLs, checkout surveys, or pixel matching, ideally in combination. Covered in depth in the measurement guide.

B

Baked-in ad

An ad recorded permanently into the episode audio. Every listener hears it forever, including someone binging the back catalog years later. The opposite of dynamic insertion.

Brand lift study

Survey research comparing awareness, favorability, or intent between people exposed to your campaign and a matched group who weren't. The tool for proving effects that codes can't capture.

Branded podcast

A show commissioned and owned by a brand. A content investment with its own economics, distinct from buying ads on existing shows.

C

Category exclusivity

A guarantee that the show won't run your competitors' ads during your flight. Standard in presenting sponsorships, negotiable elsewhere, and worth asking for whenever you commit volume.

CPA (cost per acquisition)

Total spend divided by attributed customers. The number that decides renewals for direct-response advertisers. Always note which attribution method produced it, because that changes what it means.

CPM (cost per mille)

Cost per thousand downloads of the episodes carrying your ad. The standard pricing unit of the industry. Current benchmark ranges are on the costs page.

D

Dynamic ad insertion (DAI)

Technology that stitches the ad into the episode at download time rather than at recording time. Enables targeting, frequency capping, mid-flight creative swaps, and back-catalog monetization. The delivery mechanism behind programmatic and most network buys.

Direct response (DR)

Advertising built to drive a trackable action now. Most podcast spend historically came from DR brands, which is why the channel's culture is so measurement-heavy.

Download

The unit of podcast audience measurement: a client requesting enough of the episode file to count under IAB rules. Not identical to a listen, which is why verification and attribution exist.

F

Flight

The scheduled run of a campaign: which shows, which weeks, how many reads. "Flighting" decisions (continuous vs pulsed) shape how frequency builds.

Frequency

How many times the average listener hears your ad. The most underrated variable in the channel: one exposure is a rounding error, and the fourth exposure is where direct response tends to come alive.

H

Host-read ad

An ad delivered by the host, in their voice, usually from talking points rather than a script. The endorsement format the industry was built on and still its highest-performing product. Compared against alternatives in ad formats.

I

IAB certification

Compliance with the IAB Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines, which standardize what counts as a download (filtering bots, partial requests, and duplicate hits). The baseline credential for audience numbers you can price against.

Impression

One delivered ad. For baked-in reads, a download of the episode; for DAI, an ad actually served. When comparing quotes, confirm which definition the seller is using.

Incrementality

The lift a channel causes beyond what would have happened anyway, isolated by holding out matched markets or periods. The gold standard answer to "is this actually working."

Insertion order (IO)

The contract for an ad buy: shows, dates, placements, rates, makegood terms. Read the makegood clause first.

M

Makegood

Compensation for a buy that underdelivered or ran wrong, usually as free additional reads. Sellers rarely volunteer them, which is why air checks pay for themselves.

Media kit

The show's sales document: audience claims, demographics, and rates. Useful context, but buy on IAB-certified stats, not the kit.

Mid-roll

An ad placed mid-episode, at peak attention, with the lowest skip rates and the highest prices. The anchor placement of most serious campaigns.

P

Pixel attribution

Matching the IP and device signature of people who downloaded episodes carrying your ad against visitors and converters on your site. Household-level and probabilistic, but it captures the majority of responders who never touch a promo code.

Post-roll

An ad after the episode content. Cheapest position, smallest surviving audience. Take it as bundle filler, not as an anchor.

Pre-roll

An ad in the episode's first minutes. Everyone starts an episode, so it delivers full reach at a lower rate; it just arrives before attention settles.

Presenting sponsorship

Top billing on a show ("brought to you by..."), usually bundled with exclusivity and placements across every episode. A brand-building structure priced as a package.

Programmatic

Automated buying of podcast inventory through ad platforms, delivered by DAI, targeted by audience segment or category, priced $5 to $15 CPM. Reach without endorsement.

Promo code

A show-specific discount code. Great for ranking shows against each other, always an undercount of total impact. Pair it with a checkout survey.

R

Rate card

The show's published prices. An opening position. Volume, duration, bundles, and timing all move the real number; see negotiating rates.

Remnant inventory

Unsold slots offered at a discount close to air date. Quality varies; price accordingly and ask what else ran in the slot historically.

ROAS (return on ad spend)

Attributed revenue divided by spend. Only comparable across channels when the attribution methods are comparable, which they rarely are. Use with labels.

Run of network (RON)

A buy spread across a network's catalog rather than named shows. The cheapest CPMs in the market, with no control over adjacency.

S

Simulcast (video podcast)

Publishing the show in audio and video, typically YouTube. Reads on large shows increasingly cover both; contracts should say which platforms are included and how each is measured.

U

Upfront

An annual commitment negotiated ahead of the year for premium inventory, borrowed from television. How the biggest advertisers lock flagship shows and pricing.

V

Vanity URL

A memorable per-show address (brand.com/showname) that redirects with tracking attached. Attribution signal and call to action in one.

Verification

Systematic confirmation that purchased ads aired as contracted, through transcription monitoring and human air checks. Unglamorous, and the difference between paying for media and paying for promises.