Marketing Experts Raise Questions About Podcast Ad Practices

Podcasters are using a new type of ad, embedded in mobile video games, to run up their total listener counts — but analysts are asking questions about whether or not the tactic is deceptive.

The method uses ads embedded in smartphone video games. When a player clicks on the ad, which typically earns them an in-game reward, a clip from a podcast episode will stream, allowing the podcaster to count the gamer as a new listener — even if they shut off the ad after seconds or minutes.

Some analysts are raising questions about whether this deceives advertisers.

Via TIME:

“Not all impressions are created equal,” said Larry Chiagouris, a marketing professor at Pace University. “I’m not saying [this tactic is] not ethical or illegal, but it raises issues. If someone is trying to play a game and that’s the purpose of this interaction, they may just be eager to play the game and are not that interested in the information being shared.”

Podcasts typically rely on downloads as the primary metric for ad sales. When an individual taps on an in-app play button on their mobile device, an entire episode begins downloading so they can listen to it even in the absence of a good internet connection—say, on an airplane or in the subway. An episode’s ads are inserted at that moment of download, meaning that even if a consumer only listens to 10 minutes of a 30-minute show, the mid-roll ad at the 15-minute mark is often ready to be heard—not to mention, counted by the sales team.

Just because a podcast is embedded in a game doe not necessarily mean it is deceptive, or that new listeners won’t listen to ads embedded in the podcast — particularly if they are played at the beginning of the clip.

Some mainstream video games, like the Grand Theft Auto series, even mimic car radio stations in-game. It’s possible to imagine a future where some games will integrate full episodes of real podcasts and radio into the experience.

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.