• by Fern Siegel , November 15, 2022

The next iteration of conversational targeting tools from Acast enables brands to target specific words and phrases in individual podcasts.

The new feature, keyword targeting, allows advertisers to enhance targeting, reduce waste and provide more relevant ads for listeners.

Nielsen reports when contextually-relevant advertising is presented to consumers, those exposed were 85% more open to future advertising versus no targeting.

For example, a guest and host of a comedy podcast record an episode about cooking disasters. By using advanced speech-to-text transcription technology, combined with AI and natural-language processing, Acast can identify key words and phrases spoken in the show.

Advertisers promoting kitchenware or a cookbook can then target contextually relevant conversations within episodes that may be from a completely unrelated category.

Keyword targeting can be bought directly or programmatically.

Chris Wistow, Acast vice president, advertising product, said: “Acast podcasters of all sizes will benefit, with keyword targeting surfacing new shows to advertisers who might previously have made decisions based on podcast category alone.”

Last month, Acast launched a first-party data-targeting solution for marketers within the Acast Marketplace. The new identify graph matches advertisers to listeners, effectively letting advertisers use pre-existing data targeting solutions to reach listeners within podcasts.

The IAB forecasts podcast advertising to surpass $4 billion in value by 2024.

Acast works with more than 2,400 advertisers each year. Brands include Amazon, Ikea, State Farm and Klarna.