Podcast advertising has traditionally been driven by scale, with major brands concentrating their budgets on the largest and most recognizable podcasts. But highly engaged niche audiences, creator-led communities and influence across multiple platforms are creating new opportunities for both brands and podcasters.
In this episode of PodBiz, Ricardo Neto, Managing Director of US Sales at Acast, explains how brands are evaluating creators beyond RSS downloads. Podcast hosts are increasingly building influence across YouTube, social media, video, live events and branded experiences, giving advertisers more ways to reach their audiences and creators more ways to monetize their work.
Ricardo also shares why smaller shows can sometimes generate deeper engagement, how authentic brand relationships can grow from a host-read ad into a much larger partnership and why podcasting’s open ecosystem remains important as the industry expands.
As Ricardo puts it:
“We’re evaluating influence and we’re working with creators that maybe we wouldn’t have in the past based on the size of their RSS, but they have really strong socials, really strong YouTube.”
Ricardo Neto is the Managing Director of US Sales at Acast, where he works with brands, agencies and creators to develop podcast advertising and omnichannel partnerships.
Before joining Acast, Ricardo worked at Spotify during a period of significant investment and expansion within podcasting. His experience spans digital audio, podcast advertising, creator partnerships and the New York advertising industry.
(01:27) Where is the money in podcasting?
(03:58) Defining the podcast-first creator
(06:47) Measuring influence beyond RSS downloads
(09:58) Why audience fit matters more than size
(11:13) Brand safety and suitability in podcast advertising
(14:00) Why niche podcast audiences drive engagement
(16:03) Moving advertisers beyond vanity buying
(19:14) Growing host reads into larger brand partnerships
(20:33) Ricardo’s journey from Spotify to Acast
(24:38) Competing for video and content budgets
(27:59) Protecting the open podcast ecosystem
(30:00) How listeners move between audio and video
(32:08) Why the podcast industry remains collaborative
(34:27) Helping creators build sustainable careers
(37:11) How loyal audiences support podcast advertisers
(38:36) Simplifying omnichannel creator campaigns
(40:20) Staying curious as the industry changes
(44:02) How sales teams work directly with creators
(46:00) Building a multiplatform podcast sales team
(49:06) The future of omnichannel podcasting
“The data says that people are more engaged with smaller shows than they are with big shows.”
“At the end of the day, everything comes down to authenticity.”
“This channel moves audiences to action.”
“Everyone can access the rails, which is really, really important.”
“The toothpaste is out of the tube. It’s going to continue to be omni (channel.)\"