Protect Your Brand from Creepy.

This morning, I heard a podcast ad that addressed me by name! While listening to Scott Galloway’s Prof G Pod, Galloway addressed me by name during one of his pre-produced voice-over ads for The Current, a podcast I actually might have listened to until they eerily crept into my morning commute. To say I was startled is an understatement. I actually rewound the podcast to make sure I heard it correctly. While dynamically inserted ad content is effective and growing in popularity, total projected revenue for podcast advertising is expected to top $4B in 2024, this took customized content to a whole new level. With the demand for privacy growing louder — I actually heard this shout-out while looking at a subway ad for Mullvad VPN (and the irony was not lost on me!) — advertisers best consider what makes for good, customized content and what feels intrusive and creepy. I’m classifying my experience this morning firmly in the category of creep!