Oxford Road has identified four international podcast markets where advertisers are seeing strong sales results, using campaign data from more than 500 brands.
The agency has published a new edition of its ORBIT rankings, Top Performing International Podcasts, based on more than $1.8 billion in advertising spend across podcast campaigns.
The report focuses on UK English, Spanish, French and German language markets, which Oxford Road says should be treated as separate opportunities rather than a single international buy.
According to the agency, advertisers often approach international podcasting as one broad market, despite differences in language, listening habits and content preferences.
The data suggests that campaigns need to be tailored to each country and language group to deliver stronger results.
Oxford Road says sports podcasts can be effective internationally, but the definition of sport differs by market.
Football and Formula One are highlighted as strong categories outside the United States, while American football remains more limited in its reach.
Within the UK market, conversation and culture podcasts were found to show better efficiency than sports content.
Steven Abraham, President International at Oxford Road, said: “Stepping into the international podcast market takes courage but it shouldn’t require a leap of faith. ORBIT gives marketers the data and intelligence to move boldly and reduce the risk.”
The findings were generated using ORBIT, the Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool, which measures customer acquisition costs, return on ad spend and sales results from actual campaigns.
Oxford Road says the tool helps advertisers test new markets with less risk and identify shows that are delivering results before prices increase.
The company plans to release new ORBIT rankings each month, covering podcast genres, emerging shows, industry sectors and additional international markets.
The full “ORBIT’s Top Performing International Podcasts” list and methodology details are available here.
