By Gwen Emmons and Kyle Graham Podcast advertising can be simple. One script. A couple refreshes a year. Run it everywhere. And honestly? That approach works — well enough.
But “well enough” has a ceiling. And for Planned Parenthood, we made a deliberate choice to do the harder thing and push past “well enough” by investing more time, more thinking, and more creative energy into the work itself.
The Evolution (A Quick Origin Story)
Back in 2021, we were running a single script across four to six shows, refreshing it roughly twice a year. The approach was efficient. It was consistent.
And the results followed a predictable pattern: news-oriented shows performed best, lifestyle shows lagged behind. Fine! Acceptable! Not the vibe we were going for.
By 2024, we started experimenting — distinct scripts for newsy shows versus lifestyle ones. The result was striking: lifestyle show performance became competitive with our tentpole news programs. That was big! And we wanted to chase it.
So in 2025, we went all in. Custom scripts tailored to the tone and topics of 25+ individual shows. Dedicated research to understand niche audiences. And a mindset shift: Let’s make ads that aren’t an interruption, but part of the listening experience.
Why Bother?
Yes, writing 25 scripts is a lot of writing. But the data backs us up here.
Context matching drives exponentially stronger results. An IAS study found that matching ad tone to a show increases brand impact by 14%. When tone and context both match? That jumps to 49%. Meanwhile, Nielsen found that host-read ads drive a 50% increase in purchase intent compared to pre-produced spots.
And 95% of listeners have taken action after hearing a podcast ad (Acast). The audience is already primed. The question is whether your creative meets them where they are.
Translating a Brand Voice Across 25 Shows
Working with an organization like Planned Parenthood means taking brand standards seriously. Health information accuracy is non-negotiable. Inclusive language is non-negotiable. The tone of care — never fear — is non-negotiable.
But within those guardrails, there was more flexibility than we expected.
We could adjust the emotional register. We could choose which brand pillar to lead with — compassionate care, advocacy, education — depending on the show’s audience. We could use humor, carefully. We could write CTAs that felt like a natural part of the conversation rather than a generic “donate now.”
The key was finding bridges. What does this show’s audience already care about? Where does that intersect with Planned Parenthood’s work? Some of that is easy to glean from listening to episodes, scrolling through podcast reviews and YouTube comments. In other cases, we’ve found pulling data on a specific audience using MRI-Simmons to be helpful in understanding who’s on the other side of those Airpods.
From there, the job is straightforward: start with what the audience cares about, match the host’s energy, and borrow their way of speaking — and suddenly the ad feels like part of the podcast itself, instead of a pesky interruption.
The Part That’s Harder Than the Writing: Approvals
Here’s the thing about custom creative at scale: the ideas are only half the battle. Getting 25 unique scripts through an approval process is its own creative challenge.
A few things that made it work:
Preview big projects before you send them. When a dramatically new approach is coming, give your reviewers a heads-up. Better yet, solicit their input early — it builds buy-in before the edits start flying.
Lead with the “why.” Approvers are far more willing to greenlight something new when they understand the strategic rationale behind it. Share the performance insights first. Then make the ask.
Build a feedback hierarchy. You will get a lot of edits. Know in advance which feedback you can push back on — and how. Our favorite phrase: “This change may reduce performance because…” Don’t be afraid to get on the phone and talk it out.
Start smaller than you think you need to. We launched across six to seven shows, which was great for fast learning. In retrospect, three or four shows with sharper execution would have let us refine the process before scaling. Start small, iterate fast, then grow.
Build in more runway than feels necessary. Custom work means more review cycles. Start earlier than you think you need to. Then start even earlier than that.
What the Results Taught Us
When we introduced custom scripts, performance jumped. Meaningfully.
Culture shows — podcasts where we’d historically struggled to break through, but essential for reaching younger and more diverse audiences — became top performers. Audio became the second-highest driver of c3 revenue last EOY, and we saw huge leaps in ROAS. And when we expanded to new shows last fall, we saw almost immediate returns — a sign that we’re getting sharper at picking the right shows and making ads that land right away.
Where to Start
If you’re thinking about bringing a more customized approach to your podcast advertising, here’s where to start:
- Give reviewers the “why.” Performance insights are your best creative defense. Use them.
- Match tone before message. Understand the show deeply. Let your message flow from that.
- Start smaller, iterate faster. Prove the approach before you scale it.
- Build your approval hierarchy early. Know who has final say, who needs to be consulted, and whose notes are negotiable.
- Protect creative through revision. Advocate for the work, politely and specifically.
Ready to get started? We put together two worksheets — a brand-to-show tone matching framework and a step-by-step production pipeline with built-in approval checkpoints — that you can take into your next campaign.