Acast has partnered with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation to launch a podcast advertising campaign focused on mental health and addiction awareness with prominent podcasters Marc Maron, Catherine Belknap, and Natalie Telfer.
The campaign’s first phase, featuring a blend of host-read sponsorships, Sponsored Stories, and 30-second ads, ran for six weeks on WTF with Marc Maron and Cat and Nat Unfiltered. Each Sponsored Story, lasting about two minutes, offered an intimate glimpse into the podcasters’ personal struggles with mental health and addiction.
The campaign’s second phase, which started at the end of November, aims to harness the holiday spirit of giving, focusing on support for individuals dealing with mental illness or addiction during the holiday season. The partnership will continue into 2024.
CAMH Foundation CMO Sarah Chamberlin said, “We believe in the magic of podcast advertising and the deep connection that listeners feel towards their favorite hosts when they hear them talk about brands and services. We were excited to partner with Acast’s team and ad targeting tools in helping spread our important message about addiction and mental illness. Since launching we’re already seeing new referral traffic and donations, which is demonstrating the effectiveness of the authenticity of host-read advertising and personalized messaging to podcast listeners.”
Acast Canada Managing Director Heather Gordon added, “Podcasting creates such a uniquely personal and intimate relationship between audiences and the hosts they love. It’s because of that trust in the host that campaigns on these highly personal topics like addiction and mental health can have such a massive impact on listeners. At Acast, we understand the importance of that personal connection for listeners and we’re able to use our innovative ad tech solutions to ensure we reach the right audiences with these important conversations.”
