Reach German ecision-makers in their own language

Essentially both. We record the podcast advertising as video, and whether someone consumes an episode as video on YouTube or Spotify, for example, or only as the audio version in a podcast app, they get the advertising either way.

These are the advertising positions within a podcast: Pre-Roll is an ad at the start of the podcast, Mid-Roll in the middle and Post-Roll at the end. digital kompakt offers Pre-Roll and Mid-Roll.

Which of them works best depends somewhat on your own strategy: the Pre-Roll reaches the most listeners, while attention is higher in the Mid-Roll. We recommend a mix of the different positions in order to reach listeners at different points.

Our advertising is “Host-read”, which means it is recorded by digital kompakt founder Joël Kaczmarek. That is an advantage for several reasons at once: the advertising comes across as very native, Joël’s credibility rubs off on the content, and at the same time you have hardly any work to do on producing the ad material. Win-win.

A pre-roll ad costs €1,000 with us, a mid-roll ad €750, each net. On top of that there are packages – the more placements, the cheaper the single slot. With the largest package you save a third compared with booking single slots. Prices, packages and a configurator are here.

Included in this price are the coordination of the advertising, the production of the ad spots, one round of revisions and a report.

We receive a briefing from you (here is our template for it) explaining how the product should be presented (pronunciation, USPs, landing page and so on). We then write a spot and record it.

You can of course review the advertising beforehand and have revisions made if you wish. After that we agree the publication dates and the targeting, and go into publication.

Experience shows that a production window of two weeks works best for everyone involved. We are also able to produce faster.

The next step is to check the availability of the ad slots, and how quickly we can run them. As a rule this is possible within three to four weeks, sometimes faster.

An ad is built permanently into one episode – this is called “baked-in” and with video advertising it is not possible any other way. The advertising therefore appears in the current episodes and picks up a large reach with them.

Our ad spots are usually around 40 to 60 seconds long. Our credo: better concise and relevant than long and uninteresting. Our overriding aim is for the target group actually to listen to the advertising.

That is possible with us by choosing a topic focus. We have certain recurring content areas, for example leadership, artificial intelligence or success stories, and these reach particular audiences somewhat more precisely. Leadership topics, for instance, are consumed more often by managers.

In the premium production the video is enhanced with cuts and animations. There is more movement in it, which holds the target group’s attention better. In the regular version, by contrast, there is only one perspective, with the story told straight to camera.

You add the premium production to your package: €750 per ad version, net.

You can see both versions further up this page.

The effort is as small as it gets: simply put together a briefing. For that we need the key information about the product (USPs, pronunciation, landing page and so on), the desired targeting (audience) and the contact person for the cooperation. A suggested wording for the podcast ad is particularly helpful on top of that.

Here you can see what we ask for in our briefings: to the briefing template

On the basis of the briefing we script an ad spot, send it over for approval and then schedule it. The spot then runs in the podcasts that we consider a good fit based on the information we have received.

About three weeks after the last ad placement there is a joint review call about the campaign, in which digital kompakt also provides a report on the performance of the individual episodes.

The way we handle it is that we ask about the objective in our briefing form, and on that basis we configure the campaign – that is, which episodes the advertising appears in. This makes sure that exactly the targeting you want is achieved. At the same time we give our clients the option to reject placements if they still do not fit the editorial objective.

Since we sometimes produce as much as six weeks ahead, it is advisable to plan for a certain amount of lead time. We can often make placements possible at short notice too, but to avoid stress and uncertainty a request should reach us three to four weeks before your preferred period.

One round of changes is planned for every podcast ad anyway, and if unplanned changes become necessary at short notice after that, this is possible too – though it may come with a late fee of €150.

Of course. The way we handle it is that we send you our podcast advertising before publication. If you then have any change requests, we revise the advertising again and send it over once more to listen to before publication.

No, and that is deliberate. Anyone who hears the same text twenty times stops listening at some point.

How many different versions are included in your package depends on its size: one with XS, two with S, three with M, four with L and six with XL. Each version puts something different in the foreground – an argument, a use case, an audience.

Yes, that does happen. Your placements are tied to specific episodes, and a production plan sometimes shifts – a recording falls through, a guest cancels, a topic is brought forward.

If that affects your period, we get in touch before it happens and suggest a different episode. What does not happen: a booked placement simply being dropped.

Yes. Our episodes are in German and the audience is largely in the DACH region – an English spot would stand out between German sentences, but it would not work.

The fact that your company operates internationally is no obstacle: we accept your briefing in English, and Joël records the spot in German.

On all the usual platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music and Deezer. Via the RSS feed our episodes also run in any podcast app you like – Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro and the rest.

Because your spot is cut permanently into the episode, it runs everywhere along with it. In the video on YouTube too, and also wherever we do not distribute the episode ourselves.

Across all channels 44,000+ subscribers. 3,000+ decision-makers listen to every new episode.

All figures are measured, not estimated – the plays are certified to IAB standard 2.2. The breakdown by channel, the listen-through rate and the audience profile are in the media kit.

Decision-makers from the digital economy. 83.8% hold budget responsibility, 67.6% lead people, 64.7% are C-level or founders.

Ninety per cent are between 28 and 59 years old – the years in which budgets are managed. 83% hold a university degree, 69% live in a metropolitan area.

In terms of subject matter the focus is on artificial intelligence, leadership, and sales and growth stories. The full figures, including sources and sample size, are in the media kit.

Our podcast can be received all over the world; our main reach is in the DACH region, with Germany as the clear primary market.

Yes, all clients receive a quote with advertising proposals by email.

Both are possible, and both have their reasons:

• Directly with us you usually get the better terms, the coordination is shorter, and we can accommodate particular requests.
• Through a sales house is worthwhile if you want to book digital kompakt together with other podcasts from a single source.

Either when the quote is signed or when the podcast briefing is submitted.

Yes. You name the competitors, and they will not get a placement with us during your booking period.

This costs a surcharge on the package price: 10% for up to three competitors, 15% for up to five.

We additionally promote selected episodes your spot runs in through paid channels – which brings more plays to exactly those episodes.

There are three flat-rate levels: €150, €300 or €500. We plan how the budget is spread across the episodes; you just pick the level.

Honestly: only in part. Podcast advertising is not performance marketing, and anyone who sells it to you as such is selling you something false.

The reason is the media break between podcast app and browser. Most people hear your spot, type your name into a search engine later, and never show up in any statistic as a podcast contact. We reckon that around a fifth can be attributed via tracking URLs and discount codes.

What we measure cleanly: the plays of the episodes your spot ran in – certified to IAB standard 2.2.

What we cannot do: tell you exactly who listened. Your advertising is cut permanently into the episode and does not run through an ad server that tells individual people apart. You will find our audience profile in the media kit instead.

We use a range of different measures to assess the effects of our podcast advertising:

1. DISCOUNT CODE: If you give us a discount code, we read it out in the advertising, which often encourages listeners to act.
2. TRACKING URL: As the URL we always read out a digital kompakt address followed by your company name, e.g. digitalkompakt.de/sevdesk. We can point these redirects at any link you like, so that you can use a web address with UTM parameters and measure the traffic yourself.
3. LANDING PAGE: We set up a landing page for you in our sponsors area (which is also read out at the end of the podcast ad) and link from there to the tracking URL.
4. POST-PURCHASE SURVEY: We recommend asking your customers at the end of a purchase process on your site how they became aware of the offer, and including “podcast” as one of the possible answers.
5. GATED CONTENT: In some cases gated content can be a useful measurement tool, for example if you refer at the end of your advertising to a whitepaper or case study that listeners can download in exchange for their email address.

A typical sign-off to one of our podcast ads then sounds something like this:

“If that is of interest to you, just go to digitalkompakt.de/sevdesk and take a look at the details there. As always, you will find all the information on our sponsors page at digitalkompakt.de/sponsoren.”

Yes, that is common practice with us. When you submit your briefing, simply send us the relevant code and let us know what it does, and we will build it into the spot accordingly.

We always recommend two things here. First, the discount code should be easy to remember, for example “kompakt”. Second, it should grant a noticeable but not excessive discount. For instance 10% to 15% can be a good approach, or a free month or extra features.

If the discount is too small, the incentive to enter a code is too weak. If it is too large, it may distort the picture and could be picked up by bargain-hunting sites.

Yes, that is possible. The easiest way is to supply us with your landing page along with the briefing. As a rule we work in such a way that the URL we read out is always a digital kompakt address followed by your company or product name, e.g. digitalkompakt.de/sevdesk.

You can point this redirect at any URL of your own, for example a web address with UTM parameters, so that you can measure the traffic to that URL yourself.

Technically yes, but we would not recommend it. Two addresses in the same campaign cause more confusion than they deliver insight – and anyone who mixes them up ends up nowhere.

Better: one main address that is the same in every spot, plus a deep link in the show notes, to a whitepaper or a case study for example.

If you really do want to test two variants against each other, talk to us. From the larger packages upwards, with their several ad versions, this can be split cleanly; for the additional work we charge €250 to €350 depending on the scope.

No, in essence the use of these measurement methods is already covered by our podcast prices. Costs only arise for these services under the following circumstances:

• If a discount code is supplied significantly too late or is only requested after the first spots have been published – in this case a handling fee of €150 is charged
• If more than one URL or several discount codes are to be used in different spots – this too is charged with a handling fee of €150 to €200, depending on the scope

Yes. After the last placement you receive a report, and we go through it together in a short call. It contains the plays of each episode, for example.

What it does not contain is the gender and age of the people who heard your spot. Permanently embedded advertising runs without an ad server that could break this down per campaign. You will find our audience profile in the media kit instead.

Yes, that is possible at any time. We know the burning hoops our clients are often expected to jump through for their accounting departments, and we are always happy to help – provided we know about it in good time.

From the point at which digital kompakt incurs costs, so as a rule once the ad material has been produced – in other words, once the ad spot has been recorded, a lovingly designed invoice lands on your desk.

Our payment term is 14 days from receipt of invoice.