Meta recently faced another privacy violation fine in Europe, prompting a more serious discussion about big tech regulation in Washington.

The Irish data protection authority fined Meta €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) for mishandling European user data when transferring it to the U.S. This significant fine highlights the importance of ad tech operators prioritizing compliance with such regulations.

While a national data privacy bill is gaining traction, not everyone has fully embraced it yet. The U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee voted to pass the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, which could have broad implications for data collection, use, and sharing in marketing and other areas.

In this context, U.S. counterparts are lobbying lawmakers across the Atlantic in an effort to influence a multi-state privacy law that could supersede the current patchwork of individual state laws. Although there is still progress to be made before such a law is officially enacted, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) is the most advanced proposal. Key industry players are actively engaging with the U.S. Capitol to advocate for a unified set of privacy requirements applicable nationwide, similar to the EU’s approach.

As a result of the lack of a federal privacy law in the U.S., various states are taking steps to pass their own comprehensive legislation to protect privacy in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia, and other states are responding to public demands for robust privacy laws.

Meanwhile, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and its sister organization, IAB Tech Lab, are leading early compliance and lobbying efforts through various initiatives. Executives from these organizations have engaged in discussions with key supporters of privacy legislation to educate them on industry perspectives.

“If you’re a global media company, then you’re facing a nightmare of cross-compliance,” IAB Tech Lab CEO Anthony Katsur said in an interview with Digiday. “In the internet era, many companies are global by nature… it’s a nightmare from a technical, legal, and consumer experience perspective.”

The IAB highlights the bipartisan support for federal privacy legislation, with draft proposals currently undergoing revisions in Congress. However, it is anticipated that any such legislation will likely be passed after the upcoming general election.

The lobbying influence of industry giants like Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta is well-known and sometimes resented by both the public and industry peers. This dynamic has motivated publisher executives and ad operations professionals to actively engage with key politicians in the U.S. Capitol, aiming to navigate ad tech within established guidelines.

Rob Beeler, a consultant specializing in media owners explains the strategy when speaking with U.S. lawmakers on regulation, “We want to discuss with them the value of having a Federal-level Privacy Legislation versus state-by-state.” He continued,“We’re going to talk about it because we’ve gone through what GDPR does, versus trying to do this at the California, Massachusetts, and Colorado level [of lawmamking].”

Edison Research, after venturing into the U.K. market with the release of its Infinite Dial report in 2021, is now making a more significant commitment to the country’s podcast industry. The company announced at the Podcast Show 2023 in London that it plans to launch its Podcast Metrics service in the U.K. later this year, according to Podcast News Daily.

“We are incredibly enthusiastic about the expansion of Edison Podcast Metrics to the U.K.,” said Edison Research Senior Vice President Melissa Kiesche. “We have seen how beneficial the data has been to those in the podcast industry in the U.S. and we are looking forward to seeing the thriving podcast community in the UK take advantage of this research.”

Edison Podcast Metrics relies on listener recall instead of download data. The service surveys thousands of weekly podcast listeners each quarter, collecting data on listening behavior regardless of whether a show or listening platform subscribes to the service. While Podcast Metrics was first introduced in the U.S. in November 2019, Edison has been tracking podcast consumption in aggregate since 2006.

The U.K.-specific Edison Podcast Metrics survey research is currently underway, and data from this quarter will be delivered to subscribers in Q3. The same methodology used in the U.S. is being employed in the U.K., despite the difference in country size. Edison aims to include a minimum of 2,000 weekly podcast listeners aged 15 or older in each quarterly survey.

As a preview of the forthcoming service, Edison released a list of the top five podcasts based on the data collected in April. However, the list was provided in alphabetical order rather than ranked by listenership. It includes popular U.S. import The Joe Rogan Experience, along with British podcasts such as The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster, The Rest is Politics, and Shagged Married Annoyed.

Acast recently conducted a study with 250 advertisers and marketers to determine the return on ad spend for podcast ads. The study, focused on the U.S., was conducted in collaboration with consumer insights company, Attest.

The findings revealed that 67% of podcast ad buyers stated that $1 of podcast ad spend yields a return of $4 to $6 for their brands.

Among the surveyed advertisers, 20% claimed a return on podcasts greater than $6 for every $1 spent, surpassing the returns of any other medium tested. Notably, 13% of marketers reported a better than six-times return on their investment in broadcast radio, the closest competitor to podcasts in terms of return.

The research also identified the podcast genre that generates the strongest return on ad spending. Nearly 38% of respondents stated that Business category shows had the best return, more than twice the number for TV and Movie genres (16%) and over three times the number for Sports (9%).

“When specifically measuring return on ad spend, a high performance in the Business category isn’t really surprising because we know those audiences tend to be more affluent,” said Gabriella Gregoris, Group Business Director of National Performance at Acast.

Marketers are increasingly investing in podcast advertising based on the belief in its strong return on results. According to the research, 68% of respondents stated that their second campaign had a larger budget than their first podcast advertising campaign. In fact, marketers were 34 times more likely to increase their budgets from the first campaign to the second, with only 2% reporting a decrease in their follow-up campaign budget.

Contrary to a common critique of podcasting regarding ad repetition, the study found that most ad buyers prefer a higher frequency. Acast’s survey revealed that the majority of marketers consider an ideal podcast frequency to be between 6 and 9, with 15% stating that 10 or higher is acceptable. These figures are significantly higher than Podsights’ recommended ideal frequency of 2 to 5.

The study also highlighted how podcasting is often used as an add-on to larger campaigns. Marketers leverage podcasts to complement other forms of media, reaching young and engaged audiences. The survey indicated that podcasts improve campaign effectiveness by 21% to 40%, according to most respondents.

The combination of podcast ads with social media, online video, and TV was found to be particularly beneficial, as it enhanced the overall effectiveness of advertising campaigns, according to the majority (54%) of marketers. Adding podcasts to radio campaigns also yielded positive results, with 14% of respondents reporting a significant lift in campaign effectiveness.

As a result of these findings, 63% of marketers believe that podcast ads deserve 7% to 14% of total marketing spend based on their performance. Given the total expenditure on digital ads in 2022, this suggests that podcasts deserve an additional $17.4 billion to $34.8 billion in ad dollars, indicating the medium’s effectiveness and significant growth potential, as noted by Acast.

“We know that podcast advertising is the most effective form of advertising out there and this research now proves it becomes even more powerful when part of larger campaigns,” Gregoris said. “Looking holistically at this, with respondents saying podcasts should have a larger share of total marketing spend, marketers should consider ways to add podcasts to their large multimedia campaigns to see higher returns.”