Podcast Metrics
Download: A podcast episode download. As defined by the IAB 2.1 Podcast Measurement guidelines, a listener must download enough of the episode creative file for 1-minute of audio to be counted.
Impression: A podcast ad impression. Also defined in the IAB 2.1 Podcast Measurement guidelines, the listener must have downloaded all of the bytes in the episode creative file where the ad can be heard to be counted. Also see: “Actual”
Podcast Layouts
Placements: The configured layouts of a podcast’s audio segments. Each is made up of a list of Zones. If there are no placements configured for an audio template, vanilla/ad-free audio will be served. Example: [Preroll1 Preroll2 Original1 Midroll Original2 Postroll]
Zone: A single audio segment within an episode, including both original and ad segments. Example: House Preroll 2
Section: A grouping of consecutive ad Zones into a single block. May also distinguish between “paid” and “house” ads. Example: Preroll (containing both Preroll1 and Preroll2)
Ad Serving
Campaign: Represents an Inventory Order (IO) for a single advertiser. It can contain many Flights.
Flight: One or more creatives plus a set of targeting information to serve with a podcast. Configured with Zones, a date-range, and an Impression goal. Ads are fulfilled by reserving Allocations against future Inventory.
Creative: Refers to the audio file (MP3, WAV, FLAC) or VAST URL containing the ad content.
VAST: An acronym that stands for Video Ad Serving Template. VAST is a way for multiple ad servers to communicate and serve ads, replacing individual ad audio files for a campaign with a VAST URL.
Forecast: The daily forecasted Downloads we expect a podcast to receive in the future. May also be broken out by Episode, Country, State, Keywords, etc.
Inventory: The daily number of Impressions available for ad Zones to be sold into in the future. (Equal to the Forecast multiplied by the ad Placements - original segment Zones do not get Inventory).
Allocations: The daily Inventory counts reserved by a Flight. May include additional targeting info such as Episode, Country, State, Keywords, etc.
Availability: The amount of unreserved Inventory left in the system (subtract the Allocations for whatever days/targeting you’re looking at).
Actuals: The number of real Impressions a flight has already received.