Podcast Advertising

Podcasts are a hugely popular form of entertainment and information — more than 15 million Canadian adults listen to them. But they can also be a powerful vehicle to promote products and services to potential customers. Your business can:

• Advertise within a podcast
• Sponsor an individual episode or a series
• Create a custom podcast series

Why Podcasts?

• Drive action: nearly 6 in 10 podcast listeners recall taking action as a result of podcast ads
  • 23% searched online after listening
  • 18% found out about a new brand
  • 15% spoke to friends and family about the brand after listening [NA2]
• Be where your customers are: 32% of Canadian podcast fans listen at times when they would normally be unreachable by other media
• Engage: podcasts attract a curious and highly engaged audience
• Trust: podcast ads read by the host resonate as genuine with audiences and tend to result in 2 to 3 times more audience interaction
• Intimacy: your message doesn’t have to fight among brands’ distractions

Why us?

We are storytelling experts, so we attract consumers who love a well-told story. In fact, the Star audience is 23% more likely to be podcast listeners compared to the rest of the Canadian adult population.

• Trusted storytelling: 140 years of local and national reporting and feature writing
• Journalistic insight: we use our vast knowledge to shape your content strategy
• Analytics: we monitor trending stories and the content people are consuming
• Reach: align you brand with our newsroom editorial podcasts

Star Metroland Media–produced podcasts capture the attention of audiences with specific interests, and have active listeners across the country. Check out our podcasts below.

Featured Podcasts

This Matters: a daily news podcast that aims to answer questions about important social, cultural, political and economic stories and ideas.

Between Us with Wes Hall (launching Nov 9, 2021): How would you like to be around a campfire with one of Canada’s most successful business leaders to get the real talk? That’s the spirit of this ground-breaking podcast. Wes Hall is an innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist and he’s here to have deep conversations with BIPOC visionaries about status, culture and the Canadian dream. There’s still time to be part of this unique opportunity! Reach out to before October 25 to learn more.

ConneXion with Howard Green (launching Nov 2021): Engagement is one of the hallmarks of great conversation, and it’s at the core of this twelve-part, bi-weekly video streaming series, hosted by Howard Green, author of three bestselling business books and part of the founding team at BNN (now BNN Bloomberg). Known for his in-depth, probing, human interviews of business leaders and policy makers, Green gives insight into influencers and power brokers – and the key issues facing them and society.

Millennial Money: This unique podcast asks millennials living in the GTA to record their spending, which is analyzed by a financial adviser. Participants are then challenged to use the professional advice to save money.

Deep Left Field: Mike Wilner, the former “voice of the Jays” brings in fellow experts and guests to discuss all things baseball.

Past Shows

Next Round’s on Me: Golf journalist Adam Stanley take listeners inside the ropes with the people, places and stories that matter to Canadian golf fans.

Hustled: What does it mean when your boss is an app? Host Sara Mojtehedzadeh follows a group of Foodora couriers who are challenging the powerful business model – in a fight that could redefine the future of work.

Headers & Footers: Sports broadcaster and author Brendan Dunlop introduced “Headers and Footers”, a nightly UEFA EURO 2020 recap show from the Toronto Star. At the end of each match day, Brendan broke down the biggest games and storylines with some of the best soccer minds covering The Beautiful Game, including the Star’s very own Laura Armstrong.

Tokyo Daily: Brendan Dunlop hosts “Tokyo Daily”, following the highs, lows and surprises of the 2020 Games. With hits from the Star’s reporters in Tokyo and discussion with our local team, Tokyo 2020 gives a daily breakdown of the standings and storylines as we cheer for Canada’s athletes.

Find out how podcast advertising and sponsorship can help your business reach a huge, engaged audience. Ready to learn more? Complete the form below and a marketing consultant will be in touch.