A host-read ad, as the name suggests, is an ad read by the hosts of the podcast. The advertiser generally provides a number of talking points and the hosts will discuss the product or service in their own style while also including this essential information.
A pre-recorded or standard ad, again as the name suggests, is an advert prepared by the advertiser prior to the campaign start date and provided to the hosts in mp3 or wav format.
While the latter allows the advertiser more control over content, host-read ads are more common:
The reason for this is down to the audience’s affinity with the show hosts and a desire to hear recommendations from them directly, rather than from an entity they are not directly engaged with:
