Account-based marketing (ABM) has emerged as a powerful strategic approach for national and international brands looking to focus their marketing efforts on high-value prospects. While traditional marketing targets broad audiences hoping to find leads, ABM works in reverse by first identifying high-value accounts, then creating customized campaigns specifically for those organizations and their decision-makers.
In today's increasingly fragmented digital landscape, reaching decision-makers at target accounts presents new challenges. Connected TV (CTV) and podcast sponsorships represent untapped opportunities for sophisticated ABM strategies, offering unique targeting capabilities that align perfectly with ABM principles and reaching decision-makers in more intimate and receptive settings.
Understanding Account-Based Marketing in 2023
Account-based marketing has evolved significantly since its inception, becoming a cornerstone strategy for B2B companies targeting enterprise clients. According to recent research from Forrester, 70% of B2B marketers reported using ABM strategies in 2022, up from 56% just two years prior. This growth reflects the increasing recognition that focusing resources on high-value accounts generates better ROI than broad-based marketing approaches.
The evolution of ABM has been marked by a shift from strictly one-to-one approaches to more scalable models that include one-to-few and one-to-many strategies. This evolution has been enabled by advancements in technology and data capabilities, allowing marketers to personalize at scale and reach decision-makers across multiple touchpoints.
Successful ABM strategies incorporate several key elements regardless of scale: strategic account selection, data-driven insights about target accounts, personalized content that addresses specific pain points, coordinated multi-channel engagement, and sales-marketing alignment throughout the process. The account selection process is particularly critical, with the most effective programs using a combination of firmographic data, behavioral signals, and predictive analytics to identify accounts with the highest potential value and propensity to buy.
Despite its growing popularity, implementing ABM effectively presents significant challenges. Resource allocation remains a persistent issue, as creating personalized content and experiences for target accounts requires substantial investment. Accurate targeting presents another hurdle – identifying and reaching the right decision-makers within complex organizations often requires sophisticated data and technology solutions. Measurement also remains complicated, as traditional marketing metrics don't always capture the full impact of ABM activities on account engagement and progression.
Traditional ABM Channels vs. Emerging Media
Traditional ABM channels have typically included targeted digital advertising, personalized email campaigns, direct mail, account-specific content, and sales outreach. While these channels remain valuable, they face increasing limitations in today's media environment. Digital ads suffer from banner blindness and ad-blocking, emails struggle with low open rates among executives, and direct mail may not reach remote or hybrid workers.
Additionally, these channels primarily target prospects in professional contexts, missing opportunities to engage decision-makers during their personal time when they may be more receptive to new ideas.
Emerging media channels like Connected TV and podcasts present compelling alternatives that address many of these limitations. Unlike traditional channels that often interrupt the user experience, CTV and podcasts reach audiences during intentionally selected content experiences.
These emerging channels offer unique advantages for ABM strategies. They reach decision-makers in relaxed, receptive environments outside of work hours when they're more open to new ideas and information. The contextual nature of these platforms also provides opportunities for message alignment with content the target audience already values.
For example, sponsoring a podcast about innovation in a client's industry creates an automatic relevance that cold outreach cannot match. Additionally, both CTV and podcasts benefit from high completion rates – viewers rarely skip TV commercials, and podcast listeners typically hear ads in their entirety, especially host-read endorsements that blend naturally with the content.
The Power of Connected TV in ABM Strategies
Connected TV represents the convergence of traditional television's engaging visual format with the targeting precision of digital advertising. Unlike conventional TV, CTV delivers content through internet-connected devices, including smart TVs, streaming devices like Roku or Apple TV, and gaming consoles. This distinction has fueled remarkable growth, with eMarketer reporting that 92% of U.S. households now have at least one CTV device. More importantly for ABM practitioners, CTV viewership has surged among business decision-makers.
Targeting Precision in CTV for ABM
The technical infrastructure behind CTV advertising enables unprecedented targeting precision for ABM campaigns. When viewers stream content through connected devices, these platforms generate unique identifiers tied to both devices and households. These identifiers can then be matched with various data sets, including business databases, allowing advertisers to create highly specific audience segments.
Additionally, IP address data can identify viewers likely working at or associated with specific companies, creating opportunities for corporate IP targeting or geofencing around business locations.
For national brands implementing ABM strategies, several targeting methodologies prove particularly effective. Company IP targeting allows ads to be served to devices connected to corporate networks, reaching employees while they're working remotely or using company devices at home. Geographic targeting can focus on residential areas near corporate headquarters or regional offices, particularly valuable when targeting companies with centralized workforces.
Account list targeting enables brands to upload lists of specific companies and serve ads to viewers associated with those organizations through data partnerships and device graphs. Behavioral retargeting extends reach by serving CTV ads to users who have previously visited the brand's website or engaged with other digital content.
These targeting capabilities can be combined in sophisticated ways to ensure maximum relevance. For example, a national software provider could target CTV ads to viewers who work in IT departments at Fortune 1000 companies located in specific regions, have visited the product website in the past 30 days, and match senior decision-maker job titles. This multi-layered approach ensures budget efficiency by focusing exclusively on the most valuable potential accounts and stakeholders while still utilizing the impact of television advertising.
Measurement capabilities for CTV have evolved to support ABM objectives, though they differ from traditional digital metrics. While individual-level tracking is limited compared to some digital channels, advertisers can measure important indicators like reach within target accounts, frequency of exposure, content completion rates, and subsequent digital engagement. Advanced measurement approaches include lift studies comparing account engagement between exposed and unexposed groups, and incremental reach analysis to understand how CTV complements other channels in the ABM mix.
Creative Considerations for CTV in ABM Campaigns
Creating effective CTV content for ABM requires balancing the broad appeal of traditional TV advertising with the relevance needed for targeted accounts. The production quality must meet the high standards viewers expect from television content, while messaging should resonate specifically with target account pain points and priorities.
This balance is best achieved by developing creative concepts that address industry-specific challenges or opportunities while maintaining a professional, high-impact visual approach that builds brand credibility.
Successful ABM campaigns on CTV often take a tiered creative approach. The foundation typically consists of a core brand message that establishes relevance to the business category and highlights key differentiators. This core message can then be augmented with industry-specific overlays, targeted messaging, or visual elements that speak to particular account segments. For example, a cloud services provider might produce a base commercial highlighting security and reliability, then create versions with industry-specific examples, statistics, and visual cues for healthcare, financial services, and retail segments.
The growing capabilities around dynamic creative optimization (DCO) in CTV environments offer exciting possibilities for ABM personalization. Advanced platforms now enable brands to swap specific elements of an ad based on the viewer, including text overlays, product visuals, offers, and even narrative elements. A national business services brand might maintain consistent opening and closing sequences while dynamically changing the middle segment to feature industry-specific use cases, testimonials from similar companies, or regional office information based on the viewer's company profile. These capabilities create more relevant experiences for target accounts while maintaining production efficiency.
Leveraging Podcast Sponsorships for Account Targeting
The podcast landscape has transformed dramatically in recent years, evolving from a niche medium to a mainstream channel with remarkable growth among business professionals. According to Signal Hill Insights, 83% of senior-level executives listen to podcasts weekly. This high penetration among decision-makers makes podcasts particularly valuable for ABM strategies.
Perhaps more significant than raw listenership numbers is the unique relationship between podcast hosts and their audiences, characterized by trust, consistency, and perceived expertise.
This trust creates an exceptional environment for ABM messaging. Unlike most advertising channels where messages are clearly separate from content, podcast advertising often blends seamlessly with the programming, particularly through host-read endorsements. When a trusted industry voice personally recommends a solution, it carries substantially more weight than traditional advertising. The intimate nature of podcast listening – often through earbuds during commutes, workouts, or other personal time – further enhances this connection.
Effective Podcast Advertising Formats
Podcast advertising offers several formats, each with different applications for ABM strategies. Host-read ads, where the podcast host delivers the message in their own words, typically generate the highest engagement and conversion rates due to the trust factor. Pre-produced spots offer more control over messaging but may feel more like traditional advertising. Sponsorships that include both ads and content integration (such as sponsored segments or episodes) offer a middle ground, combining the credibility of host endorsement with the precision of crafted messaging. For ABM purposes, integrated sponsorships of industry-specific podcasts typically deliver the best combination of relevance, trust, and targeting precision.
The length of podcast ads also allows for more comprehensive messaging than many digital formats. With spots typically ranging from 30 seconds to two minutes, brands can explain complex value propositions, address specific pain points, and establish credibility through detailed examples or case studies. This extended format aligns well with the complex purchase considerations in many B2B contexts, allowing marketers to begin addressing sophisticated buyer concerns rather than simply generating awareness.
Targeting Capabilities in Podcast Advertising
Targeting in podcast advertising differs significantly from CTV, relying more heavily on content affinity and contextual relevance than deterministic data targeting. The primary targeting mechanism involves selecting specific podcasts whose audiences align with target account profiles. This contextual approach harnesses the natural self-selection that occurs when business professionals choose industry-specific content.
For example, a podcast focused on enterprise cybersecurity naturally attracts IT security decision-makers across multiple target accounts, creating an efficient path to reach these stakeholders.
For national brands implementing ABM strategies, several targeting parameters deserve consideration. Industry-specific podcasts provide the most direct path to relevant decision-makers, with shows focused on particular sectors or functional areas typically attracting well-defined listener groups. Business generalist podcasts with large audiences of executives and decision-makers can supplement this approach, offering broader reach while still maintaining business relevance.
Geographic targeting is also possible through podcast networks that offer regional insertion capabilities, allowing brands to focus on markets where target accounts have a significant presence.
Recent advancements in programmatic podcast advertising have enhanced targeting precision beyond content selection. Through partnerships with data providers, some platforms now offer audience targeting based on professional characteristics like company size, industry, job function, and seniority. While not as precise as some digital channels, these capabilities can help narrow focus within broader business podcasts. For example, a financial services platform might target senior finance executives across multiple podcast types through programmatic buying, then supplement with sponsorships of CFO-specific content for deeper engagement.
The most sophisticated ABM approaches combine multiple targeting strategies in podcast campaigns. A tiered approach might include sponsorship of 2-3 highly relevant industry podcasts to build credibility with core decision-makers, programmatic buys across business podcasts targeting specific job functions, and broader business news podcasts to reach C-suite influencers. This combination creates multiple touchpoints with different stakeholders at target accounts, reinforcing messaging through varied but complementary contexts.
Integration of Podcast Campaigns with ABM Workflow
Integrating podcast advertising into a broader ABM strategy requires thoughtful alignment with other channels and the overall account journey. Podcasts typically perform best in the awareness and consideration phases, educating prospects about problems and potential solutions before they actively enter buying cycles.
This positioning makes podcast advertising an excellent complement to more action-oriented channels like direct outreach or targeted digital advertising, creating familiarity with the brand before these direct touchpoints occur.
Message alignment across channels is particularly important when incorporating podcasts into ABM workflows. The podcast message should introduce key concepts, value propositions, or thought leadership positions that will be expanded upon in other channels. This creates a consistent narrative where each channel builds upon the groundwork laid by others. For example, a podcast sponsorship might introduce a new approach to solving an industry problem, while subsequent email campaigns, sales outreach, and website content provide deeper information about how the solution works for specific account types.
For maximum impact, podcast creative should be developed with both the specific medium and the broader ABM strategy in mind. Host-read ads should include talking points that align with key ABM messaging pillars while allowing the hosts authentic delivery in their own voice. Custom segments or interview sponsorships should address topics relevant to both the podcast audience and the target account's pain points.
Most importantly, podcast messages should include clear connections to the next steps in the account journey, whether through memorable URLs, text-based response mechanisms, or branded terms that will be recognized in subsequent touchpoints.
The measurement and attribution of podcast advertising within ABM frameworks presents unique challenges given the audio nature of the medium. While direct response metrics like promo code usage or dedicated URL visits provide some visibility, they often undercount the full impact of podcast exposure on account progression. More comprehensive approaches include post-exposure surveys that measure brand lift among target accounts, increases in branded search from target account IP ranges following podcast campaigns, and engagement lift analyses comparing accounts exposed to podcast advertising versus control groups. Multi-touch attribution models that assign fractional credit across channels can also help quantify podcast influence alongside other ABM tactics.
Creating a Cohesive Multi-Channel ABM Strategy
Effectively integrating CTV and podcast advertising into an ABM approach requires a cohesive strategy that employs each channel's strengths while maintaining consistent messaging across touchpoints. Rather than treating these channels as standalone tactics, successful ABM practitioners view them as complementary elements within an orchestrated account experience. This integrated approach recognizes that different stakeholders at target accounts consume media differently, requiring presence across multiple channels to ensure comprehensive coverage.
The foundation of effective multi-channel ABM integration is alignment around account journey stages and stakeholder needs. Early stages typically focus on problem awareness and education, making broad-reach channels like CTV and podcasts particularly valuable. These channels can introduce key concepts and establish brand relevance before more targeted tactics engage specific individuals.
As accounts progress toward consideration, more personalized channels like account-specific content, direct mail, and sales outreach become increasingly important. Throughout this progression, consistent messaging themes should connect all touchpoints while adapting to the format and context of each channel.
Channel Sequencing and Coordination
Channel sequencing plays a critical role in creating a seamless experience for target accounts. Many successful ABM programs use emerging media like CTV and podcasts to create initial awareness and interest, then follow with increasingly personalized digital touchpoints as accounts show engagement.
For example, a technology solution provider might begin by sponsoring relevant industry podcasts and placing CTV ads targeting specific company roles. Once engagement signals appear (like website visits from target IP ranges), the strategy might expand to include personalized emails, LinkedIn outreach from sales representatives, and account-specific content offers. This progressive approach builds familiarity before direct contact, making subsequent personalized outreach more effective.
Content Strategy Across Touchpoints
The content strategy across channels should create a coherent narrative while adapting to each format's strengths. CTV excels at emotional impact and high-level positioning, making it ideal for communicating brand value and category leadership. Podcasts offer deeper educational opportunities through longer formats and host credibility.
Digital channels enable specific solution details and personalized use cases, while direct interactions allow for customized discussions of implementation and value. When orchestrated effectively, these channels create a surround-sound effect where target accounts encounter consistent themes through varied contexts, reinforcing key messages and building a cumulative impact greater than any single channel could achieve.
Cross-Channel Measurement and Attribution
Measuring the impact of an integrated ABM approach that includes emerging channels like CTV and podcasts presents significant challenges. Traditional, siloed channel metrics fail to capture the interrelated effects of coordinated touchpoints across an account journey. Additionally, awareness channels like CTV may influence purchase decisions without generating immediately measurable actions, creating attribution gaps when using last-touch models.
These challenges require sophisticated measurement approaches that can connect activities across channels to account progression.
Account engagement scoring provides one of the most effective frameworks for evaluating multi-channel ABM impact. This approach tracks account-level interactions across all marketing touchpoints, assigning weighted values based on the engagement type and stakeholder involved. For example, a CTV impression might receive a low individual score, but repeated exposures across multiple stakeholders at an account would accumulate meaningful engagement points.
When combined with time-based analysis of engagement progression, this approach can reveal how emerging channels like CTV and podcasts influence subsequent account behavior, even without direct attribution links.
A/B Testing & Experimentation
Controlled experiments offer another valuable method for isolating channel impact within an ABM strategy. A/B testing with matched account sets can measure the incremental impact of adding CTV or podcast advertising to an existing ABM program. By comparing engagement rates, pipeline progression, and ultimately conversion between exposed and unexposed account groups, marketers can quantify the value these channels add. Similar approaches include geo-based testing (activating emerging channels in certain regions while maintaining control regions) and pulsed campaign testing (comparing results during periods with and without CTV/podcast activation).
The technology infrastructure required to support cross-channel measurement has evolved significantly in recent years. Modern ABM platforms like Demandbase, 6sense, and Terminus now offer increasing capabilities to integrate data from both traditional and emerging channels. Integration between CTV platforms, podcast attribution tools, and ABM systems enables more comprehensive visibility into the customer journey. While perfect attribution remains elusive, advanced analytics approaches like multi-touch attribution models, marketing mix modeling, and unified measurement frameworks provide increasingly accurate views of how different channels contribute to account progression and revenue outcomes.
Implementation Roadmap and Best Practices
Incorporating CTV and podcast advertising into an existing ABM program requires thoughtful planning and phased implementation to ensure success. Rather than immediately shifting significant budget to these channels, most organizations benefit from a measured approach that begins with testing and expands based on results. This methodical implementation helps build organizational confidence in these emerging channels while providing opportunities to optimize targeting and creative approaches.
The initial planning phase should focus on clear alignment between ABM objectives and the role these emerging channels will play. Begin by identifying specific challenges in your current ABM approach that CTV and podcasts might address – whether that's limited reach to certain stakeholders, difficulty creating initial awareness, or challenges breaking through in congested digital channels.
Establish specific success metrics for these new channels, recognizing that they may differ from traditional digital metrics. Develop a hypothesis for how these channels will influence the account journey and set realistic timelines for seeing impact, recognizing that awareness channels typically influence pipeline over months rather than days.
A pilot program offers the most effective way to start, allowing for controlled testing before larger investment. For CTV, begin with a focused campaign targeting a subset of high-value accounts (typically 100-300) using the most precise targeting parameters available. Create 1-2 high-quality creative executions that clearly communicate your core value proposition while maintaining the production standards viewers expect.
For podcasts, start with sponsorship of 2-3 highly relevant industry programs rather than broad distribution across many shows. Allocate sufficient budget for at least 8-12 weeks of consistent presence, as emerging media typically requires more sustained exposure than direct response channels to show measurable impact.
Measurement infrastructure should be established before launching pilot campaigns to ensure proper evaluation. For CTV, implement appropriate tracking through either dedicated landing pages, incremental lift measurement, or IP-based website visit correlation. For podcasts, utilize unique URLs, text response options, or vanity domains to track direct response, while also monitoring branded search from target accounts.
Most importantly, establish baseline engagement metrics for target accounts before launching the test, creating a clear comparison point to measure incremental impact. After the pilot period, conduct a thorough analysis comparing account engagement before, during, and after the campaign, looking at both direct response metrics and broader indicators of account progression.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Perhaps the most frequent mistake is insufficient reach and frequency within target accounts. Unlike some digital channels that can generate immediate responses with limited exposure, CTV and podcast advertising typically require a consistent presence over time to influence account behavior.
Brands often underinvest in these channels, spreading budgets too thinly across too many accounts or running campaigns for insufficient duration. For effective impact, ensure each target account receives at least 10-15 CTV exposures during a campaign period and that podcast sponsorships run for a minimum of 8-12 episodes to build recognition.
Creative misalignment represents another common challenge when incorporating these channels. Many brands simply repurpose existing digital ads or corporate messaging for CTV without adapting to the unique viewing environment and expectations of the medium. Similarly, podcast scripts often sound like corporate messaging rather than authentic communications suited to the intimate audio environment.
To avoid this pitfall, develop creative specifically for each channel – CTV creative should match the production quality of the surrounding content, while podcast scripts should adopt a more conversational tone that aligns with the host's style. Both should connect clearly to your broader ABM messaging while adapting to format-specific best practices.
Inadequate integration with other ABM channels frequently limits the effectiveness of emerging media. When CTV and podcasts operate in isolation rather than as coordinated elements of a comprehensive account experience, opportunities for reinforcement and progression are lost. This siloed approach often results from organizational structures where different teams manage different channels with limited coordination.
To maximize impact, ensure strong alignment between emerging media and other ABM tactics through consistent messaging frameworks, coordinated timing, and shared account targeting. Develop clear handoff processes between awareness channels and more targeted follow-up activities, with sales enablement that helps representatives utilize the familiarity created through CTV and podcast exposure.
Learn How We Can Enhance Your ABM Strategy With Podcasts & CTV
The integration of Connected TV and podcast advertising into account-based marketing strategies represents a significant evolution in how national brands can engage high-value target accounts. These emerging channels address critical limitations of traditional ABM approaches by reaching decision-makers in their personal environments, when they're more receptive to new ideas and information.
As technology and data capabilities continue to evolve, the targeting precision and measurement capabilities for these channels will only improve. The next generation of ABM will likely see even greater personalization within emerging media, with dynamic creative optimization enabling account-specific messaging within CTV environments and AI-powered content targeting in audio formats. Organizations that develop expertise in these channels now will be well-positioned to leverage these advancements as they emerge.
Mynt Agency offers specialized expertise in both Connected TV and podcast advertising for national and international brands. Our team designs custom campaigns that seamlessly integrate with your existing ABM framework, from strategy development to creative production and performance measurement. Contact Mynt Agency today to discuss how we can help you reach decision-makers at your highest-value accounts through these emerging channels.
