How Does SiriusXM Advertising Work? An Insider’s Guide

Closed ecosystem. Daypart targeting. Glass box syndrome. It seems like the audio advertising world changes faster than we can say “SiriusXM,” with yet a new, must-know term popping up daily. If you thought you knew everything there is to know about SiriusXM advertising, think again. 

With AM/FM increasingly declining, SiriusXM continues to rise, offering listeners the live talk content and hosts they love, with the benefit of digital formats and stellar sound quality. SiriusXM follows subscribers wherever they are, whether it’s driving across town or across the country. For advertisers, this medium is an all-around, reliable option for your messages. 

Before you can get started, learn the ABCs of SiriusXM advertising lingo, categorized by planning, creative, measurement, and more. Not a fan of acronyms that go unclarified? Yep, from PE to CPM, we’ll spell those out, too. 

Plus, learn why SiriusXM is unparalleled thanks to our entertainment library and exclusive audience. 

How to Speak Planning

To kick off the process, start with planning. Here is where you’ll learn how and when you can target your audience—and where to reach them. 

AD BREAK: The point in a show where an ad (commercial) is delivered. There are only so many breaks per show, and it varies by channel.

AD BREAK TARGETING: Our streaming audio equivalent would be “daypart” targeting—the ability to target a specific day of the week and/or time of day.

AD CAMPAIGN: One or a series of ad spots that communicate a similar message to listeners. These are often differentiated by separate products and objectives.

AD TARGETING: SiriusXM can target by channel, show, personality, genre cluster, custom cluster, and daypart. 

AUDIENCE-BASED BUYING: Interested in male millennials? The satellite sales team can select/recommend channels that best reach an audience demo (age range and gender only). And because SiriusXM ads run nationally, you can reach wider audiences, too.

BRAND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN: A campaign designed to introduce a client’s brand and the value they offer to the market with the goal of building brand familiarity. 

CATEGORY (aka genre): A content selection chosen by a programming director which best describes their satellite channel type. Examples include sports and news. This term is often interchangeably used with genre.

CATEGORY TARGETING: The ability to target by channel genre (i.e., lifestyle, sports, news).

CLOSED ECOSYSTEM: (aka walled garden): Content that requires a subscription or is behind a paywall, meaning you have to sign up to listen. SiriusXM is an example of this.

CROSS-PLATFORM PACKAGING: The ability to expand your clients campaign above and beyond satellite and into other formats, such as streaming audio or podcasts. For example, run your ad on parenting-focused podcasts on the SiriusXM Podcast Network, and on family-friendly music stations on Pandora.

CROSS PROMOTION: Promotional ads that run on other channels/shows, with a similar audience, to help promote a sponsorship on satellite.

DAYPART TARGETING: The ability to target a specific day of the week and/or time of day. Think ad break targeting in podcast terms. 

How to Speak Creative 

The moment you’ve been waiting for. Now that you know who you’re reaching, we’ll help you capture (and maintain) their attention through short- or long-form ads and partnering with hosts. 

AD FORMAT: Is it a traditional brand spot or a live read? What will it sound like? And how long will it be? That’s totally up to the client to decide, and SiriusXM offers options.

LIVE READ: A show host will read a script promoting the client’s products or services. These are traditionally :60 long but can be condensed to :30. 

CALL-TO-ACTION (CTA): Arguably the most important part of the ad—because it’s when you lay out the exact action you want listeners to take. This varies based on your goals but can range from “visit our website and use this promo code” to “visit our store.”  

CLIENT-PROVIDED AD: Already got something in the works? You can provide your own brand spot to run on our channels. Try not to go overboard on music and sound effects; we want to keep it as close to the channel listening experience as possible. This ad type is available in :30 and :60 formats.

CUSTOM INTEGRATION: SiriusXM content consisting of sponsorship segments or custom vignettes.

PRE-RECORDED AD: This ad is where any one of our exclusive hosts would record a scripted read in advance to run during their show. Similar to live reads, these are traditionally :60 long but can be condensed to :30. 

PE (PERSONAL EXPERIENCE): This is when a host gets a chance to use your product and share their personal experience. It takes a few more moving parts, but certain hosts love being able to speak authentically in a live read spot or in a custom segment.

PRE-RECORDED AD: Pre-recorded ad, or pre-recorded read is where any one of our exclusive hosts would record a scripted read in advance to run during their show. Similar to live reads, these are traditionally :60 long, but can be condensed to :30. 

SCRIPT: Written words for a sponsorship message. A script can be written by our studio/copywriter, the brand, or a creative agency. For pre-recorded reads, this will be a verbatim script, but for live reads, the host has the freedom to go off script to increase the value to his/her listeners and personalize the message. 

SEGMENTS: These three to five-minute customized segments are seamlessly woven into the show (specific to each show) and can be sponsored by your advertiser via a :10 billboard. 

VIGNETTES: In its simplest form…storytelling. These :30 produced spots allow for an advertiser to tell a story or offer informational, themed nuggets above/beyond their traditional brand commercials.  We traditionally marry a :30 vignette with a :30 brand spot, creating a whole unit called “piggyback,” where an advertiser owns :60 of a given ad break.

How to Speak Measurement 

Your campaign is running (or it’s finished), now what? Learn how we help you measure the success of your campaign. 

COST PER THOUSAND (CPM): This metric refers to the cost of an ad per 1K listens and is typically a set fee which can vary based on the popularity of the channel/show.

DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING: To track specific actions, live reads and/or brand spots often include a unique URL for listeners which measures the amount of incoming traffic. 

IMPRESSION: Impressions are the number of times a specific ad unit is heard by consumers. We do not guarantee impressions on SiriusXM; rather they are to be used as estimates for pre-planning purposes only.

PROMO CODE: A unique code to be used at checkout to give listeners access to some kind of special offer and help track campaign success.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI): A simple ratio that measures the return on an investment relative to its cost.

VANITY URL: A short, custom URL that can be a great way to track results from a satellite ad.

Other Terms to Know 

But wait, there’s more. For the overachievers, it can’t hurt to keep these terms in your back pocket, too. 

AD SELLER: Companies (like us!) who sell broadcast and podcast ads across content to which they have sales rights. 

BROADCAST CALENDAR: The broadcast calendar is a standardized calendar used primarily for the planning and purchase of radio and television programs and advertising. Every week in the broadcast calendar starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday, and every month has either four or five such weeks. SiriusXM bills on a broadcast calendar.

CLOCK: A way for radio to standardize daily schedules, splitting its shows into specific segments. Channels have a different clock for each show to make sure everything runs consistently day to day.

GLASS BOX SYNDROME: The feeling of being right there with the host, like they’re your best friend (because, for the past year, they probably have been).

MEASUREMENT VENDOR: Vendors who help with analytics and measure ad effectiveness.

TAG: A short five-second addition or statement which is added to an existing message.  Traditionally, this runs as part of a billboard sponsorship. A tag is often referred to as a “tagline.”

SPOT VS. IMPRESSION: Unlike other digital audio formats, SiriusXM is not sold based on impressions. Spots are the number of times an ad is aired or displayed, regardless of the size of the audiences or how many people hear the ad (in this way, it’s a lot like buying AM/FM radio).

CLUSTER: A selection of channels grouped by genre or for a specific purpose (e.g., based on audience interests). 

The SiriusXM Advantage 

SiriusXM deserves a permanent spot in any media mix, thanks to our gold star entertainment and audience that is more than listeners but active subscribers. We check off all the boxes for entertainment thanks to our household names (Conan O’ Brien and Kevin Hart), must-listen genres (comedy, news), and in-demand partnerships (six professional sports leagues). And when it comes to our audience, they’re exclusive (65% of in-car listeners never tune in to AM/FM radio) and have high purchase intent (77% correlation to hearing an ad on SiriusXM and making a purchase). And did you hear the news? We’ve just launched SiriusXM Play, our first low-cost, ad-supported subscription plan—so you can extend your broadcast strategy. 

Our audience chooses to be here, and aligning your brand with the content and voices they love, and a platform that accompanies them at home or in-car, means unlimited possibilities and rewards. Let’s chat. 

Learn More About SiriusXM Advertising Opportunities