How Privacy-First Data Is Changing Podcast Ads with Emma Raz of NumberEight

How can podcasting move past guesswork to build true, privacy-first audience demographics?

In this episode of PodBiz, Norma Jean Belenky speaks with Emma Raz, Director of Commercial at NumberEight, about the evolution of audience targeting and demographic data in podcasting. Emma shares how number eight was built post-GDPR to move beyond unreliable surveys and household IP tracking, using observed content consumption to deliver precise audience insights for advertisers and creators.

As she puts it: “Limitations often lead to innovation. That’s what paved the way for us to think about data in a different way.”

Here are some insightful moments within the episode:

• How programmatic advertising and host-read extensions are reshaping podcast monetization
• Why traditional audience surveys and IP-based matching fall short
• Building a privacy-first data framework under European GDPR laws
• Current listener demographic trends, millennial dominance, and true crime subgenres
• Achieving data parity across audio, streaming, and the new frontier of video podcasting
• Key career lessons on trust, reputation, and leading lean teams

Emma Raz is the Director of Commercial at NumberEight, an audience intelligence platform specializing in privacy-first contextual and behavioral targeting. With a career background managing high-stakes hardware supply chains in Taiwan and leading business development at AppNext, she joined number eight as its first commercial hire to help scale its technology across digital media and podcasting.

Connect with Emma on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaraz/

Learn more at number eight: https://numbereight.ai/

Episode Chapters

(01:55) Where is the money in podcasting?

(04:29) Niche audience targeting and podcast lookalikes

(07:25) Building audience data in a privacy-first world

(10:07) Why IP matching and traditional surveys fall short

(12:53) How NumberEight builds observed audience data

(17:15) Who is listening to podcasts today?

(19:43) Using audience data to shape content

(23:17) How advertisers use demographic data

(25:04) Bringing data parity to video podcasting

(27:52) Navigating omnichannel budgets and agencies

(32:23) Emma’s path from cybersecurity to ad tech

(38:28) Scaling NumberEight as its first commercial hire

(40:03) Why personal reputation builds company trust

(42:21) Leading a lean team with a human-first approach

(44:26) Growing through partnerships and collaboration

(48:15) Adapting when industry shifts don’t go to plan

Some Additional PodBiz Buzz…

“Limitations often lead to innovation.”“Your reputation builds the company's reputation when you're starting this early.”“When you're looking to introduce change, you kind of have to walk people towards innovation.”

PodBiz is the podcast about the business of podcasting. Hosted by industry veterans Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan, the show features conversations with creators, executives, and platform leaders to answer one question: Where’s the money in podcasting?

Each episode dives into monetization strategy, adtech, branded content, IP development, and audience growth. Guests include leaders from Acast, Captivate, Crooked Media, Buzzsprout, True Native Media, Podfest, and more.

Learn more: njbmedia.co | thepodhouseproductions.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.