On Stage at The Podcast Show
On Wednesday, May 20 at The Podcast Show 2026 in London, a panel that has overseen hundreds of millions in podcast and influencer ad spend, on both sides of the table, took live questions from the room on the Ask The Experts Stage at the Business Design Centre in Islington.
The panel included our SVP of Client Services, Adam McNeil, and two brand-side leaders: Brittany Clevenger, Senior Director of Growth at BetterHelp, and Rebecca Frepp, Influencer and Affiliate Lead at MedExpress.
The session titled "What Brands Actually Want: A Live Q&A with the Sponsors Writing the Checks" was mostly about one thing: the information brands need before they'll consider a show, and how creators can give it to them.
What It Takes to Get a Yes
Most of it came down to demystifying why creators so often don't get deals. A brand needs to understand the value of their marketing spend. For many the default is to protect the budget, which means the burden is on the show to make saying yes the obvious call. The job, for any creator or network, is to build that case, to hand them the information that turns a no into a yes.
Why Sessions Like This Matter
For us, sessions like this are the whole point of showing up. Podcast advertising works when both sides understand each other. The more honest the conversation between brands and creators, the better the partnerships, and the better the results.
"What a joy it is to help creators see their potential as more than just a pipe dream, but a clear actionable journey towards turning their passion for podcasting into a fruitful and profitable journey. Sometimes it's just helping them find the missing piece holding them back."
- Adam McNeil, SVP of Client Services, ADOPTER Media
Sherry Del Rizzo
Sherry leads editorial at ADOPTER Media, translating the agency's campaign experience and podcast advertising expertise into education for the industry. Her job, in short: take what ADOPTER learns from running real campaigns and turn it into something worth reading.
