Spotify clickable podcast ads may free hosts from spelling out long URLs finally

    
    Angela Lang/CNET
    Spotify?is rolling out a new kind of advertising format during podcasts, call-to-action cards, that may give podcasters a break from having to spell out URLs and coupon codes letter by letter during their ad breaks whenever they want to relate specialized deals to listeners like you.?
    The ad cards, announced in a blog post Thursday, make?Spotify?podcast ads interactive for the first time. Podcasts are a format that was long based on downloads that were immutable once they parked on your device. But as Spotify has focused on non-music audio like podcasts in the last couple of years, it has invested in different kinds of ads with more flexiblity because they’re part of a stream, rather than a download. The new cards mean podcast advertising on Spotify can widen from something that can only be heard to something you can see — and click on too. ?
    These ads, known by the shorthand CTA cards, will appear in Spotify’s app as soon as the ad begins playing. They pair a visual banner with clickable options that mean podcasters won’t need to recite promo codes or specialized web addresses and you won’t need to work as hard to remember them. The same CTA cards will also resurface later when you’re using the Spotify app.?
    It’s the latest in a lineup of tools Spotify has rolled out for podcasters in the last year that let them interact more directly with fans, including video podcasts, Q&As and Polls.