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Marketing Tips
February 27, 2023
9
min read
Noam Yadin

The anatomy of an ad: Helix Sleep x The David Pakman Show

We collaborated with Sounds Profitable to highlight what makes a good podcast ad by breaking down real examples from popular podcasts.

This week's anatomy of an ad - 01/05/22 -  The David Pakman Show

Hosted by: David Pakman

Ad placement: Mid-roll

Ad type: Dynamic Insertion

Start point: 00:28:11


Ad copy: 

“I'm really excited that one of our sponsors today is Helix Sleep. I sleep on a Helix Mattress at home and I absolutely love it and that's why I reached out to them about sponsoring The David Pakman Show. Buying a mattress in the past was always a huge guessing game for me. I didn't know what I actually needed, I didn't know what I would like, but Helix has a sleep quiz on their website. You tell them your body type, your sleeping position, your back pain issues you might have and their tool matched me with a mattress that is perfect for me. It's cool enough at night, it's the right firmness, I generally just do way better sleeping these days because of the mattress. Helix was awarded number one best overall mattress for the last two years by both GQ and Wired Magazine and it is well deserved. Every Helix mattress comes with a 10-year warranty. You can try the mattress risk-free for 100 nights and they will even come pick it up at your house if you don’t love it. But I know you will. All of my viewers will get up to $200 off your order and you'll get two super premium pillows for free when you go to helixsleep.com/pacman that's h-e-l-i-x sleep dot com forward slash p-a-k-m-a-n you can also find the link in the podcast notes for this episode”


Let’s break it down to see what works:

The hook: 

“I'm really excited that one of our sponsors today is Helix Sleep. I sleep on a Helix Mattress at home and I absolutely love it and that's why I reached out to them about sponsoring The David Pakman Show. Buying a mattress in the past was always a huge guessing game for me. I didn't know what I actually needed, I didn't know what I would like…”


Although David Pakman highlights that an ad is coming up, he highlights a unique aspect that makes the ad-read more natural - “I sleep on a Helix Sleep Mattress at home and I absolutely love it and that’s why I reached out to them about sponsoring The David Pakman Show”. The podcaster also focuses on pain points that pretty much any listener can relate to - “buying a mattress is always a huge guessing game…[you] don’t know what [you] actually need or what [you’ll] like”. 


The pitch:

“Helix has a sleep quiz on their website. You tell them your body type, your sleeping position, your back pain issues you might have and their tool matched me with a mattress that is perfect for me. It's cool enough at night, it's the right firmness, I generally just do way better sleeping these days because of the mattress. Helix was awarded number one best overall mattress for the last two years by both GQ and Wired Magazine and it is well deserved.


This part of the ad highlights the brand’s services, which includes how it stands out from competitors, its benefits, and even a personal experience. The description focuses on one main selling point: it’s personalized - you fill out a sleep quiz detailing your body type, sleeping position, and past back pain issues and Helix Sleep matches you with an optimal mattress. David Pakman adds a personal anecdote, “I generally just do way better sleeping these days because of the mattress”, relating directly to his listeners.


The offer: 

“Every Helix mattress comes with a 10-year warranty. You can try the mattress risk-free for 100 nights and they will even come pick it up at your house if you don’t love it…All of my viewers will get up to $200 off your order and you'll get two super-premium pillows for free when you go to helixsleep.com/pacman that's h-e-l-i-x sleep dot com forward slash p-a-k-m-a-n you can also find the link in the podcast notes for this episode”


By using The David Pakman Show’s code, listeners get a whopping $200 off their order (and two super-premium pillows for free!). Whether you use the promo code or not, Helix Sleep shoppers will receive a 10-year warranty and can give the mattress a try for 100 nights. If they aren’t happy with the product, the brand will send out someone to come and pick it up from your house. All these offers show that Helix Sleep is confident that listeners will enjoy the product and service, and will feel comfortable paying a lot more than $200.


Landing page: 

Although The David Pakman Show has a unique URL for Helix Sleep, their landing page isn’t fully personalized to the podcast. The landing page mentions the specific podcast - “Welcome, David Pakman fans!” - but lacks any visual representation. It is clear that those who have entered the website via the specified link get $200 off, however, there are extra details about the offer that weren’t highlighted in the ad-read - “Get $200 off any purchase of $1,750 or more”. 

Helix Sleep landing page


Hits the spot:

This ad-read provides listeners with a clear understanding of what the brand does and its unique services, highlighting why listeners would benefit from it. David Pakman takes into consideration his listener's pain points - it's very likely that this podcast’s demographic has vast experience in buying mattresses (and suffering from back pain). 


Room for improvement:

Despite adding a personal touch to integrate the ad into the episode, this brand-podcast partnership is not the most obvious integration. This may cause listeners to get frustrated with the randomness. To help the ad become more seamlessly integrated in the episode, it would be interesting if David Pakman somehow connected the episode content to the benefits of Helix Sleep. Also, the ad-read should detail the entire offering, emphasizing that listeners only get $200 off if their order is over $1,750. 


Partnership track record:

Over the last year, Helix Sleep has sponsored over 165 podcasts and has sponsored The David Pakman Show 4 times. 


Where else has Helix Sleep sponsored?

Another Below Deck Podcast, Total Soccer Show, Two Girls One Ghost, Get Sleepy… with over 165 different podcast partnerships, you name the show and Helix Sleep has probably been there!


What other brands have appeared on The David Pakman Show?

Blinkist, Athletic Greens, Four Sigmatic, Magic Spoon, BlueChew, and many more.


Key takeaways:

When you think about Helix Sleep, The David Pakman show isn’t the most obvious partnership. But, David Pakman included the fact that he uses the mattress, and “he reached out to them about sponsoring” because he knew his fans would enjoy the service, which made the integration becomes a little more seamless. 


Although The David Pakman Show’s code offers listeners $200 off, a quick look at the landing page clearly highlights that consumers can get this discount only on a purchase of $1,750 or more. This was not emphasized in the episodes ad-read.


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