Amazon is planning a push into podcast advertising

Good morning and welcome to Insider Advertising for March 12. I'm senior advertising reporter Lauren Johnson, and here's what's going on:

• Amazon plans podcast ads.
• Instacart's ad leaders.
• Streaming goes local.

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Tips, comments, suggestions? Drop me a line at LJohnson@insider.com or on Twitter at @LaurenJohnson.

Amazon details how the company is ramping up its pitch for podcast advertising dollars

• I reported that Amazon's ad boss, Alan Moss, said it plans to expand the amount of podcast ad space for advertisers.
• The market for podcast advertising is growing as ad sellers try to make it more automated.
• He also said Amazon would roll out remote-control-activated ads this year for TV ad formats.

Read the story.

Meet the 14 execs leading Instacart's push to build an advertising business that rivals Amazon and Walmart

• Instacart has exploded over the past year as people shift to online grocery delivery in the pandemic.
• It's trying to build an advertising business on the back of its digital audience and rival Amazon and Walmart.
• Insider identified 14 execs there who are key to building its ad business.

Read the story.

How a tech startup is helping streaming TV services comply with local laws and avoid cultural missteps as they expand internationally

• Tech and data firm Spherex is unveiling technology to help streamers "culturalize" their content, Ashley Rodriguez reports.
• Spherex CEO told Insider about some of the challenges in tailoring content for local markets.
• Spherex generates local age ratings and has new tools that help with custom art and personalization.

Read the story.

More stories we're reading:

• This digital art just sold for nearly $70 million - the highest crypto-art sale in history - making its creator one of the top three most valuable living artists (Insider)
• What you need to know about NFTs, the collectible digital tokens that are selling for millions online (Insider)
• Disneyland is hoping to reopen in late April (Insider)
• 10 real media kit examples that influencers use to get brand sponsorships (Insider)
• Marketers are underpaying Black influencers while pushing Black Lives Matter (Bloomberg)

Thanks for reading and see you on Monday! You can reach me in the meantime at LJohnson@insider.com and subscribe to this daily email here.