Acast promotes Jack Preston to Global Head of Acast Creative

Acast, the world’s leading independent podcast company, has further invested in its Acast Creative team — and its belief in the power of creativity in podcast advertising — by promoting Jack Preston to Global Head of Acast Creative. Acast Creative is Acast’s in-house creative ad solutions team and a pillar of the Acast Marketplace, helping brands navigate the rapidly evolving podcast landscape and elevate commercial messaging to its greatest potential.

Acast first launched Acast Creative for its European markets in 2019, before expanding globally regions including the US.

Led by Preston, Acast Creative also held its first global Sounds Creative event in April, guiding and educating brands on creative best practice in podcast advertising. The event followed the publication of new research from Acast Creative looking at the impact and importance of ads created specifically for podcasts, versus those re-used from other media channels.

In his new role, Jack will continue to developAcast’s relationships with both the clients and creators, continuing to introduce innovative new ad formats into the medium and redefining the notion of what a podcast ad campaign can be.

He’ll also work closely with Acast’s talented group of regional creative directors, developing strategies tailored to each market and each client they work with.

Preston added: “When we enter into a partnership with a brand and a creator, we don’t just want people to hear the campaign — we want them to be truly listening, watching and experiencing them everywhere.

“A podcast can now be so much more than something you just listen to, so while all our campaigns will continue to have audio and storytelling at their heart, we want to work with creators and brands on bigger, more ambitious executions that take place across multiple platforms.”

With podcast advertising on the rise – eMarketer projects the podcast advertising industry will surpass $3bn in value by 2026 – the Acast Creative team is at the vanguard, delivering brilliant brand stories through both short- and long-form content. Acast Creative gives advertisers the most value from their campaign and a more creative, tailored experience for listeners — ensuring they’re tuned into the brand offering.

Preston has more than a decade’s experience creating multichannel campaigns for brands, and since joining Acast has led an overhaul of its advertising offering for clients — helping move the business from ads and sponsorship alone to a greater focus on branded content and 360 partnerships. Before joining Acast, Preston led content and social strategy at Virgin.