Mamamia, Australia's largest pure podcast network, has unveiled 'Sam', an AI-powered programmatic audio offering for brands.

Sam, a dynamic AI voice, has been trained on hundreds of hours of Mamamia podcasts. This marks the first time programmatic audio advertising is available across the Mamamia network.

According to Mamamia's latest 'State of Women' research, 79% of women trust recommendations made by Mamamia. Traditional radio programmatic audio ads are known to drive weaker outcomes for brands than host-read ads. Sam offers brands the ability to trade programmatically with the benefits of a familiar podcast voice.

"We know over 70% of listeners find host-read ads more effective than radio ads, so we’ve never taken radio ads across our network. We’re incredibly protective of our audience and we want the best outcomes for our partners," said Luca Lavigne, Head of Product at Mamamia. "Sam allows our client and agency partners to tap into the benefits of a host-read ad, but with programmatic turnaround times. We’re excited to be at the cutting edge of audio."

Podcasts Content Director at Mamamia, Jessie-Lee Klass, emphasised the importance of human oversight in maintaining high quality standards despite the core use of AI in Sam.

"Sam frees up our talented creators and producers to focus on what they do best - crafting brilliant content and working on more bespoke integrations for our partners," she said.

For Bel Cook, Head of Audio Sales at Mamamia, Sam allows for a streamlined production process, quicker turnarounds, and "more creative variations for partners who want to tap into the unparalleled engagement we have with our podcast audience".