Beginning July 15, 2026, Megaphone's campaign management experience will transition to the Spotify Ad Server (SAS). This upgrade unlocks new ad formats, campaign types, and targeting capabilities for Megaphone publishers. To facilitate this change, Megaphone publishers can begin pre-booking eligible campaigns on April 15, 2026.
This article provides a high-level summary of what's changing. For step-by-step setup instructions, see the articles linked throughout.
What's New
New campaign types
Guaranteed campaigns can now be one of two types, Standard or Priority, giving you control at the campaign-level over how your inventory is sold and delivered. We’re also introducing private marketplace deals, which will have a chance to fill after guaranteed campaigns.
Priority (Guaranteed): Delivers first. Guaranteed delivery at a fixed CPM with no impression caps or pacing options. Best for accelerated, first-look, or episode-exclusive campaigns.
Standard (Guaranteed): Delivers after Priority campaigns. Guaranteed delivery based on impression budget, with support for impression goals and pacing. Best for fixed-impression, even-paced, or run-of-network campaigns.
Private Marketplace (PMP)
Private Marketplace (PMP) Deals (Non-Guaranteed): Auction-based delivery that competes with the Spotify Audience Network (SPAN) after guaranteed campaigns have had a chance to fill. PMPs enable advertisers to bid on your inventory using their Demand-Side Platform (DSP). Subject to eligibility and acceptance of service terms.
New ad formats
In addition to standard audio ads, you can now run:
Video ads: Deliverable in video episodes or audio episodes, when the user’s Spotify app is in focus. Video ads appear on Spotify only and are not eligible for off-platform insertion.
Clickable audio ads: Audio ads delivered on Spotify can now include a clickable companion image, driving listeners to a landing page of the advertiser's choice.
We recommend maintaining both audio and video ads for maximum yield. Audio ads remain eligible for off-platform insertion while video ads and clickable companion display are Spotify-only.
Audience targeting powered by Spotify first-party data
Spotify 1P data is now the primary source for audience segment targeting. Nielsen segments remain available as a secondary option where Spotify data isn’t addressable for a given impression. This change takes effect starting July 2026, with pre-booking starting in April..
More ad location flexibility
You can now target up to 7 ad locations per campaign (1 pre, up to 5 mid, 1 post), up from the previous maximum of 5. Slot-level targeting within mid-roll positions is also now supported, giving you finer control over exactly where in an ad break your ad delivers.
Competitive separation within ad breaks
Competitive separation is now guaranteed at the ad break level by default, creating more ad opportunities per episode.
Note: For episode-level management, targeting may be used to enforce which ad categories play in a specific episode. The way to accomplish this is the following:
Make sure the campaign with the ad that requires episode-level competitive separation is targeting the episode and correct ad location
Exclude that episode from any campaign that could pose a competitive issue
Exclude that category in your Spotify Audience Network settings
What's Changing: Guaranteed Campaigns
Area | Current | Updated |
Ad formats | Standard audio only | Standard audio, video, and clickable audio |
Geotargeting | Optional; multiple countries | Required; one country per order (city/sub-region optional) |
Content targeting | Any combination across 4 categories; unlimited | One category at a time; up to 200 selections. Use tags for additional groupings if needed. |
Segment targeting | Nielsen (primary) | Spotify 1P data (primary); Nielsen (secondary) |
Campaign priority | Set at the order level | Set at the campaign level (Priority vs. Standard) |
Pacing types | Accelerated, Predictive, Even | ASAP, Even, Front-loaded |
Ad locations | Max 5 | Max 7 (1 pre, up to 5 mid, 1 post) |
Saving campaigns | Auto-save supported | Manual save required on each page |
Campaign deletion | Campaigns can be deleted | Campaigns can be archived (remain viewable) |
Ad source selection | Auto, SPAN-only, Promo-only | Ads deliver per the standard priority line items |
What's Being Removed
For campaigns delivering beyond July 14th, 2026, the:
Third-party ad serving via VAST - book PMPs directly through Megaphone to enable programmatic demand.
Predictive pacing - use ASAP, Even, or Front-loaded
Order-level priority settings - use Priority vs. Standard campaign and order pacing
Episode-level competitive separation - use targeting and exclusion parameters to enforce which ads categories can fill which episodes
Ad source selection
Smart speaker device targeting (iOS and Android only going forward)
Auto-save during campaign creation
What's Changing: Promotions
Promotions (house ads that deliver at lowest priority after all commercial advertising) are also transitioning to the Spotify Ad Server on July 15, 2026, with a pre-booking period beginning May 15, 2026.