How to advertise on Criminology: what it costs, who buys, and how to book

Criminology sells its host-read inventory on a quoted, per-campaign basis, not a public rate card, and the brands buying it treat the show as a conversion channel. Spotsnow attributes an estimated over $70K in combined tracked spend across just its top three advertisers, and roughly 93% of the ads on the feed are direct response. Quince, the deepest repeat buyer, has run roughly 10 to 12 host-reads here. For a buyer weighing the show, that mix reads plainly: coded, attributable spots from DTC brands that come back. Spotsnow estimates all of this from tracked advertiser activity, not audience surveys. This guide covers Criminology.

Why Criminology is built for host-read direct response

Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford work infamous criminal cases in detail, which puts the show in the retail advertiser's sweet spot: a true crime feed with a loyal, returning audience. Spotsnow data shows roughly 93% of the ads here are direct response, the coded-URL, promo-code, attribution-first kind of read. That matters because a case-by-case narrative show holds attention through the break. Listeners follow Ferguson and Morford across a full episode, so a host endorsement borrows that trust instead of interrupting it. Spotsnow estimates the show reaches roughly 130,000 listeners per episode, an estimate rather than an audited count.

The audience skews strongly female, concentrated in the twenty-five to forty-four range, mostly middle income with a solid upper-middle tier, and heavily US based with a UK, Canada, and Australia tail. On influence, the show carries about 4.7 stars on Apple Podcasts across roughly 6,400 to 7,000 ratings. Instagram sits near 1,200 followers, so the pull lives in the feed rather than spread across social platforms. For an advertiser, feed-level trust is the asset that converts.

Who is advertising on Criminology

The roster runs deep, roughly 120 to 145 advertisers over three months by Spotsnow's count, weighted toward DTC comfort, lifestyle, and everyday-service brands. Recognizable names include Progressive, Mint Mobile, Ro, Shopify, and Instacart.

The anchor advertisers, broken down

Boll & Branch

Boll & Branch sells organic-cotton luxury bedding, a DTC home purchase. Spotsnow tracks roughly 5 to 6 host-reads on the show and estimates total spend at over $20K, classified as direct response. It fits a female-skewing, higher-household-income audience that listens at home, where a bedding pitch lands.

Quince

Quince sells affordable-luxury apparel and home essentials on a factory-direct DTC model. It is the deepest repeat buyer on the feed, with roughly 10 to 12 host-reads and estimated total spend of over $20K, classified as direct response by Spotsnow. Value-plus-quality is an easy sell to this audience, and the return visits are the real signal.

Smalls

Smalls delivers fresh, human-grade cat food by subscription. Spotsnow tracks roughly 2 to 3 host-reads and estimates total spend at over $10K, classified as direct response. A repeat-purchase subscription model thrives on coded host-reads, and devoted pet owners cluster in exactly this kind of at-home listening audience.

Progressive, the awareness outlier

Progressive posts the highest raw appearance count on the show, but almost entirely as produced spots rather than host-reads. It's proof a different objective works here too: a large brand using the feed for reach and frequency, not a promo code.

All spend figures are Spotsnow estimates.

Why retail brands cluster here

True crime listeners are patient. They stay for a whole case, and the two Mikes build the kind of familiarity that a bedding brand or a cat-food subscription can rent for the length of a read. That's why the cluster tilts DTC comfort, apparel, and home: products someone buys for themselves, at home, in the same mood they listen in. Quince coming back ten-plus times isn't a coincidence. It's a brand watching coded orders land and buying again, which is the clearest evidence you'll get that the audience acts on what the hosts endorse. When the show sells on a quote instead of a rate card, the roster is your price sheet, and the roster keeps re-upping.

How your ad could sound

Here's a spot pulled straight from a recent Criminology episode, running into the top of the show.

That clip is a produced network spot, not a host endorsement, and the difference is the whole point. It runs clean, but it's interchangeable, the same read any show could carry. What converts on this feed is the opposite: a host-read that opens with a real hook, frames the product in Ferguson or Morford's own words, states one clean offer, and hands off back into the case without a seam. Give the hosts a single memorable code and one URL, and keep urgency in the copy rather than burying the ask at the tail. View what a great sample ad looks like here.

What makes a show like this convert

1. The format carries the ask. About 93% of the ads here are direct response, so the read is built to be tracked, not just heard.
2. Host credibility does the selling. A 4.7-star Apple rating across thousands of reviews means the endorsement carries weight the audience already trusts.
3. The audience matches the buyers. An estimated 130,000 listeners who skew female and listen at home line up with the DTC comfort and lifestyle brands buying in.
4. The math works, so buyers repeat. Quince running roughly 10 to 12 host-reads is a brand that keeps buying because the coded orders keep coming.

Criminology in a nutshell

An estimated 130,000 listeners, skewing female and mostly US based, follow Ferguson and Morford through full case narratives with room for a host to hold attention. The buyers already there are DTC comfort and lifestyle brands: bedding, affordable-luxury apparel, subscription pet food, mostly on coded host-reads. The show sells on a quote per campaign, not a public rate card, and inventory moves. If you're chasing attributable conversions rather than pure reach, this is a direct-response feed first.