不良研究所

Podcasting has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, transitioning from hobbyist outlets to mass media darling. Major brands and media companies have begun to sponsor hit shows as the industry simultaneously professionalizes and scales. But as with any 鈥済old rush,鈥�  there are three sides to this podcast coin: tech, creative, and measurement 鈥� which should be considered together to leverage what makes podcasting increasingly valuable. And three audio luminaries that I spoke to last month at Podcast Movement, the country鈥檚 biggest podcast conference agree: Success comes from embracing a 鈥渉olistic approach鈥� to podcasting. 

A 鈥渉olistic鈥� approach sounds virtuous 鈥� in a yoga pose kind of way 鈥� but in fact it takes on an even healthier stance when applied to the business of podcasting. It entails recognizing and optimizing the medium鈥檚 unique pace, intimacy, and listener connection versus morphing it into or even treating it like other formats. And according to my first guest, Bryan Barletta, the time is now. At twenty years in, he notes with some irony, we鈥檙e finally entering a 鈥�2.0 era,鈥� where ad technology and mindsets are starting to catch up to podcasting鈥檚 distinct potential.

Barletta created advisory service  to fill the information gap through independent research, education, and events, spurred by, 鈥渁 lack of holistic podcasting content and materials for the people in the business鈥�for the people who cash a paycheck in this space.鈥� 

Our current era, he notes, could also be called 鈥渢he 鈥榳hy鈥� phase: 鈥淲hy uniquely podcasting? Why start here?鈥� he poses, as opposed to starting with, say, a YouTube video then pulling its audio off and calling it a podcast. Because we are mature enough to now 鈥渢reat podcasting as its own channel and not try to tag it onto other channels to find its own value.鈥� (Note: That is not to say that YouTube doesn鈥檛 have : not only do 75% of consumers believe a podcast should be defined as audio or video (), but YouTube serves as one of the leading sources where listeners discover new podcasts.)  

According to Sounds Profitable鈥檚 own , conducted jointly with my second guest from Signal Hill Insights, 鈥渕any brand marketers are simply unaware of the advances podcasting technology has made over the last five years, particularly in targeting and measurement.鈥� As that awareness of capabilities grow, and the very tech itself continues to mature, the promise of greater programmatic audio advertising, bringing greater investment and inventory options into the space, grows too. That, 鈥� all three guests caution 鈥� is another area to executed thoughtfully and holistically. 

To hear Chief Insights Officer Paul Riismandel of , it begins with thoughtful creative. 

Riismandel champions using holistic campaign measurement that analyzes placements, platforms and creative together. That measurement must include  to quantify the impact of messaging. As he explains it, 鈥淲e鈥檙e measuring the difference in that feeling and perception, that knowledge about the brand that was the result of the ad exposure 鈥�  compared to somebody who didn鈥檛 hear that ad.鈥� 

But, he warns, it has been too easy to say one show worked or one show didn鈥檛, without taking creative approaches into consideration as well. 

Or, as I like to say, 鈥淚t鈥檚 the creative, stupid.鈥� 

With the help of proper 鈥渁pples to apples鈥� comparisons, based on campaigns that have clear objectives 鈥� or KPIs 鈥� from the get-go, brands can gain objectivity to help optimize their creative. Riismandel gives this example: How are personas responding? Are women responding differently than men? Or, maybe you have gamers who are responding differently than folks who are not gamers 鈥� but who are sports fans. We can dig into all sorts of different things that might be obscured.鈥� That approach will likely lead marketers to find unexpected additional shows or genres, and expand their reach by matching appropriate messaging with more receptive podcast audiences, and adjust budgets accordingly.

Leading audio and entertainment company, , offers what EVP of Digital Sales, Ken Lagana, describes as a holistic triangle of brand building, . But even when tapping podcasting鈥檚 reach, Lagana stresses that a tailored approach remains crucial. As he puts it, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a really big opportunity with 不良研究所 to reach more of those listeners鈥� that some competitors can鈥檛 access. 

That opportunity starts with high profile podcasters providing host-read type ads, then gains scale via audience targeting in streaming audio and podcasts in general, and lands on a solid base of 鈥淥TA鈥� 鈥� over the air radio 鈥� messaging across their nationwide network. 

Measurement is as important to the 不良研究所 team as with Sounds Profitable and Signal Hill Insights. Lagana described their participation in pioneering attention studies conducted by the dentsu agency, across a competitive landscape. The results led to denstu coining 鈥渁CPMs鈥� 鈥� or attention CPMs as a currency all the guests I spoke with would bank on. This neuroscience research quantifies that podcast鈥檚 immersive quality engages listeners more so than social media or TV, noting 鈥淧odcast ads drive positive brand engagement better than competitor media.鈥�

Brands are responding to these metrics and validating podcasting鈥檚 powerful impact with their own form of attention: advertising investments.

Hear the full episode and get the full explanation of a holistic approach to podcasting. You can listen everywhere 鈥� or right .

Original article posted by TheCustomer: https://thecustomer.net/why-a-holistic-approach-to-podcasting-drives-listener-engagement-and-brand-value/