Last week I had the privilege of being invited to share some of our current data on podcasting as a part of the ADM’s “Get The Download” event at ad:tech SF. This week, we are making our most recent Podcasting data publicly available at our site, and I will be expanding on the current state of the audience for podcasting at Podcamp NYC later this week (where I have the last slot of the day on Friday–nothing readies you to get your drink on like a big bucket o’ numbers, but I promise to be concise!) My job at Edison Media Research is to analyze data and tell the story behind the numbers-whether those stories are good, or bad. In the case of the current state of podcasting, the story is good, so I am pleased to be able to share it with you here.

This year, our third annual Podcast Consumer Revealed report (derived from the 2008 Arbitron/Edison Media Research Internet and Multimedia study) details significant gains in both audio and video podcast consumption. The audience for downloadable media is not only growing, but also represents a very attractive target for advertising. Our national data shows that more than one in five Americans have ever downloaded and watched/listened to a podcast, which breaks down further to 18% of Americans having ever listened to an audio podcast, and 16% having ever watched a video podcast. Those numbers are up sharply from last year’s figures, which were 13% and 11%, respectively. Nine percent of Americans 12+ have listened to an audio podcast in the past month, and those 23 million Americans are affluent, spend lots of time (and money!) online, and are increasingly more difficult to target with interruption advertising.

Read more »

Saturday March 29th 2008 at the Guardian newspaper, London, UK, in a seminar entitled Podcasting, Rights and Music the UK Podcasters Association hosted a seminar highlighting both the impact of legislation upon podcasters and media producers, and also outlining an established legal framework for fully licensed music podcasting.

Becky Hogge from the Open Rights Group lead a meaningful session on how TV regulation threatens to spill over to internet. Dean Whitbread from UKPA moderated a panel on music rights in which speakers from the MCPS-PRS (the UK performing rights organisation representing writers and publishers) and the head of digital for the Association of Independent Music laid out the now more affordable and less rigid schemes designed to give podcasters access to their extensive repertoire of music.

Read more here on UK Podcasters Association website.

I posted a few weeks ago about my views on the benefits to teachers found in podcasting and downloadable media. These benefits reach both the teachers and the students.

This week, I thought I would focus on the benefits specifically for teachers at all levels of education in using downloadable media. First, though, let’s go back in time to the old way of presenting multimedia lesson segments.

I’m probably dating myself but, do you remember watching filmstrips in school? The teacher would load the film strip into the projector and then play a cassette tape or vinyl record to provide audio content.

Read more »

As a member of the Education and Outreach Committee at the Association for Downloadable Media, I see the ease with which new media fits into the mold for an educational program. Sometimes I think that I’m the only one, though. It seems as if the educators I talk with are either scared by the concept of new media access for students or fearful of the perceptions about the web and web-based content.

To address some of these concerns, I am going to publish a series of posts here on the ADM blog that will:

1. Demonstrate value for teachers using downloadable media in all educational settings
2. Point out the very real advantages of using new media production tools for instruction, as study aids, and in project assignments for students
3. Look at the life skills that new media production and consumption build in those who consume them.

Read more »

Over the past couple of years, I’ve had a fair amount of experience with trying to get Porter Novelli’s clients to advertise with, sponsor, partner with, or do media relations with a number of podcasts. And I’ve learned a lot from this process. I come from the traditional world of television syndication and advertising, and that has provided an interesting perspective through all this. Here’s a list of some of the things I’ve discovered along the way:

• Look professional. When I use Podcast Alley or contacts I’ve made at P&NME/PodCamp to check out a show’s site, I often make a snap decision as to the level of professionalism of the show, based on the quality of the Web site. Here and here are two great examples of very professional-looking sites.
• Respond quickly. After researching a show and (hopefully) finding an e-mail contact on the site, I’ll put the word out to the producer to contact me. Be sure to respond to those inquiries quickly. Business happens fast, and sometimes a decision whether to go with one show over another can come down to who got back to me quickly.
• Media kit. One of the must-have tools you should have on your site, if you intend to monetize, is a media kit. This is in most cases a link to a nice one- or two-page PDF detailing your show, its content, its audience, contact information, and advertising details. I like to have this to e-mail to my colleagues or clients as a quick “slick sheet” on a show.
• Rate Card. Another item you should have on-hand and up-to-date is a rate card. That’s the “suggested retail price” for advertising on or sponsoring your podcast. Again, this should be in PDF form to easily share with others. Don’t put it right on your site, unless you’re comfortable with that. It should also include a few different package deals (10 shows, 6 months, etc.).
• Know your numbers. When contacted, be sure to know your audience numbers. The ADM will be formulating guidelines for metrics in the coming months, but some good top-line numbers would be: downloads per episode, subscribers per episode, episodes produced per month. From those basics, I can extrapolate more detail. Another good metric is growth over time. If your show gets small numbers, it will grow. Keep with it. I can estimate a show’s future growth for a campaign starting 6 months from now based on historical data.
• Act like it’s the 6th advertising call you’ve gotten that day. This is a tricky one. While you don’t want to seem cocky when dealing with potential sponsors, you do want to seem buttoned-up. I once had a podcaster say to me, “I’m not sure … what do you think I should charge for this sponsorship?” Someone will rake you over the coals in that case (I didn’t.). Your content has value, so act like it does.
• Audience Research. Here’s the golden egg, and it’s something the ADM will be concentrating on. Ultimately, I’d love to know the demographic, geographic, and psychographic make-up of your audience. Without regimented research data, that will be a tall order. But it is something ad agencies get from their other media outlets. Even if you have any anecdotal information about your audience (based on e-mails, listener feedback, etc.), that would help.
• And finally, this is a tough pill to swallow, but one I must relay. Advertisers don’t value you or your show. They value your audience. They want ears, eyeballs, and clicking fingers. That’s the simple truth. That said, when speaking with potential sponsors, talk up the value of your audience over your show. It’s your audience that they care to reach.

Thanks for reading this far. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to post, and I’ll do my very best to respond.