Tag Archives: podcast

Articles, Observations, Thoughts, Trends

The Power of Podcasts

A piece from Lisa Formica, Vice President of fmi direct, inc,  was published on the MarketingProfs site last month discussing The Power of Podcasts. The entire piece is worth a read, and a few of the ‘facts and figures’ are worth repeating:

  • Awareness of the term “podcasting” increased from 22% to 37% in the past year.
  • The audience for audio podcasts grew 18% in the past year.
  • The audience for video podcasts grew 10% in the past year.

The data came from a recent report released by Edison Media Research: The Podcast Consumer Revealed 2008.

So, with all of this information, the question remains — what does it all mean?

For one, it shows that podcasting is not just a fad who’s time has come and gone.  True, it is not getting the attention and time in the spotlight that it was a couple of years ago, but as a medium it continues to gain acceptance.  Also, it demonstrates that podcasting can be used effectively, both as original content, and to augement existing content in other mediums. NPR, ESPN, and the BBC are all good examples of the latter.

Is there a single best use of podcasting, particularly from a marketing standpoint? No. There are thousands of possible best uses – one of which may be right for you and your organization.

Examples, Links, News, Podcasts

Three Courses + Cake Rewind – the Boise Advertising Federation Podcast

Earlier this year I had the chance to record two of the Boise Advertising Federation’s guest speakers for their Three Courses + Cake luncheon series.  These speakers, Jeffrey Blish of Deutsch and Del Bracht of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, gave the audience some fantastic insight from their own perspectives with their respective agencies.  Both luncheons, as well as previous events that were not recorded, were well attended, and those in attendance spoke highly of the speakers.

If you may have missed it though, you can still listen to the final two presentations from last season’s Three Courses + Cake.  The Three Courses + Cake Rewind is a podcast series that was developed several months ago to provide a means to distribute the audio from these presentations to those who may not have been in attendance.

You can subscribe to the podcast a number of ways:

With the new speaker season about to kick off once again, now seemed to be a good time to serve up a reminder of these previous shows.  Any questions or comments about the podcast – please feel free to contact us.

Examples, Observations, Reference, Trends

Podcasting – a Practical Example

The folks at Orvis have always taken a unique approach to their business.  Their products are sold through a combination of Orvis Retail Stores, Orvis Authorized Dealers, print catalogs and online via the Orvis website.

Their online presence has also been supported by a variety of targeted banner ads across the web, among other things.

Recently, however, they’ve added a new piece to the mix: The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast.  This podcast “provides weekly, five minute tips from acclaimed fly fishing author and lifelong fishing enthusiast Tom Rosenbauer.”  Through this podcast, Tom (and Orvis) provides advice, tips, and techniques that have been accumulated over the years.

As a fly fishing enthusiast, I find the show to be a great resource for advice, suggestions, and perhaps a chance to pick up something that I might not have otherwise noticed.

From a business, marketing, and sales standpoint, this is an excellent example of a company that is utilizing a podcast as another way to built loyalty among current customers (such as myself) and attract new customers by providing those customers with something of value.  It is important to take note, however, of how Orvis is using this medium.  Rather than using this channel to talk about themselves and their products, they’ve elected to offer up real-world applications that the audience can relate to.  Do they mention Orvis products?  Of course.  But it’s done in a way that feels like a natural part of any conversation, rather than being forced into the discussion.

Orvis has also been active in promoting this podcast, through a combination of sponsorships and traditional online advertising.  On the sponsorship front, they’ve recently been heard as a sponsor of Fly Fish Radio, which is one of the first fly fishing podcasts ever produced.  The Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast has also been spotted in the search engine marketing realm, appearing in the AdWords sections of relevant Google searches.

All in all, Orvis is doing a lot of things right. Much can, has, and will be learned about their ongoing efforts.

Reference, Trends

As heard on Marketing Over Coffee

“If you don’t have a blog, you’re dead meat.” – Christopher S. Penn.

The Marketing Over Coffee podcast is an great show, hosted by John Wall and Christopher S. Penn.

This particular quote came from the episode titled Increase Email Results Up to 4X, and was in reference to how Google has improved their indexing of blogs, and consequently the impact that a blog can have on your search ranking.

Give it a listen, and if you like the show, subscribe.  I have.