UNDERSTANDING PODCASTS A CRN International White Paper August 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS What is a podcast? Why are podcasts relevant? What kinds of programs are podcast? How do listeners find podcasts? What makes a podcast successful? How do you get the word out? How do producers make money? How are podcasts measured? Other basics Facts and figures About CRN International About Collisions
WHAT IS A PODCAST? A podcast is a recorded audio program made available to audiences via digital streaming or download on demand. Podcasts have been around for about 10 years the name harkens back to the ipod. While they are available on demand in a variety of ways, most people listen to them on mobile devices. Podcast advertising is one of the most effective ways to reach consumers. Podcast ads, often read by the host, are typically inserted into the beginning and middle of each podcast. WHY ARE PODCASTS RELEVANT? Podcasts are enjoying a renaissance, thanks in great part to smartphones and connection speeds that make downloading and streaming podcasts fast and seamless. It now only requires a click to start listening to a podcast. Current estimates on the number of people downloading podcasts each month range from 46 million (Edison) to 75 million (RawVoice). Podcasts are selected by people keenly interested in listening to them. They listen without a lot of distractions often through ear buds while doing solitary activities like working out, or in the car commuting alone to work. Podcast advertising is one of the most effective ways to reach consumers. Podcast ads, often read by the host, are typically inserted into the beginning and middle of each podcast. WHAT KINDS OF PROGRAMS ARE PODCAST? All kinds of podcasts are produced; there are no rules. There are podcasts about music, education, medicine, sex, history, economics, comedy, movies, dieting, finance, and more. Some shows are first broadcast on air and then in the podosphere, like This American Life, The Moth, and Car Talk. Others are produced only as podcasts, like Serial, Mystery, Stephen Colbert s The Late Show Podcast, and The Big Podcast with Shaq (O Neal). There are currently more than 285,000 different podcasts of various lengths from three minutes to several hours. UNDERSTANDING PODCASTS Page 2
The formula for a successful podcast is easy: Take content that a lot of people want to listen to, ensure there s a discovery mechanism that allows listeners to find the podcast, and obtain or leverage your access to advertisers. HOW DO LISTENERS FIND PODCASTS? There are many ways listeners find podcasts. Podcast aggregators, or podcatchers, like itunes, Stitcher and TuneIn Radio provide search tools and list the most popular podcasts by category. Most aggregators allow users to stream a podcast or download an episode for offline listening. Listeners may also subscribe to a podcast to automatically download new episodes as they become available. Podcasts can also be downloaded or streamed from dedicated websites, which often provide additional related content, such as blogs. Some are simply tweeted to their followers, or released on SoundCloud or similar online audio distribution platforms. WHAT MAKES A PODCAST SUCCESSFUL? The formula for a successful podcast is easy: content that a lot of people want to hear, and a discovery mechanism that allows listeners to find the show. Execution is another matter. Some successful podcasts are slickly produced with lots of sound effects and music; and then there is Dan Carlin s Hardcore History a top 10 pick with Dan going on for hours about an arcane, singular historical event. Great production doesn t guarantee a successful podcast, though, if the content is poor. HOW DO YOU GET THE WORD OUT? Podcasts can be promoted in any way imaginable websites, newsletters, paid search, word of mouth, SEO, email blasts, tent cards, point of purchase, public relations, cross promotions, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The more platforms available to the producer, the larger the audience. Often producers, thought leaders and celebrity podcasters have their own social media outlets and opportunities to help spread the word. UNDERSTANDING PODCASTS Page 3
HOW DO PODCAST PRODUCERS MAKE MONEY? Not all podcasts have the capability of garnering significant audiences to be financially viable. Some podcasts are not intended to be money makers, as the producer is promoting another enterprise or may be a hobbyist. For those that have significant audience, audio on-demand provides a variety of unique advertising opportunities: native audio ads (live and pre-recorded, of varying lengths), show or episode sponsorships, custom content, display ads, and social media among them. Some producers, such as NPR, sell these opportunities directly to advertisers; others use a rep group to facilitate the negotiation between producer and advertiser. The going rate for advertising varies widely, ranging from $15 to $50 per thousand listeners. Advertisers look at audience size and the content in which their ads will be heard. A few of the advertisers currently buying podcast ads include HBO, Lexus, USA Network, Audible, Bing, Prudential, Hyundai, GE, Delta, Netflix, Squarespace and Acura. HOW ARE PODCASTS MEASURED? Measurement is one of the biggest hurdles that on-demand audio faces. Nearly 65 to 70 percent of podcasts are downloaded from itunes. Unfortunately, Apple does not provide publishers or advertisers with much data except downloads and subscribers. This leaves room for inaccuracies, as download numbers do not necessarily correlate with the number of actual listens. Nielsen and Edison are working on more accurate ways to measure the podcast medium. Other third-party providers offer varying levels of data, leaving it up to each publisher to stitch together its own measurement tools. There are currently more than 285,000 different podcasts of various lengths from three minutes to several hours. OTHER BASICS The world of podcasting is ever-changing. There are now over 285,000 podcasts listed in itunes. Monthly listeners grew 25% in 2015 over the prior year. The popular podcast Serial, released only on podcast, has brought in more listeners, in more demographics, with more advertisers and more revenue than any podcast before it, causing broadcasters and marketers to take a fresh look at this 10-year-old medium. There are also video podcasts available, but they have not distinguished themselves in the same way as their audio counterparts. UNDERSTANDING PODCASTS Page 4
FACTS AND FIGURES Almost 90 million people have listened to podcasts. UNDERSTANDING PODCASTS Page 5
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ABOUT CRN INTERNATIONAL CRN International (www.crnradio.com) is the leading radio marketing organization in the United States. CRN has produced more than 1,000 informative program series on thousands of radio stations as well as online streaming broadcasts. CRN uses primarily the power of sound to solve marketing challenges for major brands, and its content has been supported by major advertisers including Chrysler, BMW, Johnson & Johnson, Hershey, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft and Apple. It excels in using non-traditional promotional tactics to separate brand messages from the clutter and generate measurable results. It is based in Hamden, CT, and has offices in New York; Minneapolis; Detroit; and Hershey, PA. Transformation and change occur when traditional media collides with new media, and when old ideas collide with new ones. In the marketing world, collisions occur between product, message and consumer. ABOUT COLLISIONS Collisions is the name of CRN International s podcast enterprise. In physics: an event between bodies or particles resulting in change of direction or transformation of energy. In marketing: an encounter that links product, content, messaging and consumer. Collisions occur in coffee shops, hallways, arenas, at receptions, on sidewalks. Most are innocuous enough. But for those that really matter, they can be game-changers for new thought, new business, new careers, new love. CRN s Collisions is dedicated to bringing brands and loyal listeners together through the world of podcasts and a commonality of interest. To our way of thinking, your next big opportunity is nothing more than a collision waiting to happen. For more information, contact Barry Berman, Founder and President, CRN International, barryb@crnradio.com. UNDERSTANDING PODCASTS Page 8