Podcasting Advertising, Downloadable Media Association Or You Can Just Ask For An iPhone

Podcast Monetization. I hate those words_ for many reasons. The main one being, that when people look at how to monetize their Podcast or how to use it as a Marketing tool, they immediately look at traditional radio as “the” model. Feh and Bleh. There are so many dramatic differences in the type of media between Podcast and Radio that I’m hoping most people don’t fall into the “audio is audio” trap. Podcast Monetization is actually sexy, smart and much-needed to take this media channel as far as it can go.
This morning I came across an article in The New York Times titled, Podcasters Unite To Figure Out A Role For Ads (free subscription required).
Here’s some of the goodness:
“Companies have begun distributing media files that stay connected to publishers, giving them a way to track the number of times that advertisements have been heard or viewed, or replace old advertisements.
At the same time, about 15 companies, including Apple and NPR, announced last week the formation of a new industry group, the Association for Downloadable Media, which will help executives improve methods for creating, distributing and tracking advertisements in Podcasts.
‘The idea of creating an association to focus on this is great,’ said Brian Haven, an analyst with Forrester Research. ‘It’s going to help companies monetize all this content.’
According to a recent Forrester survey, slightly more than 10 percent of all Internet users have listened to a podcast. Emarketer, another online research firm, said that advertising on podcasts reached just $80 million last year. Mr. Haven said a lot of growth is possible.
‘It’s just a matter of getting the right content to people at the right time,’ he said, ‘and helping people overcome some obstacles like, ‘What the hell is a podcast?’ ”
So, Podcasting gets its own industry association. This is good news. Podcasting is also on the verge of unveiling some ad platforms that might entice some big-brand Marketers to take a shot at advertising in this media. This is good news too.
Another interesting development is unfolding on the Podcast of Joseph Jaffe. On episode number eighty three of Across The Sound, Jaffe (good friend of Twist Image), offered up a one-episode sponsorship of Across The Sound in return for an iPhone. Within twenty-four hours, CustomScoop, a “leader in customizable media monitoring technology and services,” took advantage of the opportunity. Now, Jaffe is the proud owner of an iPhone and CustomScoop has some fairly cheap advertising/sponsorship (an iPhone runs about six hundred dollars). You can read the press release about the sponsorship here: CustomScoop Fulfills iPhone Wish.
Mack Collier of The Viral Garden Blog adds some color to the conversation with this Blog posting (and the twenty-plus comments): Blog Monetization; How Do We ALL Win? And Jaffe follows it up with some conversation on his recently published, episode number eighty four of Across The Sound, where now he is offering up a four-week sponsorship of ATS in return for a new laptop (Sony Vaio or MacBook Pro) plus a ten percent donation to charity (on top of the cost of the laptop).
So, what have we learned about Podcast Monetization in the past seven days?
Nothing concrete, but when the attention starts rising the way it has this past week, you can rest assured we’re heading towards some kind of Podcast advertising tipping point. The end result is going to be many different advertising, marketing and sponsorship models that will empower those who are looking to make money on their Podcast or, at the very least, get Marketers even more interested in this very dynamic and personal new media channel.