Hi,
I just wanted to add to the conversation about podcasting. There is an interesting item in today's NY Times about how advertisers are seriously looking at podcasts as yet another way to reach consumers online.
I can't say it pleases me that I might have to listen to ads on my favorite podcasts, but what it says to me is that podcasting is seen as a viable and growing enterprise that is worth investment from advertisers.
The article says about 15 companies, including Apple and NPR, have formed a new industry group, the Association for Downloadable Media, that will help executives improve methods for creating, distributing and tracking advertisements in podcasts.
Very early beginnings for sure, but perhaps an interesting indicator of podcasts' potential.
Comments (2)
Tim -
Great post. I couldn't agree more. I think the biggest challenge to companies looking to insert ads into podcasts, videos, etc. is that it runs across the grain of what these new technologies are all about -- control.
When I subscribe and listen to a podcast, I'm totally in control. I picked it and I listen to it where I want, when I want. All of a sudden, now you'll potentially have Company X barging in and telling me about their new hair cream. It's kind of like sitting down to dinner and having a sales rep plop down next to you.
At this point, I'm not sure how they're going to do it. They've managed to invade the movie theaters (do we really need ads for TV shows and soda in the movie theater?) but we're not in control there -- I'll be ranting about this later. Web 2.0 is all about user control and I'm not sure most folks are going to choose to sit through the latest ad for widgets. I think they're going to need a better model.
Charlie
Posted by Charlie Melichar | July 24, 2007 7:23 AM
Posted on July 24, 2007 07:23
Check out The Writer's Almanac (with Garrison Keillor) at American Public Radio which has been sponsored for some time. In addition "For Immediate Release", sponsored both by Custom Clips and now Ragan, has experimented with its Custom Clips ad by having the CEO, Chip Griffin, provide a Media Monitoring Minute to fill his ad time on the show, making it less an ad as much as an actual feature of the show.
Posted by michael clendenin | July 26, 2007 1:08 PM
Posted on July 26, 2007 13:08