Podcast sustainability 2
Posted on March 16, 2006
Filed Under Business, Technology, Podcasting, Computing, Something to Think about |
This is a follow up to this commentary that raised questions but did not provide any value-added ideas about alternatives.
I refuse to waste my time listening to the various “advertisements” that are cut-and-pasted into podcasts. Yes… they are cut and pasted because they break the flow, and have no place in the content that I AM CHOOSING TO LISTEN TO or WATCH.
Was that loud enough for you. The power of the podcasting medium is choice. Period. I can choose to listen to homemade independent shows, or well produced radio/TV broadcast shows. I see the content as value-added to my knowledge or entertainment. I can choose when I want to consume the shows. I can choose to pause the shows to answer a phone call or go and sit on the throne. I hope you marketers get the point by now.
I will continue to fast forward through every Earthlink ad I hear on the various PodShow not because I have anything against either company (if I did I would not link to them) but because the ads do not add… value.
Now for my value-added moment to all marketers looking to advertise in podcasts:
Put a promo code or similar that will encourage me to A) visit your website, and 2) buy something at a discount.
Most people (in developed nations) consume, constantly consume. The near or sub-zero personal savings rate in the US and Canada emphasize this. And as consumers, people are willing to buy anything if they think they are getting a deal. Regardless if they need or want it. Simply because they are getting a deal. [short concise sentences so everyone can follow along:] Now stop reading this and think about it…… ok keep reading now.
I am sure you have heard someone say “I just got a great deal on [insert useless product here], it was [insert some large percentage here] off”. Foolishly they do not properly value the opportunity cost of buying something with little or no utility. Somehow saving $5 on a $10 widget is valued more than $10 of food, entertainment, fuel, principal and its compounded interest, etc. It is no wonder the personal savings rate is where it is, but I’ll leave that digression for another day.
If marketers want see a viable return on advertising costs in the new model of consuming media - this goes to much more than podcasts, it includes text, audio, and video where the consumer posesses consumpiton control - they must make the ads add value. Ads that boasts about how great a product is or how “safe and secure” it is have no value. Why? Because All Marketers are Liars. Give me value and I’ll likely give you my money.
Executive summary
Marketing in new-economy media (text, audio, or video) requires value-added advertisements, regardless if the product or service provides any (true) value. Put a short-lived promo code in the ad to entice attention by providing some sort of discount (read: value to the consumer). It has worked for grocery stores for years… it’s the Internet version of coupon clipping.
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