New Content, New Data and a New Podcast Attitude – the IAB Podcast Upfront

The daylong event of presentationstyled pitches kicked off with Wondery39s wellspoken CEO Hernan Lopez and print journalists turned truthspeaking audio documentarians including Laura Biel and Joe Nocera talking about their brand of storytelling This lineup set the stage for the announcement of their partnership with NBC News to build out and crosspromote news and politics podcasts starting in 2020Reflective of their own steppedup areas of content Pandora39s Lizzie Widhelm pictured at top senior vice president of Ad Innovation Strategy moderated a panel that represented different verticals and points of view Michael Bosco director of crosschannel media at TD Ameritrade who greenlit quotTalking Greenquot produced by New York Times39 T Brand Studio described the brand39s evolution in embracing the medium They shifted from just being in the intuitive and safe spaces of finance podcasts to recognizing that quotpeople listening to fantasy football etcetera can be the target audience alsoquotFor T Brand Studio themselves packaging and selling their own bespoke New York Times content on tough topics such as 1619 on the anniversary of slavery isn39t always easy Still Adam Aston their vice president of Editorial encourages creators to think quotaudience first and have a bravery around topics and finds more advertisers are becoming willing to step beyond conventional advertising amp8211 putting themselves in content that is deeperquotFellow panelist Juleyka LantiguaWilliams chief executive officer of Lantigua Williams ampamp Co knows something about less conventional content destinations as her company aims to break down cultural amp8211 and multicultural amp8211 barriers The power of personalities and the inherent intimacy of podcasts is winning fans and sponsors Their flagship show Latina to Latina discusses the challenges of existing and then thriving as women of color while recent show addition Feeling My Flo talks about menstruation quotas an event that happens to all types of bodiesquotEven with increased audience levels Widhelm asked LantiguaWilliams about the revenue realities of today39s podcast economics as advertising increasingly moves to more lower cost dynamic insertion LantiguaWilliams believes producers must evolve the current model because those passionate listeners want to quotgo on a first date with hostquot That means enabling more live events that offer inperson experiences and brand extensions or focused quotsegments that create community and that drives more sponsorshipquot she saidBosco as a brand marketer also acknowledged that quotMeasurement is still a challenge in podcasting but we knew it was an important place for us to be While we39re data heavy we39re also interested in pushing ourselves The fractionalization of where folks are listening is a challenge for optimizing so it39s key to work with your media partners to identify what the right message is that will break through and make it a partnership No one knows the audience better than the podcast publisher or developerquotThat topic of measurement hovered at or near the surface of most conversations One attendee David Raphael whose company PMM represents such top podcasts as Joe Rogan39s explained why they recently signed on with Nielsen39s newish Podcast Listener Buying Service quotPodcasting as an industry has had not bad data but just not enough To increase a more diverse pool of advertisers we need to have definitive conversations with data in hand So when you walk into a new advertiser and they say 39how do you index against X39 we have the answer to that question with a level of data that we39ve never had before That lets us go to people who haven39t actually used podcasting before and say 39here39s how we index against this categoryhere39s how likely these listeners of This American Life or Dax Shepard39s show are to buy this or subscribe to that39 And those very specific questions with data against our individual programs will enable us to not only increase revenue but also the diversity of new advertisers in our showsquotPodcastOne and Edison Research teamed up to offer another side of metrics the premiere of a superfan study a firsttime drill down of those consuming five or more hours of podcast content per week fifty percent of whom consume eight hours or more Edison39s senior vice president Tom Webster acknowledged those fans admit trying to limit their exposure to advertisingyet he shared almost 40 percent say podcast advertising is still the best way to reach them and they do pay attention more to those ads That39s a good tip amp8211 which is why PodcastOne chief executive officer Peter Morris urged attendees to invest now and invest big in podcasting because another thing about those super fans 37 percent have pulled the plug on cable and satellite with most opting for a paid video subscription serviceSatisfying the mature listener and younger fan and those in between WarnerMedia Podcast Network unveiled new content for almost every genre given their massive access to content Extensive new content is set for CNN and HLN especially since investigative reporting podcasts have spawned the darling of podcast genres True Crime One compelling story will surround the 2017 murders of two young girls from Delphi Indiana On the sports side Turner Sports basketball commentators Candace Parker and Kristen Ledlow will bow a new podcast during the 201920 NBA seasonTyler Moody vice president and general manager of the podcast network presented together with fingeronthepulse producers Rooster Teeth to discuss their line up aimed at 1834year olds As Moody explained quotWhether it39s working with independent podcast creators on content or engaging with advertisers to build a bigger campaign we39re able to add additional scale to our portfolio additional revenue opportunities and another layer to our fan engagement strategyquotRooster Teeth cofounders Geoff Ramsey and Burney Burns said for their target quotYouTube is key but that target then moves on to Apple and Spotify so content needs to be accessible and wherever they arequot Hence The Roost the podcast creation arm that will enable another point of their 360degree touchpoints launching several new shows including new entries in the scripted space such as horror pod Beneath tied to the ghosts of the TitanicMore new expansions are also on hand from other companies aiming to connect their platform dots like Meredith which announced a slate of content from InStyle Parents and the steadfast People talking royals to crime to health via a new People Daily coming in 2020 with an ambitious Monday through Friday schedule aimed at tapping audio to further their mission of quotmaking people smarter and happierquotAnd last but certainly not least as it is still the top podcast publisher of all NPR is upping the ante on daily ondemand audio As of last week the company has four shows in production that publish every weekday amp8211Up First The Indicator from Planet Money The NPR Politics Podcast and the latest Short Wave Per Anya Grundmann NPR39s senior vice president of programming and audience development the company is quotmotivated to share information and experiences in ways that make it easy to think dream be inspired and informed as you go through your day no matter the topic or how you choose to listenquotIllustrating that inspiring and informative content that is NPR39s legacy the hosts of Throughline were on hand to explain their premise quotthe 247 news cycle doesn39t offer historical context and when it39s dry it39s dryquot But listen to them explain the history of a current buzz phrase in the news such as quotconspiracy theoriesquot and run it through the kind of cinematic machinations of NPR and it39s brought to life In a rare use of a case study among presenters though more were likely craved by an audience comprised of a decent number of brand marketers National Public Media39s head Gina Garrubbo pictured above with Sam Sanders built a case for sponsorship via an overview of an American Express campaign and NPM Creative39s prized Brand Soundscapes toolPhoto at top Pandora39s Lizzie Widhelm in conversation with Adam Aston NY Times Juleyka LantiguaWilliams LantiguaWilliams ampamp Co and Michael Bosco TDAmeritradePhoto above Brian Stelter CNN Andrew Iden HLN Barbara MacDonald HLN EB Moss MediaVillageClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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New Content, New Data and a New Podcast Attitude – the IAB Podcast Upfront

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E.B. Moss

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New Content, New Data and a New Podcast Attitude – the IAB Podcast Upfront

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