|

Podcasting – Worth All The Fuss?

Podcasting – Worth All The Fuss?

Jean-Paul EdwardsPodcasting promises to provide consumers with on-demand, specialist media completely free of charge, but is it just a passing fad? Can commercial broadcasters still carve a slice of the online action for themselves? Jean-Paul Edwards, head of media futures at Manning Gottlieb OMD, explains the implications of the new technology, and the ways in which it can be exploited by advertisers…

You may have seen the term ‘Podcasting’ cropping up increasingly over the past few weeks. What is it? Is it worth paying attention to? Or is it yet another throwaway temporary term that will be forgotten about by the end of the month?

The precise definition of Podcasting is still not widely agreed, as it is so new. Loosely, it is a process by which audio content can be created and distributed with very little effort on behalf of both producer and listener. Content is created and uploaded to a web site (the casting bit) – nothing new here as audio blogging has been around for some time. The true beauty of Podcasting is that once a potential listener presses a single subscribe button then multiple shows automatically appear on both the PC and MP3 player (the pod bit) without any user action. The original and most famous Podcasting client is called ipodder, but there are many others coming on stream such as nimiq.

Podcasting democratises content – anyone with a microphone and access to a PC can Podcast. Just as blogging is now influencing mainstream print journalism, Podcasting will begin to influence audio content. When will we see the audio equivalent of the Baghdad Blog or Belle De Jour I wonder? They are probably already out there waiting to be discovered.

There has been an explosion of Podcasted content: New Scientist reports that in November 2004 there were roughly 5,000 Podcasts available now there are over 700,000. Both creator and consumer of this content are freed from the schedule. For the creator there is no deadline to meet or quota of content to fill, or indeed license agreements or regulatory constraints to worry about. What we have here are the new pirates of radio broadcasting. And for the consumer? They get to hear what they want, when they want from anywhere in the world. The consumer chooses the method and time of consumption, today on my PC or next week in the car via my iPod.

But it is not just individuals who are getting on the Podcasting wagon, the BBC are pioneers in this area as well. Commercial broadcasters are conspicuous by their absence, as there is no proven model to make money from this format. That is not to say that there are plenty waiting to be tested. Currently new technology is seen as a threat to current models. The massively increased access to audio content is now starting to dent radio listening. US audiences with most access to MP3 players are reducing their radio listening. American average quarter hour ratings are down by 11% amongst 18-24 year olds between 2000 and 2004. The increasing popularity of MP3 players means that there is an ever expanding universe of potential listeners, with one in 10 Americans now claiming to own one the market is expected to quadruple over the next three years.

Advertisers on the other hand view this as an opportunity to efficiently create direct engagement with niche target audiences. Only last month, Pepsi announced that they were dipping their toes into Podcasting. The trade PR alone generated by this move would pay for the project. In this instance Pepsi have extended a radio promotion into a Podcast allowing them more creative freedom. The consumers who subscribe will get content that they would otherwise not have access to. Pepsi get repeated access to these consumers, who will stay loyal as long as they enjoy the content. They also get to claim to be the first to support the medium. Coca-cola would be accused of brand plagiarism should they follow Pepsi’s act.

Huge opportunities exist for media, brands and advertisers in this space. It is truly undeveloped having being created, like the web 15 years ago, by passionate non profit making individuals. In this world of almost infinite content channels, confused consumers and declining trust, a new role exists for brands to act as enablers, finders, editors or filters of content.

Will we be using the term Podcasting in 10 or 20 years time? I doubt it as technology develops away from just audio content and a single iconic device, ‘tivocasting’ is the next thing doing the same for video. That is not really the point though. The increasing importance of, and access to, consumer created content delivered through multiple devices will have profound implications for many of us beyond the media and advertising worlds. The gap between those who create and those who consume will be eradicated, we will all be both.

Media Jobs