AdAge reported that Disney is going to begin placing Ads in their weekly Disney Radio podcasts targeted at children starting in June 06. While it isn't surprising that they are finding another way to monetize their content and their brand, it raises an interesting question: Should advertisers create their own podcasts or jump on the backs of other companies?
Disney reports that they have had over 170,000 downloads of their podcasts already.
Instant access to thousands of people sounds enticing but it's not clear if podcast impressions can be measured in the same way as radio ad impressions. (not that those measurements are exact) Podcast measurement should be more exacting than radio impression measurement. First off, you can count podcast downloads so you'll know that at least that many people probably heard your ad. (assuming they didn't download and delete) It's also pretty likely that some of those downloaders shared the podcast with others increasing your reach. So far, it sounds like podcast ads are more measureable than radio ads. (sorry Arbitron) But according to ClickZ, podcast advertisers may only get a 10 second spot at the beginning of a podcast and maybe 30 seconds at the end of the podcast to take their best shot at capturing the listener's attention. Radio spots can be just as brief but the repeat listener usually hears the same ad many more times than the podcast and as most advertisers know, repetition is critical to retention.
So back to the original question - Should advertisers create their own podcasts? Even if only a small percentage of your audience is downloading podcasts today, you should definitely start podcasting. By creating your own podcast series, you can draw repeat visitors/listeners to your content gaining the opportunity to connect with them repeatedly. Creating your own podcast program doesn't prevent you from advertising on other programs but it will help you understand better what your audience cares about allowing you to find ways to create a better brand connection with them. As was mentioned in the Diva Marketing blog, for kids that means you've gotta be cool.
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