Want To Make A Better Ad? Pay Attention To How Podcasts Are Doing It.
Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This podcast is just one example of a great ad experience.
In 2017, we are breaking commuting records from Los Angeles to New York, and many places in between. Blame it on housing costs or lack of good transportation, or just a lot of people wanting to live in the same place.
In other words, a lot of us have more time to kill in environments often not conducive to visual media, but very welcoming to audio.
Hello, podcasts.
I’m a relative newcomer to podcasts, so I started asking around for favorites.
“Dude you gotta listen to S-Town.” I did and I loved it.
I got into Start-up, especially the season with American Apparel founder Dov Charney.
I tried Tim Ferriss and Freakonomics Radio. Not so much.
I caught up on Rachel Maddow (side note: this straight record of the TV show leaves you behind if you need the on-screen visuals. TV people take note, there’s a creative opportunity here).
And at Mistress, we started recording our own podcast, Kiss & Tell, exploring the newest dynamics on brand building in Modern Media Culture.
Here’s a good Washington Post piece about how to find your own favorite podcasts.
Podcast ad revenue is small, but booming, according to the IAB. Is there a link between commute times and podcast growth? Maybe.
I found podcast love with You Must Remember This, “dedicated to exploring the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century.” Written and narrated by journalist Karina Longworth, the first season that grabbed my attention was Dead Hollywood Blondes.
Ms. Longworth dives deep into well-researched, fascinating behind-the-scenes personal stories of Hollywood. Often her seasons are organized into themes. The season Jean & Jane featured the parallel lives of stars Jean Seberg and Jane Fonda.
Whether or not you want to know more about Hollywood, the content is very good. It’s well written, well researched, and presented in a pleasing format.
The question is: how should podcasters with large audiences generate revenue from these endeavors? The usual choices for media are subscription or ads; podcasts have largely gone the ad route.
At Mistress, we often have explored the connection between bad advertising experiences and the rise of ad blocking, ad skipping and ad free environments. I believe the ad industry has inflicted some of this damage upon ourselves by creating unreasonable and unappetizing experiences. If you don’t believe me, check out the backlash to the 20-minute “film/ad/unwelcome content” before Pixar’s newest movie, Coco.
So it was a pleasant surprise to discover podcast advertising I didn’t hate. I didn’t skip it and I actually believed the message. Call me naïve.
Or, call it advertising that works.
I listened to two full seasons of You Must Remember This: Jean & Jane, and Dead Hollywood Blondes. Ads were integrated as follows:
- Before the episode starts, a simple message of “You Must Remember This is brought to you by…”
- About halfway through, there’s a single, long-form ad.
And that was it.
Not all podcasts are created equal, and I’ve experienced podcast advertising that is quite disruptive. And the rise of podcasting networks like Panoply.fm (which You Must Remember This is a part of) and Gimlet Media will change the equation again. But the exception proves the rule, which is why the advertising on You Must Remember This worked:
- It was in the narrator’s voice, so naturally fit with what I was listening to.
- It linked to the narrator’s everyday life. For Blue Apron, Ms. Longworth explained how she uses Blue Apron to save time for her podcast. It’s behind-the-scenes, just like the show itself.
- It was in the same style as the podcast. Soft music, hushed, quiet, like we are in Ms. Longworth’s library with her. No screaming car ads.
- Long ad formats did not feel disruptive. In episode 99 of Dead Hollywood Blondes I clocked the midroll ad at 3:02! And yet, it did not bother me.
- Direct-response special offers were included. Ms. Longworth promoted TryWinc.com/remember for a wine club membership. I felt special.
The defining factor on the experience was not how long the ads were, but whether or not they were disruptive.
We are focused on the wrong thing: forcing viewers to endure something we create vs. creating something that is worth experiencing.
Meanwhile, over in TV and streaming video, the conversation is geared to how to make ads shorter (:30 -> :15 -> :06 seconds), and how viewers are empowered to skip over them as fast as possible.
This is crazy.
We are focused on the wrong thing: forcing viewers to endure something we create vs. creating something that is worth experiencing. Our entire approach to advertising needs a rethink. We cannot force people to do something they do not want to do. And if we are, we should stop trying.
Take a note brands and agencies, YouTube and Facebook. This is how you do advertising.
Todd Lombardo is a Digital Strategist and Editor at Mistress Agency.
