from podcast to vodcast

Is podcasting already out of date for brand owners?

The growth of broadband platforms has heralded something of a boom time for the creative industry and has allowed content providers like the BBC to extend their brands online and build a direct relationship with the audience and consumer.

I recently downloaded the BBC’s iPlayer that allows me to download some of my favourite programmes to my computer if I’ve missed them on the telly (www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer). And of course I can listen again to the Today programme or its best bits by downloading a specially edited podcast of the show.

Radio One DJ Chris Moyles is a podcast evangelist and regularly encourages his audience to download his latest shows, as does the ‘king of podcasts’ Ricky Gervais. Both have generated loyal audiences for their content.

It seems simple enough. Get hold of an iPod or other MP3 player, download the software onto your computer, copy the download podcast file to your player and off you go.

Brand owners haven’t been slow to get in on the act either.

Many have experimented in podcasting since the explosion of iPod sales in 2004 and predicted that podcasting would grow into a powerful broadcast medium suitable for brand communication.

For example, BA has created a series of podcasts giving tips on how to get a good nights’ sleep, the AA has launched a series of podcasts explaining how to carry out basic car maintenance and Arla Foods have recently launched recipe podcasts to support the re-launch of their feta cheese product in the UK.

On the face of it, this sounds like these brand owners have evolved a digital strategy that’s keeping pace with how audience and customer segments now prefer to receive their information and entertainment.

Except that like fashion, audience and consumer tastes are fickle and can change in the time it takes to download your brilliantly entertaining new radio commercial.

According to research conducted by BMRB last year, 24% of respondents questioned said they would download a podcast in the following 12 months, yet only 19% of respondents questioned this year said that they would.

Part of the reason is that we’ve all become confused, say the researchers.

The term podcast has developed into a catch-all phrase that could include downloading, streaming, subscribing and even vodcasting.

Then there’s the phenomenon of ‘podcast inertia’ where users often subscribe to a series of podcast downloads and may listen to the first couple of episodes and then stop. Unless there’s genuinely new content only available via a podcast then its unlikely to attract a big audience, say the researchers.

It’s clear that brand owners have a long way to go in exploiting the full potential of the medium in a more creative and engaging way rather than simply running adverts in the vain hope they’ll be downloaded. Re-worked radio ads isn’t the future.

Podcasts are also notoriously difficult to measure as podcasting is less transparent than other forms of online media usage which can be directly assessed. The industry will have to invent new ways of tracking audience behaviour if it’s to stand a chance of turning podcasting into an art form.

So is podcasting becoming irrelevant as a brand communication tool?

Well, not yet.

Brand owners need to start to evolve the use of podcasting as a modern brand communication channel that lifts its head above re-working advertising commercials.

Brand owners like the AA, BA and Arla Foods who’ve already started to become innovative ‘podcasters’ are in a good position to extend their activities to include sponsorship of a show or stream of content that can help create a more enduring relationship with audience and customer segments.

For the majority of brand owners looking to jump onto the podcasting bandwagon, it may be too late!

By the time they’ve mastered the technique, the audience will have moved onto downloading videos that can be played out on the next generation of video-enabled iPods.

In which case, forget podcasting. And get vodcasting!