Editor in Chief & Chief Content Officer of iMedia Communications, Brad Berens writes about PodShow:

How did 30 million downloads result in a 1 percent U.S. household penetration for a new coffee sweetener? Podcasts.

Although a vast quantity of digital ink has recently been spilled on all-things video, in Tuesday afternoon’s Breakout session, “PodShow and Splenda: Marketing with a Different Flavor,” downloadable audio podcasts took center stage.

PodShow Senior Director of Business Development Greg Mand and Splenda Product Director Shideh Hashemi described how PodShow contributed to Splenda’s successful all-digital launch of a new product, Flavor Blends for Coffee, starting in July 2006.

Pointing out that Hashemi “works for Splenda directly, not an agency,” Mand described how PodShow, which he described as “the No. 1 new media network,” goes out of its way to work directly with brands but also with agencies as well.

Advertising as content
Mand described the three components of PodShow’s approach: a combination of reach, frequency and relevance that result in engagement. Such words are much in the mouths of marketers across the industry, “a fine buzzword” as Mand put it, but he went on to argue that PodShow can demonstrate engagement by virtue of the actions that PodShow listeners take across shows.

Arguing that brands must move “beyond the banner,” PodShow promoted Splenda through deep integration with shows that include host endorsements that harken back to the early days of television, cross promotion among different shows, as well as user-generated textual, audio and video content about sponsors and graphical ads.

Sweet word of mouth
Hashemi then stepped forward to describe the significance of word-of-mouth advertising to Splenda’s success: over a mere seven years the brand has taken 60 percent of the low-calorie sweetener market as well as 16 percent of the overall sweetener market. Sixty million U.S. households currently use Splenda.

Early on, when the brand was first becoming public and supplies were limited, consumers spread the word about the brand and where to buy it. “Part of Splenda’s core DNA has a lot to do with word of mouth and influence; endorsement is a big part of our footprint,” Hashemi said.

Then, “in ’06 we started to push the envelope by bringing more consumer experience into the brand,” Hashemi said. Splenda’s Flavor Blends brand extension went after “the most popular sweetener use, coffee… We wanted to tap into that brand footprint, and into the advocates who had a lot of heart for the brand,” Hashemi said.

Campaign execution and customer feedback
PodShow encouraged both its show hosts and audience to share their stories about Splenda’s Flavor Blends and “how it transformed their cup of coffee into something magical,” Mand said.

With a strategy of engaging key show hosts with one to five episodes per week and large audiences to become involved in the product exploration, PodShow’s goal was to transfer the host’s Splenda experience to the audience.

A key difference between PodShow’s approach and that of other media companies, Mand argued, was that PodShow did not work from a script. Instead, it requested key message points to “allow the host to use the natural flow of the conversation to deliver the marketing message” in a natural way, Mand said.

Positive audience feedback followed, including one listener who wrote, “Thanks for introducing me to Splenda Flavor Blends. After hearing about them on your show, I picked up the vanilla and the mocha. I have since introduced them to my wife and several other friends and family members.”

About this email, PodShow CEO Ron Bloom quipped, “When was the last time a customer sent an email saying, ‘thanks for that banner ad’?”

Reach and results
Working across multiple shows with multiple interlinked episodes, PodShow delivered more than 30 million downloads that contained Splenda messaging. Over the course of the overall Flavor Blends campaign, Splenda’s penetration into the category grew by 20 percent, and the product has now been purchased by 1 percent of U.S. households.

As the session turned to Q&A, one audience member asked how much of Splenda’s all-digital launch of Flavor Blends took place on PodShow. “About 20 percent or less,” Hashemi replied.

Another attendee then asked Mand if he had metrics for how much of each of those 30 million downloads were listened to by audience members, or how many audio impressions those downloads ultimately equaled.

“Nobody right now can tell you” who is listening to what, Mand replied, but he also asserted that the metrics are getting better every day and shared that PodShow has worked with the IAB to help establish standards for audio measurement. “But it’s still hard,” Mand said.

Mand closed the session by reminding the people in the room that every PodShow audience member, “proactively raises their hands to opt into the content” as well as the integrated marketing message for Splenda as well as PodShow’s other sponsors.

See Article Here

–Award Winning Journalist Joins PodShow as VP & Managing Editor
to Produce a New Breed of Technology Channel—

NEW YORK, (May 23, 2007) – PodShow.com, the fast growing digital multiplatform media network which allows its users to play, collect, share and create millions of hours of serialized programming and music, today announced that John C. Dvorak, the popular columnist, author and broadcaster, has been named VP & Managing Editor of PodShow TECH, a completely new concept in technology-related programming. In his role, Dvorak will oversee editorial content on the newly expanded channel as well as produce his own unique breed of content for the channel.

“We believe technology is ready for primetime, and Dvorak is the man for the job,” said Ron Bloom, CEO and Co founder of PodShow. “Typical technology channels are really just listings of programming, featuring boring talking heads or uninformed rants. PodShow TECH will feature personality driven content with a healthy dose of attitude… fair, but not necessarily impartial… accurate but also exciting.”

“Technology has given us this massive new distribution medium and yet our approach to producing technology content has been in the same old predictable style,” comments Dvorak. “By working with PodShow’s new channel format we can combine entertainment and insight and take the concept of integrated programming to an entirely new level.”

PodShow TECH will feature individually created programs and channels containing video and audio shows as well as a series of blogs and supporting graphics for each show. Users will be able to download or play any single episode or freely subscribe to any show and have each episode automatically delivered as it is released. PodShow also will be providing a variety of methods for audiences to contribute via audio, video and text. To anchor the channel, Dvorak will be producing and hosting a new show, “Tech5” in which, the always outspoken and often controversial, host will take on a newsmaker in the tech world, as well as share his insight into the innovations, trends and tech news of the day. PodShow TECH will also be include special programming from PodShow hit shows such as GeekBrief.TV and TeXtra, as well as Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code.

“In life, technology is no longer in the back row seat; it is now taking center stage… PodShow TECH will reflect that change,” says PodShow President and Co founder Adam Curry. “John is the perfect anchor, combining his legendary insight, on-camera personality and extensive rolodex to help us keep the channel fresh, informative, entertaining and relevant.”

PodShow TECH is one of a new lineup of PodShow channels, scheduled to launch in Q2 ‘07, featuring a range of subjects, each hosted by celebrities and experts from across the net and traditional media. Each channel has its own personality, featuring expert-driven entertainment that will not only be offered on the PodShow network, but will be available for syndication to mainstream media. As the host of PodShow TECH, Dvorak will continue his appearances in print and on television and radio, and as the infamous host of Cranky Geeks.
One of the country’s most respected media experts on technology and computing, Dvorak currently shares his opinions and insight as a columnist for Dow Jones Marketwatch, as a regular panelist on This Week In Tech, a Netcast audio program, as contributor on CNBC, and as columnist for PC Magazine (two separate columns since 1986.) Dvorak has written or co-authored over a dozen books, and has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, San Francisco Examiner and The Philadelphia Inquirer among numerous other publications. Dvorak’s career in technology began in 1978 when he began a software company that specialized in the development and sales of CP/M microcomputer software and in 1979, founded the famed newsletter The Software Review. He has won numerous awards including the ABEA 2006 Award (Silver, National) for best print column, large circulation national magazine, The Computer Press Association Best Columnist and Best Column awards, and the American Business Editors Association’s national gold award for best online columns of 2003 and 2004.
PodShow, the premier social media community, is the only network providing single-click access to the best in new media in audio, video, podcasts, and music to be delivered to your computer, iPod, mobile device or television.

About PodShow, Inc.
PodShow™ is the #1 new media network, addressing a global audience of tens-of-millions, comprising PodShow+, PodShow Network, PodShowPDN, Podcast Alley, indiePodder and the Podsafe Music Network. PodShow+ makes independently produced media more accessible to an audience of tens-of-millions, providing resources for producers, and enabling marketers to take part in the digital media explosion. PodShow Productions produces serialized content and specials in audio and video for the PodShow Network. BTPodShow.com is a co-branded service from PodShow LTD in partnership with BT, enabling consumers in the UK and Ireland to create, connect and share their content on the PodShow network. PodShowTV is a version of the PodShow Network developed specifically for television viewing audiences, distributed through products like AMD Live! CastBlaster Software enables thousands of producers to create and distribute audio podcasts and other productions on the windows platform. The PodShowPDN™ is the first high-performance content delivery network meeting the specific needs of podcasting, delivering a comprehensive creation, production, and delivery and monetization solution for independent producers and mainstream media companies. In every way, PodShow has greatly simplified the production experience for artists and listeners around the world. PodShow is a privately held company, backed by leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures and DAG Ventures. For more on PodShow, visit:
http://www.podshow.com, and for all queries visit:
http://www.podshow.com/contactus.html.

PodShow, PodShow+, Podsafe Music Network, Podcast Alley, and PodShowPDN are trademarks of PodShow, Inc. theShow! is a trademark of PodShow UK LTD. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Richard Stacy writes about PodShow in Social Computing Magazine

“Now we get to the crunch. You may have heard of a company called PodShow – arguably the most innovative company in developing the podcast sector. The two guys who run PodShow are called Adam Curry and Ron Bloom (check out Adam Curry on wikipedia to get an idea of his credentials). They are operating their business to something they call the 5:50 Prediction. This is that within 5 years, 50 per cent of the media that consumers consume will be produced by other consumers. This is this much talked about consumer or user generated content, the stuff of YouTube, blogs, podcasts and MySpace.

Now if these guys are anywhere close to being right in this and we accept that the amount of hours that people will devote to media consumption are not going to increase dramatically – the only conclusion we can reach is that the reach or bandwidth available to the traditional media is going to collapse. And if they only reach half the numbers, they can only charge half the price – hence the prediction. The only factor mitigating against this is the possibility that people will see their engagement with social media as being something sufficiently different from consumption of traditional media, that they will create additional time for it, by cutting into leisure time or other activities. This might be possible with teenagers, but for people with more time demands and more structured lives this is unlikely to generate many more hours in the week.

Are the PodShow guys right? Well think about youR average teenager today and recogniZe that teenagers are the early adopters here. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that social media is, and will always be, a youth thing and that as people get older they will suddenly re-discover TV and newspapers. Most teenagers today are probably already there. Even an oldie like me is already there – because even where I consume the product of the traditional media, I tend to access it through new channels (RSS, newsreaders etc) – i.e. the channels that don’t, and probably can’t, carry the subscription or the ads and deliver the money to the media owners.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the traditional media, or rather the type of content the traditional media currently produces. But what is does mean is that the business model that supports it is in its death throes and to survive the traditional media and advertisers are going to have to find themselves a whole new model.

There is going to be a big shake-out as a lot of the content of the traditional media falls into new channels and the challenge in constructing a new model is to work out how to hold onto the content in a profitable way. The answer will probably lie (as per Prediction Two below) in the traditional media cutting themselves loose from expensive and outmoded distribution technologies and focusing instead on being syndicated branded content producers. As a side issue – advertisers are going to have to work out what to do with their “un-used” advertising dollars. Is the answer simply to shift the budget into on-line? Probably not, since much of the new on-line spaces are inherently advertising unfriendly. Also, despite the fact that there is much current talk about how sites like YouTube are going to produce revenue streams, these new forms of media don’t need the same amount of advertising dollars to make them run – precisely because they don’t have expensive distribution or content production infrastructures.”