O U T L O O K

The proliferation of digital music players and consumer-generated content, combined with the mainstream adoption of Really Simple Syndication (RSS) in 2005, have enabled podcasting to take root as a viable medium for both content distribution and advertising. The appeal of podcasting—publishing or subscribing to on-demand, streamed audio on the Internet—lies in its democratic roots (just about anyone can publish a podcast) and in its capacity to timeshift the consumption of digital audio content. Users can grab and tote their favorite shows and listen to them on their own time. From independent producers like the now infamous Dawn and Drew Show to broadcasters like ESPN and ABC News, and aggregators like iTunes and Ipodder.com, the podcasting landscape is shaping up as a robust channel for alternative and mainstream audio content alike.

Advertisers such as Verizon and Best Buy were some of the first to embrace podcasting in 2005, because they recognized its power to create buzz among the hip and tech-savvy. Podcasting as an advertising platform is still developing, namely due to the small audiences, new ad formats and the relative lack of accurate measurement of this somewhat experimental medium.

In 2005, the number of podcast subscribers quickly grew from a nascent few to just over one million by end of year, beating Forrester’s August 2005 growth projections. While Forrester expects the audience for podcasting to grow to roughly 12 million households by 2010, the accelerated rate of adoption in the latter part of 2005, as confirmed by Avenue A | Razorfish campaign results, indicates it is likely to grow more quickly.

Although the audience is still small, podcasting represents a strong opportunity for advertisers who are eager to test new marketing platforms. Current advertising opportunities center mainly around pre-roll and post-roll audio spots, and on publisher sites like ABC, CBS or ESPN, and may also be coupled with standard banner ads that run near the point of download. These ads must inevitably be short (:15 or less), compelling and most importantly, relevant, as audiences are well aware that they have control over the fast forward button.

At this point, the tools available for measuring the effectiveness of podcasting campaigns are few, but there are some basic metrics that can be used for evaluation. First, it is possible to know how many times a particular podcast feed has been subscribed to and, in some cases, how many times it has been subsequently accessed. These measures at least provide a good gauge for the reach of a program. Currently there are no third party measurements or dynamic ad insertion systems used for podcast advertising, so these metrics are only available through first-hand aggregator or publisher sites. Despite Audible.com’s claim to have capable measurement technology for podcasting, it is still too early to evaluate the compatibility of their rights management system with a digital advertising model.

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