RAIN Summit NYC, “Pureplays and Podcasts Day,” was hosted yesterday at The Greene Space by Jennifer Lane, CEO of RAIN Enterprises and president of RAIN Summits, and Kurt Hanson, founder of RAIN Newsletter. The event was sold out weeks in advance, and atrocious weather didn’t stop most attendees or dampen enthusiasm in the room.
Wretched weather didn’t thwart the sold-out crowd
Streaming Audio Ad Models
The opening panel session was moderated by John Rosso of Triton Digital, and included Gary Liu (Global Director, Ad Product Strategy at Spotify), Megan Green (Dir., Business Development at Songza), James Drake (Dir. Sales at 8tracks), Jared Heiman (Dir., Global Ad Sales at Rdio), and Rockie Thomas (VP, Business Development for AdsWizz).
A lively and provocative discussion covered ad loads, geo-targeting, the consumer experience of ads, and other topics. On the question of ideal number of commercials in a music stream, a good deal of banter was both entertaining and revealing that the question remains wide open for Internet radio. There was consensus that AM/FM ad loads wouldn’t work in the online realm. Gary Liu of Spotify launched the idea of consumer activation of commercials, proposing a scenario in which a user opts in to a few commercials in exchange for 30 minutes of uninterrupted listening. Titters from the audience for that out-of-the-box proposition. Plus-one to Gary for innovative thinking.
Geo-targeted ads were praised in concept, but slammed in reality for being inaccurate. “We have so much to learn about geo-targeting,” was one comment. The best next step, according to the panel, would be to use GPS rather than IP-address for finding a user’s location. Otherwise, a commercial message to visit a nearby Starbucks could be 40 miles off-target.
John Rosso of Triton Digital led the Streaming Audio Ad Models panel
The Download on Podcasts
Podcasting. Emerging, or re-surging? Both, for anyone who’s been around long enough to remember when podcasting burst onto the scene as an addition to RSS. RSS has faded. But shows continued to be produced, and iTunes has been a major distribution point. Now, podcasting is has gotten more enterprising. This panel dove deep.
Moderated by Manoush Zomorodi, host and managing editor of WNYC’s New Tech City podcast, the panel included: Norm Pattiz (CEO of PodcastOne), Scott MacDonell (VP, Marketing at Legalzoom), Mark McCrery (CEO ad Podtrac), and Jeff Ullrich (CEO of Earwold and The Midroll).
In a wide-roaming conversation that included programming, distribution, content, monetization, and gender issues, we learned about how and why podcasting “works” for listeners and advertisers, and we also learned about challenges to the still-young industry. In Norm Pattiz’s persepective, there is not a podcasting industry yet, and his PodcastOne venture intends to establish one. (Pattiz is the ex-founder and ex-CEO of WestwoodOne, the program-syndication and radio group.)
The key values of podcasts for listeners were described as authenticity and intimacy. Audience behavior was described as unusually loyal and enduring, sometimes taking action on advertising messages months after they occur. When selling advertising, usage metrics present real difficulties. The panel delineated between downloading and listening, since the latter doesn’t necessarily occur just because the former did. Web streaming is another way to consume podcasts. So this nascent industry is working to establish reporting standards, in addition to selling advertisers on podcasts conceptually.
Wrap-up to continue
There was much more in a packed afternoon of knowledge sessions and networking: Kurt Hansons’ keynote speech, music licensing, and innovation in online audio platforms. More to come — and be sure to sign up for the RAIN Newsletter, delivered each day via email, if you haven’t already. Join thousands of readers who rely on its daily drumbeat of important developments in online audio.