Taken by the ears

Podcasting In the USA, companies with podcasting
"branded podcasts" - audio pieces with commercials for the MP3 player - a
When Pepsi Max, the new soft drink from the
US beverage company, was launched on the market in England.
The company's marketing strategists are thinking about how they can get a
target group - young men - could be approached in the future.
between the ages of 18 and 24. In terms of media use, they are considered
difficult to pin down, watch very little television and have a notoriously "cynical attitude towards the media", says Mark
Leggett, Business Director of Mindshare, the agency behind the campaign
has launched.
But because it was known that digital MP3 players were popular among them
Mindshare has ventured into a medium that is just as unconventional as the
is like its audience: the so-called podcasts - audio pieces that are available as
download digital files from the Internet to a portable audio player
can be loaded. If a company sponsors such a podcast, then
it becomes a "branded podcast", because the listener should be able to experience a brand in
connection.

Randomly making fun of people
To hammer this connection into the brains of media consumers,
The agency came up with a content concept that would appeal to the target audience.
was particularly well received: a presenter called people at random to give them a
unpleasant story, for example, that their car is
had been towed away. If the victim tried to defend himself, he was also
have already been labeled "stupid" - for a mainstream audience
probably a touch too sadistic, but the campaign was
I didn't think so either. At the end of the mini-broadcast, after the dispute
had dissolved into mutual pleasure, the
Sponsor reference. The target group was struck by the indiscriminate
fellow citizens: Over 9000 times in five weeks, the seven-minute
long comedy piece downloaded.
Because the technology requires an active interest, the
Podcasting as a particularly attractive medium. "People really listen
and therefore perceive advertising very differently than a
30-second spot on television, where everyone is looking for the
remote control," says Leggett. Podcasting is still largely
unregulated and not subject to any regulations, for Leggett a
decisive advantage: "You're not allowed to swear on the radio, but on the
You can say what you want and how you want about podcasting." The Pepsi podcasts
a week-long radio campaign on youth stations such as KISS or
Galaxy ahead.
With the Pepsi Max campaign, which went over the airwaves in February, the
The company took advantage of the new medium at an early stage. Currently
more global marketers such as Unilever are jumping on the US market every week,
Procter & Gamble, General Motors and Warner Brothers on the
podcasting bandwagon and hope to attract new consumer groups.
to open up.

Heineken as a pioneer
One of the first companies to use this communication tool,
was Heineken on its portal heinekenmusic.com. There 
Dance Events sponsored by the beer manufacturer. Already in
In December last year, Heineken started to use podcasting as a
additional instrument for his "Thirst" campaign, in which DJs
be sought. In a podcast, the cult DJ Daniele Davoli
who spoke about his application for "Thirst". "The contribution
was part of an alternative campaign for a young audience",
knows Heineken spokeswoman Nicole McNaughton. With success: the interview
was downloaded 50,000 times in two months.
The forms of advertising in the podcasts vary. "The most popular form is,
that a sponsoring company is mentioned in the program and perhaps
also contains a 15-second spot for the company," says Tessa
Wegert, consultant for Internet advertising. Other podcasts are
simply infomercials, where the content is knitted around the product.
or they contain several of them from different marketers.
mini commercials lasting five to ten seconds. "The design depends
depends on the audience you want to reach with it."

Gerti Schön