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In this exclusive interview, Podshow CEO Ron Bloom shares best practices for podcast advertisers, podcast measurement, and valuing a podcast audiences.

Ron Bloom is the visionary CEO and business leader behind the founding of PodShow. Mr. Bloom is ultimately responsible for PodShow's business units, team building, operations, financing and hyper-growth.

Bloom was the chief strategist in securing PodShow's marquee partnerships with Apple and Sirius Satellite Radio and the company's elite private investors, including venture firms Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital and Sherpalo Ventures.

Bloom leads PodShow on the march to 100M listeners, and is often referenced as the visionary author of the media industry's "5/50" rule and Fart's Law of consumer technology adoption. 

A respected technology and media executive, consultant, speaker and author, Bloom has provided marketing, media and technology strategy for a broad range of Fortune 1000 clients including AOL, Time Warner, AVON, IBM, Oracle, Chrysler, Ford, BellSouth, DuPont, Nortel, Continental Airlines, Gillette, Microsoft, Omnicom and Procter and Gamble.

As a tech and social media marketing pioneer, Bloom has worked to develop internet portals, web sites, cross-media marketing, and integrated broadband and broadcast content, as well as strategic business plans for online businesses such as Preview Travel, The Gap, Network Associates, MSN, Oracle, Netscape, AOL and a host of others.

Bloom has acted as a consultant to a range of investment banks and venture firms, working with them to identify and understand the impact of emerging technologies, having helped to raise over $500 million in investment capital for both public and private companies focused on technology, marketing, media and next-generation entertainment and communications. 

Bloom is a former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of THINK New Ideas, a company which he cofounded, and served as President and Chief Operating Officer of On Ramp, one of the world's first and most prestigious Internet solutions providers.

SHOW NOTES:

4:07 - Ron Bloom talks about the metrics advertisers should look at when considering whether they want to advertise in a podcast, as well as qualifying a podcast.

9:04 - Bloom talks about the advantages of using podcasts instead of other traditional forms of electronic media," What podcasting brings is...choice, unlimited frequency, unlimited bandwith, an unlimited ability to mix and match, [and] it also gives the advertiser a tremendous opportunity to put together an audience in the millions...that have...multiple voices promoting their product."

11:56 - Bloom comments on the fact that podcast downloads can be tracked, but the amount of podcasts played and listened to cannot.  14:58 - Bloom offers words of wisdom for other media companies and advertisers about how they should develop a digital strategy.

17:11 - Bloom discusses finding an audience for new media, "By spending it before measuring it, you're going to find out what people like."

19:53 - Bloom talks about how to value an audience and the CPM model, "I don't believe in CPM, sometimes I refer to that as Cost per Mistake."

24:50 - Bloom on determining the specific criteria to use to measure online behavior.

28:57 - Bloom explains what Podshow is and how it works, "We largely serve content created by independent producers or other people...the indications from our audience is that they are willing to consume and create increasing amount of their media spend...on networks that don't feature mainstream media."

General Manager and Senior VP of Nielsen Analytics Larry Gerbrandt goes On the Record...Online with host Eric Schwartzman to discuss measuring podcasts against other media forms, the behavior of podcast users, and where podcast measurement is heading.

Larry Gerbrandt is General Manager and Senior Vice President of Nielsen Analytics. Larry is responsible for developing leading edge research, analyses and valuation services to companies in the media and entertainment space. In addition to original research on emerging technologies, Nielsen Analytics conducts primary consumer-level research and synthesizes top level research from the many VNU divisions, including Nielsen Entertainment, Nielsen Media Research, Claritas, SRDS and Scarborough. Larry's focus is on the convergence of content delivery and consumer media technology and the underlying economic models in the television, motion picture, cable, satellite, music, home video, video game and mobile entertainment. Prior to joining Nielsen, Larry served in various analytical, editorial and management roles during his twenty year tenure at Kagan World Media, most recently as Chief Operating Officer and also led the media & entertainment practice at AlixPartners LLC. Larry has authored numerous newsletters and special reports, and is a regular speaker at industry conferences including CTAM, NATPE, NCTA, BCFM, CES, NAB, MIP and MIPCOM.

SHOW NOTES:

5:42 - Gerbrandt discusses the recent Nielsen Analytics report, The Economics of Podcasting.

7:40 - Gerbrandt on measuring podcasts against other forms of media.

9:29 - Gerbrandt, while speaking about the issue of geographic exclusivity affecting measurement, "Podcasting is free...in terms of competing for ears and eyes, it's probably some combination of the web and radio that podcasting really competes with."

11:05 - Gerbrandt talks about Nielsen's testing methodology and facility.

14:19 - Gerbrandt discusses ensuring the accuracy of a questionnaire.

18:04 - Gerbrandt offers his thoughts on whether podcasting has a more lucrative future as advertiser supported or advertiser generated.

20:28 - Gerbrandt talks about the difference between consumer expectations online versus television.

22:30 - Gerbrandt talks about the behavior of the 6% of web users that Nielsen reports downloaded podcasts.

25:33 - Gerbrandt discusses Nielsen's data collection methods and its clients.

28:53 - Gerbrandt on how Nielsen plans to collect podcast listener behavior, "We will be able to determine exactly what was listened to and what was used and for how long."

29:31 - Gerbrandt talks about the data Nielsen will be collecting on podcasting.

30:51 - Gerbrandt on the metrics advertisers need to know in order to make purchasing decisions.

35:19 - Gerbrandt discusses the premium audience of podcasts, "Podcasts have grown up based on a lot of people's passions and enthusiasms."

37:32 - Gerbrandt talks about the popularity of CBS versus MTV, and the different goals of broadcast networks versus cable networks.

40:07 - Gerbrandt discusses how Nielsen is evolving in response to the growth of consumer generated media and new media.

44:43 - End.

I had the good fortune to sit down one-on-one with General Manager and Senior VP of Nielsen Analytics Larry Gerbrandt and talk about measuring podcasts against other media forms, the behavior of podcast users, and where podcast measurement is heading.

Photo of Larry Gerbrandt by Lisa Padilla

This is a recording of our conversation, which is really insightful if you're working on coming up with ad pricing for your podcast or strategy for how to market your podcast.

Larry Gerbrandt is General Manager and Senior Vice President of Nielsen Analytics.  Larry is responsible for developing leading edge research, analyses and valuation services to companies in the media and entertainment space.

In addition to original research on emerging technologies, Nielsen Analytics conducts primary consumer-level research and synthesizes top level research from the many VNU divisions, including Nielsen Entertainment, Nielsen Media Research, Claritas, SRDS and Scarborough.

Larry's focus is on the convergence of content delivery and consumer media technology and the underlying economic models in the television, motion picture, cable, satellite, music, home video, video game and mobile entertainment.

Prior to joining Nielsen, Larry served in various analytical, editorial and management roles during his twenty year tenure at Kagan World Media, most recently as Chief Operating Officer and also led the media & entertainment practice at AlixPartners LLC.

Larry has authored numerous newsletters and special reports, and is a regular speaker at industry conferences including CTAM, NATPE, NCTA, BCFM, CES, NAB, MIP and MIPCOM.

SHOW NOTES:

5:42 - Gerbrandt discusses the recent Nielsen Analytics report, The Economics of Podcasting.

7:40 - Gerbrandt on measuring podcasts against other forms of media.

9:29 - Gerbrandt, while speaking about the issue of geographic exclusivity affecting measurement, "Podcasting is free...in terms of competing for ears and eyes, it's probably some combination of the web and radio that podcasting really competes with."

11:05 - Gerbrandt talks about Nielsen's testing methodology and facility.

14:19 - Gerbrandt discusses ensuring the accuracy of a questionnaire. 

18:04 - Gerbrandt offers his thoughts on whether podcasting has a more lucrative future as advertiser supported or advertiser generated.

20:28 - Gerbrandt talks about the difference between consumer expectations online versus television.

22:30 - Gerbrandt talks about the behavior of the 6% of web users that Nielsen reports downloaded podcasts. 

25:33 - Gerbrandt discusses Nielsen's data collection methods and its clients.

28:53 - Gerbrandt on how Nielsen plans to collect podcast listener behavior, "We will be able to determine exactly what was listened to and what was used and for how long."

29:31 - Gerbrandt talks about the data Nielsen will be collecting on podcasting.

30:51 - Gerbrandt on the metrics advertisers need to know in order to make purchasing decisions.

35:19 - Gerbrandt discusses the premium audience of podcasts, "Podcasts have grown up based on a lot of people's passions and enthusiasms."

37:32 - Gerbrandt talks about the popularity of CBS versus MTV, and the different goals of broadcast networks versus cable networks. 

40:07 - Gerbrandt discusses how Nielsen is evolving in response to the growth of consumer generated media and new...

CEO of Technorati David Sifry goes On the Record...Online with host Eric Schwartzman to discuss building a business case for podcasting, podcasting metrics, and RSS advertising.

David Sifry is Founder and CEO of Technorati, a real-time search engine that keeps track of what is going on in the blogosphere. A serial entrepreneur with more than 19 nineteen years of software development and industry experience, before founding Technorati, Sifry was cofounder and CTO of Sputnik, a Wi-Fi gateway company. Before that, he cofounded Linuxcare, where he served as CTO and vice president of engineering. Sifry also served as a founding member of the board of Linux International and was on the technical advisory board of the National Cybercrime Training Partnership for law enforcement. He appears frequently on panels and lectures on a variety of technology issues, ranging from wireless spectrum policy and Wi-Fi, to weblogs and open-source software.

SHOW NOTES:

6:32 - David Sifry talks about how much traffic Technorati gets a day, and the growth of Technorati.

7:29 - Sifry on the demographics of Technorati users.

9:10 - Sifry reveals how advertisers can reach their target audience groups on Technorati.

10:19 - Sifry talks about how to get people to subscribe to your RSS feed and how to validate your feed.

12:59 - Sifry discusses different types of RSS feeds and adding advertising to your feed, "You can choose how you want people to consume your site."

17:53 - Sifry talks about selecting podcasts for advertising, product placement and podcasting, and the particular podcast metrics that advertisers should use.

21:04 - Sifry on how to determine the behavior of a particular person that subscribes to a feed.

22:43 - Sifry discusses the question of whether there is a standardized metric for podcast popularity.

24:41 - Sifry talks about the qualitative metrics marketers and advertisers should be looking at.

30:20 - Sifry on the notion of inserting advertising feed as a partial text item.

34:18 - Sifry on the future of measurement and Technorati.

39:49 - End.

David Sifry is VP, Center for Technology and Society at Anti-Defamation. But he used to be the CEO of Technorati, the first RSS search engine.

In this interview, we talk about building a business case for podcasting, podcasting metrics, and RSS advertising.

David Sifry is a serial entrepreneur with more than 30 years of software development and industry experience.

Before Technorati, he was cofounder and CTO of Sputnik, a Wi-Fi gateway company. Before that, he cofounded Linuxcare, where he served as CTO and vice president of engineering.

He also served as a founding member of the board of Linux International and was on the technical advisory board of the National Cybercrime Training Partnership for law enforcement. 

SHOW NOTES:  

6:32 - David Sifry talks about how much traffic Technorati gets a day, and the growth of Technorati.

7:29 - Sifry on the demographics of Technorati users.

9:10 - Sifry reveals how advertisers can reach their target audience groups on Technorati.

10:19 - Sifry talks about how to market a podcast and get subscribe to your RSS feed and how to validate your feed.

12:59 - Sifry discusses different types of RSS feeds and adding advertising to your feed, "You can choose how you want people to consume your site."

17:53 - Sifry talks about selecting podcasts for advertising, product placement and podcasting, and the particular podcast metrics that advertisers should use.

21:04 - Sifry on how to determine the behavior of a particular person that subscribes to a feed.

22:43 - Sifry discusses the question of whether there is a standardized metric for podcast popularity. 

24:41 - Sifry talks about the qualitative metrics marketers and advertisers should be looking at.

30:20 - Sifry on the notion of inserting advertising feed as a partial text item.

34:18 - Sifry on the future of measurement and Technorati.

39:49 - End.

Photo by Doc Searls

Michael J. Lavery, president and managing director of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, goes On the Record...Online with host Eric Schwartzman to discuss paid versus non-paid circulation, the changing value of print media and online metrics.

Michael J. Lavery is president and managing director of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the world's first and largest circulation-auditing organization and North America's preferred circulation auditor. With a diverse financial background, including a tenure as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for the internationally known law firm Winston & Strawn, Lavery became ABC's Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services in 1987. In 1988, he accepted the challenge of managing ABC's 2,500 annual audits and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Auditing Services. In 1993, he was named Executive Vice President of Auditing Services, and was subsequently elected President and Managing Director by ABC's Board of Directors in November 1995. Lavery's tenure has resulted in several key developments at ABC. ABC has moved forward in verifying new and non-traditional, census-based advertiser-supported media which culminated in ABC Interactive, and a number of other supplemental audit services such as Reader Profile and Subscriber Profile, and programs like ABC's Insert Verification Service (IVS) and the extension of audit services to non-paid newspapers. ABC's premium data reporting services have also grown to reflect the quick moving pace of the information age. ABC's electronic data resource, e-Data, now provides subscribers with custom reporting, online analysis tools, and report features that disclose audit status listings and the new ABC Rapid Report that encourages more frequent circulation reporting.

SHOW NOTES:

3:58 - Michael Lavery explains what the Audit Bureau of Circulation does and discusses the company's history and purpose.

6:28 - Lavery talks about the difference between paid and non-paid circulation, and what each means for advertisers.

10:39 - Lavery on how paid circulation versus unpaid circulation has changed over the past 20 years.

12:09 - Lavery talks about distinguishing paid circulation from non-paid, and the evolution of non-paid circulation.

15:52 - Lavery on why small publications should monitor their circulations, "To provide media accountability [and] provide accountability to advertisers and agencies..."

16:27 - Lavery on the benefits the Audit Bureau of Circulation offers small publications.

17:37 - Lavery on the application process, costs and entitlements of ABC members.

21:17 - Lavery on what's happening in the world of print media as publishers migrate online and consumer generated media grows.

23:05 - Lavery on how ABC is re-inventing itself online.

26:23 - Lavery on the parallels between RSS and paid circulation in the print world.

28:35 - Lavery offers his projection on the specific measurements advertisers will value as online metrics.

30:24 - Lavery talks about the evolution and future of ABC.

32:39 - End.

Michael J. Lavery, former president of the Audit Bureau of Circulations talks frankly about paid versus non-paid circulation and the value of print versus and online media impressions.

Michael J. Lavery is president and managing director of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the world's first and largest circulation-auditing organization and North America's preferred circulation auditor. 

With a diverse financial background, including a tenure as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for the internationally known law firm Winston & Strawn, Lavery became ABC's Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services.

He accepted the challenge of managing ABC's 2,500 annual audits and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Auditing Services.

His tenure has resulted in several key developments at the ABC. They has moved forward in verifying new and non-traditional, census-based advertiser-supported media which culminated in ABC Interactive, and a number of other supplemental audit services such as Reader Profile and Subscriber Profile, and programs like ABC's Insert Verification Service (IVS) and the extension of audit services to non-paid newspapers.

ABC's premium data reporting services have also grown to reflect the quick moving pace of the information age. ABC's electronic data resource, e-Data, now provides subscribers with custom reporting, online analysis tools, and report features that disclose audit status listings and the new ABC Rapid Report that encourages more frequent circulation reporting.

SHOW NOTES:

3:58 - Michael Lavery explains what the Audit Bureau of Circulation does and discusses the company's history and purpose.

6:28 - Lavery talks about the difference between paid and non-paid circulation, and what each means for advertisers.

10:39 - Lavery on how paid circulation versus unpaid circulation has changed over the past 20 years.

12:09 - Lavery talks about distinguishing paid circulation from non-paid, and the evolution of non-paid circulation.

15:52 - Lavery on why small publications should monitor their circulations, "To provide media accountability [and] provide accountability to advertisers and agencies..."

16:27 - Lavery on the benefits the Audit Bureau of Circulation offers small publications.

17:37 - Lavery on the application process, costs and entitlements of ABC members.

21:17 - Lavery on what's happening in the world of print media as publishers migrate online and consumer generated media grows.

23:05 - Lavery on how ABC is re-inventing itself online.

26:23 - Lavery on the parallels between RSS and paid circulation in the print world.

28:35 - Lavery offers his projection on the specific measurements advertisers will value as online metrics.

30:24 - Lavery talks about the evolution and future of ABC.

32:39 - End.

Photo by Crissy Jarvis on Unsplash

Hearst Interactive Media VP Michael Dunn goes On the Record...Online with host Eric Schwartzman to discuss the value of podcasting, the mainstream media's reaction to podcasting, and podcast measurement.

Michael Dunn is currently a VP with Hearst Interactive Media, focused on both Venture and Enterprise Technology leadership, as well as the author of the podcasting and emerging media related blog http://nomadicaudio.com. A career technologist predominately focusing on the emerging rather than the legacy aspects of the media, advertising and technology industries, Mike has previously held CTO positions at Time Warner, Encoda and Dell Online, as well as senior technology roles with Turner Broadcasting, True North Communications and Hanna-Barbera Studios. The main focus of his Venture role is to perform the technical due diligence of any potential corporate venturing. Mike enjoys working with startups: he is on the advisory boards of Mochila, Internet Capital Group, Advisen, Snapbridge Software and was one of the founding members of InfoWorld's CTO Advisory Council. He is also on the board of Ballston Spa National Bank, a community bank in Saratoga County New York. He is a published author on the art of being a CTO.

SHOW NOTES:

6:15 - Michael Dunn talks about Hearst investments in new media, emerging media and emerging technology, and his responsibilities at Hearst Interactive Media.

8:59 - Dunn on the different types of companies Hearst invests in, including companies that are competitive with Hearst.

11:34 - Dunn on the lack of standardized measurement for podcasting and the value of podcasting for marketers and listeners, "Today the whole beauty of podcasting is you're not connected, you can take it wherever you want to go, you can play it in your time when you want to fill gaps..."

20:43 - Dunn talks about how the mainstream media decides whether to embrace podcasting or not, and what validates podcasting as a way of distributing information for media organizations.

24:09 - Dunn discusses Marcus Chan and The San Francisco's Chronicle's podcasting endeavors.

25:35 - Dunn on taking the initiative to podcast and the benefits of podcasts, "The one really compelling thing that podcasting does...is it gives you direct access to subject matter experts..."

33:48 - Dunn discusses the perspectives of traditional media professionals on social media and consumer generated media.

37:07 - Dunn offers words of wisdom to young companies that are looking to entice Hearst to make an investment.

40:50 - End.

Michael Dunn is CTO of Ultra, which is bringing the blockchain revolution to the gaming industry and creating a fair ecosystem for the future of games distribution. 

This is a conversation I had with him when he was at Hearst Interactive Media about podcast advertising and podcast measurement. 

When he was at VP with Hearst Interactive Media, Michael was focused on enterprise technology.

A career technologist focused on the emerging rather than legacy media, advertising and technology, he has held CTO positions at Time Warner, Encoda and Dell Online and senior tech roles with Turner Broadcasting, True North Communications and Hanna-Barbera Studios.

Mike enjoys growing tech startups and is a published author on the art of being a CTO.

SHOW NOTES:

6:15 - Michael Dunn talks about Hearst investments in new media, emerging media and emerging technology, and his responsibilities at Hearst Interactive Media.

8:59 - Dunn on the different types of companies Hearst invests in, including companies that are competitive with Hearst. 

11:34 - Dunn on the lack of standardized measurement for podcasting and the value of podcasting for marketers and listeners, "Today the whole beauty of podcasting is you're not connected, you can take it wherever you want to go, you can play it in your time when you want to fill gaps..."

20:43 - Dunn talks about how the mainstream media decides whether to embrace podcasting or not, and what validates podcasting as a way of distributing information for media organizations.

24:09 - Dunn discusses Marcus Chan and The San Francisco's Chronicle's podcasting endeavors.

25:35 - Dunn on taking the initiative to podcast and the benefits of podcasts, "The one really compelling thing that podcasting does...is it gives you direct access to subject matter experts..."

33:48 - Dunn discusses the perspectives of traditional media professionals on social media and consumer generated media. 

37:07 - Dunn offers words of wisdom to young companies that are looking to entice Hearst to make an investment. 

40:50 - End.

Photo by Joi Ito

Nielsen BuzzMetrics CMO Pete Blackshaw goes On the Record...Online with host Eric Schwartzman to discuss podcast measurement, best practices for advertising podcasts and how to build a business case for podcasting.

Pete Blackshaw presently serves as CMO of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, a firm that helps companies promote and protect their brands through the measurement, analysis, and interpretation of CGM, or online word of mouth, across forums, message boards, social networking sites, direct company feedback, online communities and blogs. He coined the term "consumer-generated media" (CGM) and authors a blog by that same name. Pete is a co-founder of the 2004 Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). He currently authors a bi-weekly column on digital marketing strategy targeted to CMOs for the ClickZ marketing network. He's frequently quoted in major publications, and he authors several work and personal blogs, including www.hybridbuzz.com, and parenting centered blogs www.dosbebes.com and www.proudpadre.com.

SHOW NOTES:

4:30 - Pete Blackshaw talks about the change in business professionals' perceptions on measuring consumer generated media.

6:05 - Blackshaw discusses the Nielsen Analytics report, The Economics of Podcasting.

7:42 - Blackshaw on consumer reaction to podcast advertising and best practices for creating ads for podcasts.

9:26 - Blackshaw talks about how to measure podcasts, including measuring depth of engagement.

11:37 - Blackshaw explains the engagement metric and applying it to podcasts, "I think podcasting is, by its very nature, takes the notion of engaging to an extra level...and that level of engagement carries over into wins for brands."

14:20 - Blackshaw on how to come up with a quantitative value that supports a business case for podcasting.

16:16 - Blackshaw discusses the different types of podcast measurement available, including growth pattern, depth of engagement, talk value and what the most important metrics are.

19:12 - Blackshaw on what surprises him most about podcasting, "I'm...shocked that there aren't more brands that are just uploading podcasts that explain to people how to use products."

21:31 - Blackshaw on what he has learned about conventional measurement from new media measurement, "I think metrics are going to get a lot more interesting...as we move more events and activities online we have much more flexibility to adapt, evolve, [and] contour our programs against those real-time needs..."

23:35 - Blackshaw talks about the future importance of the CPM measurement.

24:58 - Blackshaw on the term "consumer-generated media."

27:48 - Blackshaw discusses how traditional media measurement professionals regard him and new media measurement models.

30:07 - End.