PodMov Daily: Wednesday, September 23

Episode 291: Your Midweek Update

Announcing PM Virtual Keynote Speaker Mark Cuban

With Podcast Movement Virtual just weeks away, we’re excited to announce one of our biggest keynote speakers of any event. Media titan and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will take the stage for a live conversation with Podcast Movement veteran speaker Erica Mandy, Founder and Host of The NewsWorthy.

Inside and beyond the business world, Mark Cuban is someone who needs no introduction. Since getting into audio in 1995, he’s been ahead of the curve toward a better, smarter media ecosystem. As the podcasting world faces massive growth, Cuban’s expert perspective on business, media, and technology is more valuable than ever.

This week’s update includes even more speakers and sessions for Podcast Movement’s first-ever virtual event. Last but not least, we’re proud to introduce the PM Virtual Scholarship Program. It’s now open to support community members interested in attending but not able to do so financially. Join us!

How to Know When to Pull The Plug on a Podcast

Most podcasts will end much sooner than later, but closing up shop is rarely simple. “It’s relatively easy to spin up a podcast — it must be, there are 1.4 million of them,” says Amplifi Media CEO Steven Goldstein. “Knowing when to throw in the towel is much more challenging.” Are there telltale signs that a show has run its course?

Goldstein explains six scenarios in which it’s time to change or cancel. They’re not meant to inform impulsive, unfocused podcasts, he notes. “It’s about podcasts that have creatively or empirically run out of gas.” With many years of experience with radio shows, audio brands, and podcasts, Goldstein has seen these patterns play out.

Take creative bankruptcy, or ‘story fatigue.’ Narrative burnout is common, and it’s easy to see why. What matters is how you handle that stage of your show, Goldstein explains. “The ongoing question for podcast producers and creators to ask when thinking of pulling the plug is whether a show is on its way up, sideways, or out.”

New Claritas Report: Podcast Campaigns Provide 30x More Lift

Marketers are expected to spend $1 billion on podcast advertising in 2021. Why invest? Claritas analyzed over 150 podcast marketing campaigns and found lift results significantly exceeded those of other channels. Discover more in the new report “Podcast Campaign Lift: A Guide To Accurately Analyzing Campaign Conversion Rates.” 

Claritas’ Identity Graph enables a unique methodology to accurately determine incremental lift provided by specific audiences, placements, shows, creatives, and media partners. These insights help marketers understand what’s really contributing to incremental engagements and conversion, enabling more effective optimization.

In the report, Claritas reveals essential insights into the ROI of podcast campaigns across multiple industries, with incremental lift rates measuring upwards of 79%. Ready to make your podcast advertising dollars work harder? Access the report to learn more.

Here's what else is going on:

• Drama club: In Hot Pod, Nicholas Quah considers Joe Rogan’s recent misinformation and censorship controversies. “The fundamental question, he says, “is how exactly Spotify — the platform and the publisher — will try and define its relationship to its own content.”

• The experts: On Friday at 6:00 pm BST (12:00 pm CT) Acast will host Aclass: Asian Voices, a podcasting masterclass for new and emerging Asian voices. Guests Rubina Pabani and Poppy Jay of Brown Girls Do It Too won Podcast of the Year at the 2020 British Podcast Awards.

• Sneak preview: Tomorrow at 10:00 am ET are The X Fronts, the first upfronts for indie podcast networks. The free, all-day event will feature virtual presentations from podcasters, industry experts, and networks like Crooked Media, Domino Sound, Headgum, and Locked On.

• True though: Rachel Corbett calls out a certain crime of podcasting in a brief PSA. For listeners, this mistake “doesn’t make them think ‘this person sounds so relaxed,’ it makes them think ‘this person hasn’t thought about me at all.’” Corbett hosts or co-hosts nine podcasts.