PodMov Daily: Thursday, June 18

Episode 229: Your Thursday Podthoughts

SiriusXM Acquires Creator-Focused Podcast Platform Simplecast

The satellite radio giant SiriusXM has made a decisive move into podcasting with the acquisition of the major platform Simplecast, reports Ingrid Lunden of TechCrunch. To create a complete monetization platform for publishers, SiriusXM plans to integrate Simplecast with the digital audio ad company AdsWizz, which it bought in 2018.

“The deal is interesting because it is bringing one of the more popular independent platforms and set of tools used by streamers under the wing of a platform,” Lunden comments. Already the owner of Pandora and a backer of Soundcloud, SiriusXM is heavily leaning into the analytics side of high-volume audio streaming.

Simplecast founder and CEO Brad Smith will continue to lead the company, which he calls “laser-focused on podcast creators.” Indie podcasters and huge brands have always shared the same suite of tools. And now? Lunden is on the case: “We have asked SiriusXM if the plan will be to keep all of Simplecast’s services as-is after the deal closes.”

Gary Coichy: “Black Podcasters Need Brands to Invest Long-Term”

According to Gary Coichy, the CEO and founder of Pod Digital Media, “the multicultural podcast community wants consistency from the brands who are spending money with them. Period.” As the head of the first full-service agency for multicultural podcasters, Coichy tells Lindsay Rittenhouse of AdAge that real partnership starts with lasting intent.

Recently Coichy challenged brands to “#SupportBlackVoices in meaningful ways.” How does that translate to business practices? “Invest for the long term. Now is the moment to make investments in Black podcasts part of your evergreen strategy,” he states. “While one-off investments are nice, they don’t actually build the relationship and trust that makes both parties desire.”

“Listen to Black voices. Whether it be in the office or through their podcasts, Black experiences matter and if you want to sell to them, you’ve got to get to know them,” says Coichy. After a 15-year career at major agencies and brands, he sees that “Right now, brands have an opportunity to support a critical addressable market in a meaningful way.”

Claritas & Megaphone: Podcast Measurement and Attribution Case Study

The most important metric for podcast measurement isn’t impressions, it’s conversions. Deep insight into campaign performance and attribution is essential to improve and optimize ads. Precise analysis requires understanding which campaigns and conversions drove incremental lift. That’s where Claritas comes in.

Interested in how Megaphone’s clients have seen up to 116% lift in conversions? The latest Case Study has the answers. As Megaphone connects content with thousands of unique audiences, Claritas tracks and attributes campaign impressions to online and offline conversions to evaluate and monetize campaign performance.

An understanding of which marketing channels are moving audiences to conversion through accurate attribution, combined with evaluating the source of the incremental lift, marketers will be equipped to optimize and drive better ROI.

Ready to make every podcast marketing dollar you spend work harder? Read on for higher revenue.

Here’s what else is going on:

• Extra, extra: Reuters has debuted new audio news services that can be used for podcasts, reports Eric Hal Schwartz of Voicebot.AI. Reuters Audio and Reuters Ready Audio “provide a direct channel for the news hub’s archive of raw and edited audio content.”

• Launch pad: The Paris-based Sybel has been tapped for Alexa Next Stage, Amazon’s pilot accelerator for voice-focused startups. Sybel, which produces “original premium audio content based on licensed characters and stories,” is one of seven companies chosen.

• A toast: Nicola Sitch, the recipient of the 2020 Commercial Radio Australia Podcast Scholarship, will study the prestigious Graduate Diploma in Radio at the Australian Film Television and Radio School and also join Melbourne’s PodcastOne team as an intern.

• Field goal: Evan Bleier of InsideHook speaks with NFL Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, who began his podcast Wide Open last fall. “He’s been honing his chops as an interviewer the same way he used to sharpen his skills as one of the NFL’s premier pass-catchers.”