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Podcasting for business and culture at Bell Labs

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On Thursday night (5/4/17) Bell Works in Holmdel NJ will host a special event featuring a panel event on podcasting and the effects on business and culture. Podcasting has quickly become a powerful tool for businesses to market themselves and for people to reinvent themselves. If you don’t know what podcasting is yet, check out my other article – The Power of Podcasts, but know that this medium, really a radio show on steroids, is helping businesses around the world get the word out. And the thing is anybody can do a podcast that will be available to literally the entire world. According to a report by Edison Research

“Over 98 Million People ListenTo Podcasts In 2016”

podcasting monthly numbers

 

Overall, podcast listening increased from 11% to 36%, translating into an estimated population of 98 million (Edison Research). Even more 21% of Americans over age 12 have listened to a podcast in the past month growing since a 12% share in 2013 (Pew Research). Certainly, podcasts are incrementally growing. Because podcasts listeners will form relationships with hosts and are loyal to show they are following, listeners will tend to return back to shows on a regular and timely basis, whether weekly or monthly (Columbia University).

And the nice thing is that men and women are almost equally listening to podcasts.

men and women

 

In any event, podcasting is securing its prowess in the fabric of business marketing, and even better they are entertaining. They all have personalty that speaks to “you” and cover any topic imaginable. So what is tonights topic? All panelists will speak from their experience about podcasting as a business, including emerging business models that have proven more and less successful. The panel will be moderated by Julia Zapcic of digital marketing agency Marketing Rival and sponsored by Bell Works and vi Innovation Hub.

The panels are made up of the following:

  • Fan Theory Podcast, affiliated with USA Today Network & APP.COM, hosted by Felecia Wellington Radel and Alex Biese.
  • I Sell Comics/Ming & Mike Podcast, affiliated with SMODCO (Kevin Smith’s entertainment company) and AMC TV’s Comic Book Men unscripted tv show and hosted by Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen.
  • Neil Mody, founder of Sparemin, a software startup promising to do for self-produced audio what Youtube did for self-produced video.

Fan Theory will provide a big picture view of corporate-backed podcasting/linked to an established media resource (USA Today/Gannett). Also, how podcasting helps build community and feeds into other conversations that open doors to affiliated business opportunities, including creation or enhancement of events based on a podcast or the larger fan community. 

Mike & Ming will bring the ‘organically grown’ experience of podcasting to the table — building an audience and message around a very personal/personality driven passion. Also, using podcasting to promote a strongly held, personal agenda, ie: more inclusive society; culture that values storytelling and shared goals and aspirations; encouraging the ‘average geek’ to get creative and create something that celebrates what’s important to them in their lives.

Neil Mody and Sparemin will demo new technology currently being used by major media outlets to do on-the-spot audio capture and upload that allows users to produce relevant, relatable content in real time. Neil will talk about who’s already using it, their experience and the impact of this tech in podcasting.

All in all it sounds like a great night. 

Wrap up

Last night was informative on podcasting and the future. And it was a historic moment for Bell Works. The theatre opened for the first time since the place was shut down, and we were the first event to be hosted. Quite an honor. Below are some pictures of Bell Works and the event.

bell works

Podcast panel

 

The Power of Podcasts – Top 5 Podcasts

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Podcasts are more popular than ever. We all have something to say or something to sell. While this is just another channel. It is a channel that holds its audience attention, and reinforces your business goals. So why are so many people turning to podcasts to et the word out? Because content can be delivered in a unique way and with expertise.

The power of podcasts

Podcasts can perform so many functions:

  • They can educate.
  • They can entertain.
  • They can inform.
  • They can inspire.
  • They provide authority.
  • They can provide a humorous personal side of your business.

podcaster
At the end of the day, you can make a connection with your audience. You are able to talk directly to your audience and provide the voice that migt no come out in a blog.

Podcast Listening Grew 23% Between 2015 and 2016 and monthly podcast listenership has increased 75% since 2013.

Podcasts are also portable. In this world of accessibility, we all have multiple devices to listen to podcasts. Where we want and when we want. All this sounds great but who is really listening?

To provide some context for what 21% of the entire country represents, 13% of the US listens to Spotify monthly, and 21% of the country uses Twitter. The same number of folks listen to podcast and use Twitter.

podcast facts
Click to enlarge

All this sounds great but in order to grow more listeners, the age barrier needs to be broken. Those 55+ age bracket are pretty flat with listening. If this changed the podcast would go through the roof.

Even mainstream media is investing in podcasting:

  • The New York Times, which in March 2016 announced the creation of a podcast team focusing on news and opinion programming;
  • Public radio broadcaster WNYC, which announced in October 2015 its plan to raise $15 million in funds for a new podcast division (for more on the role of podcasts within the public radio world, see the public broadcasting fact sheet);
  • The Wall Street Journal, which introduced WSJ Podcasts in December 2o15;
  • And on the local front, the Des Moines Register, which turned to long-form narrative podcasts in order to explore one story in depth.

Startups and newer media organizations investing in podcasting included:

So, what are we all listening to in the podcast world?

Here are the top 5 podcasts when writing this article 1/13/17.

 1. Pod Save America is here

A no-bullshit conversation about politics.

This is a political podcast for people not yet ready to give up or go insane hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor.

 

2 Hollywood & Crime is here

A fictional crime series.

 

3 TED Radio Hour is here

Networks surround and sustain us, in nature, in our bodies, in relationships, in the digital world. This hour, TED speakers explore how we rely on networks and how we have the power to shape them.

 

4 This American Life is here

Most weeks This American Life is the most popular podcast in the country, with around 2.5 million people downloading each episode.

 

5 Hidden Brain is here

The Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world – and themselves. Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain’s host Shankar Vedantam reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, the biases that shape our choices, and the triggers that direct the course of our relationships.

 

 Coffee Podcast 

American Idol Makes History

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Tonight is the last night for American Idol and after 15 years they have definitely left their mark on pop culture. I didn’t watch every season but it was the kind of show you could watch with the family and provided some fun competition. They also made a dent in social media and marketing, by engaging the audience to participate via phones, smartphones, Twitter and downloading from iTunes.

Paul Kai’s Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

American Idol engaged their audience in channels that hadn’t been used before. Voting through your phone and texting was unique and some uncharted territories. Conversations happened online during the live shows.

Text messaging was inspired by Idol.

american idol votingTexting wasn’t very popular when American Idol started using in 2003, on AT&T only, and the show is credited with helping to increase the popularity of texting.

american idol 2016American Idol Show Facts

The show’s original lineup featured cohosts Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman and a panel of judges consisting of former pop star Paula Abdul, music producer Randy Jackson, and British music executiveSimon Cowell. During the auditions the judges critiqued the performers in a predictable manner: Abdul’s comments were typically sympathetic, Jackson’s humorous, and Cowell’s biting.

american idol final season hostsThe show’s eighth season (2009) saw a number of other changes to the show’s formula, most notably the addition of a fourth judge, songwriter Kara DioGuardi. Judges were also given the power to directly influence the final rounds of competition with the “judges’ save rule,” which allowed the panel to override the votes of the viewing public once per season to give a deserving contestant a second chance. In August 2009 Abdul left the show when contract negotiations with American Idol producers broke down, and she was replaced by Ellen DeGeneres.

Losers

At the conclusion of the ninth season, in May 2010, Cowell left the program, and both DeGeneres and DioGuardi departed later that year. In later seasons Jackson was joined on the judging panel by such musicians as Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith), Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj, and Harry Connick, Jr. In 2014, his last year on the show, Jackson moved into a mentorship role, leaving the judging to Urban, Lopez, and Connick. In 2015 it was announced that the show would end with its 15th season.

american-idol-winnersWinners

Several winners of the contest became recording sensations, most notably Kelly Clarkson, the winner of season one, and Carrie Underwood, the winner of season four. Other winners included Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen. Proving that success on the show was not necessarily a prerequisite to success in show business, Jennifer Hudson was voted off in season three but went on to win an Academy Award for her performance in Dreamgirls (2006), and Chris Daughtry, a finalist in season five, scored multiplatinum success with his hard rock band Daughtry. Adam Lambert, the runner-up in season eight, had success as a solo artist and also collaborated with the British rock band Queen, replacing deceased singer Freddie Mercury when the group performed live (as Queen + Adam Lambert).

Trent Harmon singing Chandelier, by Sia 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now the Top Grossing Film in the Franchise

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Everyone has reported on this but it bears repeating. This movie, like it or not, will take the lead in the franchise, and most likely the top grossing film of all time. The Force Awakens also became the fastest-ever to hit $1 billion globally this weekend: it took 12 days compared to Jurassic World’s 13 earlier this year.

star wars menace movie

It took less than two weeks to happen but: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is now the all-time top-grossing film in the franchise. The J. J. Abrams-directed smash hit surpassed both the $1 billion mark and previous franchise record of $1.027 billion, set by Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999.

JJ Abrams
JJ Abrams on the set of Episode 7

The Force Awakens holds the record for the fastest-ever film to reach the $500 million mark in America – a milestone it hit in 10 days. With $545 million in domestic box office, The Force Awakens trails only four movies to become the highest-grossing movie in American history: 2009’s Avatar ($760 million), 1997’sTitanic ($658 million), 2015’s Jurassic World ($652 million), and 2012’s The Avengers ($623 million). The Force Awakens will almost certainly shatter Avatar’s record, but it’s yet to be seen if the Disney mega-flick will be the first movie in history to hit $1 billion at the U.S. box office.

Although it’s difficult to accurately compare films from different eras due to inflation (especially when looking at global totals), 1939’s Gone With The Wind is largely acknowledged as the most successful film of all time. Last year, Guinness World Records estimated its then-$393 million intake to be $3.44 billion in 2014 dollars.

But nobody has mastered the franchise business like George Lucas. Movies 8 and 9 are in the works already, and set to launch in 2017.

StarWarsTimelineBehind the scenes of Episode VII

Star Wars: A Marketing Machine I Am

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Unless you live in a cave, you know that new Star Wars movie has launched, and so with it the barrage of Star Wars stuff. The merchandising machine for this movie is nothing like I have ever seen before, especially before the movie debuted. It made Christmas shopping easy this year because everything was Star Wars themed. In my ventures through Target, I captured the enromity of the Star Wars machine – see pics below.

all forceStar Wars Makes Sense with Disney

If all estimations are correct, products linked to the Star Wars could bring in as much as $5 billion in just the next year. Disney kicked up its marketing on Sept. 4 with Force Friday, an engineered shopping day pegged to the launch of a new line of Star Wars toys. It produced holiday-esque sales that up’d the ante of Amazon’s Prime Day and neared Black Friday levels, even without any deals. There were 15 million visits to websites selling Star Wars products between September and November.

That’s an crazy amount of money, but with the slate of goods and merchandise they have in the works, it also seems totally within their reach. As for the The Force Awakens movie itself, it could bring in as much as $615 million worldwide in just its first weekend of release. That would beat the current record holder, Jurassic World, which had the biggest global opening ever earlier this year on the way to earning more than $1.5 billion at the box office.

Update: As of 12/28/15 the movie has become the top grossing Star Wars film. Read the article here.

 

sw marketingPerfect Storm Marketing

Three factors are at play —

  • It’s been a decade sinceRevenge of the Sith, so there is a real thirst for a new, compelling Star Wars movie; 
  • It’s Christmas, arguably the busiest spending period of the entire year;
  • Star Wars doesn’t have a specific target age group. Young children, older folks and anyone in between could very well have an interest in the film.

SO……Star Wars ice cream, Star Wars life-sized droids, Star Wars LEGO, Star Wars candy, Star Wars high heels and clothing, Star Wars makeup, Star Wars bathrobes, Star Wars luggage, even Star Wars oranges. Just a few days prior to the release of the long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec. 18, society is in an all-out Star Wars fever. The craziness and absurd, which has been ramping up for months, has culminated in the perfect storm of marketing, an almost unstoppable strategy put forth by Disney.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning a Star Wars-themed “Epic Weekend” in 3,000 stores, offering shoppers the opportunity to play the Star Wars: Battlefront video game, made by Electronic Arts Inc., four days before it is available for purchase. It currently carries over 500 Star Wars items in stores and “thousands” online, a spokeswoman says.

Target Corp. has more than 600 Star Wars items in stores and more than 1,000 online, including action figures, pizza cutters and lipstick. Among its biggest sellers is BB-8, a robot about whom only hints have been revealed through Disney’s cryptic movie trailers.

Interesting Merchandise

star-wars-walker

star wars toothbrusheschewbacca-slippers-2-lg

dv waffle maker

dv toaster

sw airplane

Rejected Ideas

jabba-hut-star-wars

042711_rejected_star_wars_toys_6star_wars_merch rejected

rejected Crave5_610x359Releasing the Merchandise

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