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You might think that after a decade of watching new paradigm-shattering technologies change the ways we communicate and market we might start to get a little jaded with the whole thing. Yet, there is something eminently exciting about new approaches to information distribution that make us look back and say ‘Wow, I never realized just how limited the old method was!’

Most recently podcasting has emerged as the new ‘must use’ technology. Like many of its technological predecessors, it’s not the gizmo itself that is making the greatest impact but how it’s being used.

Podcasting, for those unfamiliar with its function, is a highly targeted way for people to share audio content (generally spoken) with an online audience. On one side there are people who have something to say. They record audio messages or programs (many following a ‘talk show’ formula) and place them on a server as MP3 files. On the other side are ‘subscribers’ who opt in to receive those programs on a regular basis. By syncing an iPod (or other MP3 player) to these servers periodically, the content is downloaded and can be played back at the subscriber’s leisure. Think of it as a radio station where you get to choose exactly what you want to hear (and from different sources) and you’ll get a sense of the possibility podcasting offers.

For podcasting, it’s all about distribution of content. Think of it as a personalized broadcast that can be taken with you. By subscribing to podcasts and periodically syncing an MP3 player with this content you can have daily content feeds delivered that meets your personal needs and interests. In essence, content you want to listen to when you want to listen to it.

While podcasting potentially gives anybody with an opinion a soapbox to speak from, it is also changing the fabric of how we will communicate with one another in the future. Like the internet, podcasting offers the potential to reach very specific target audiences with content that meets very specific needs and interests. In many ways, it is the antithesis of mass marketing.

I don’t want to declare a death knell for traditional radio or television, but the lack of flexibility in any mass market broadcast channel is starting to look antiquated. If, as a consumer, I get used to the idea that the exact news, entertainment, music and education information that I want is available to me if I just go and point to its source then why would I ever again be willing to tolerate the ‘one size fits all’ jumble of content available from most broadcasters? The internet already offers me a high level of customizability in choosing the content I want to read. Podcasting offers a new level of Content On Demand (COD), similar to the Video On Demand (VOD) models being offered through digital cable.

For marketers, the potential that podcasting offers is becoming apparent. Once the domain of direct marketing channels, the ability to reach very specific demographic targets is now being partly driven by consumers themselves. Instead of marketers making broad assumptions about what any demographic segment is or is not interested in, consumers are defining themselves as interested individuals by personalizing and defining personal interests and buying habits. For example, as a reader of this column your likelihood of being interested, either personally or professionally, in online marketing is a no-brainer. As a marketer, however, I need a better idea of what specific needs you have in order to create a product offering to meet those needs. For podcasters, vertical markets can often be quickly identified based on the subject focus of the podcast. But how can we effectively market to these people?

It’s a tough walk down the razors edge for podcasters who want to reach a target group with a broadcast and also want to make it pay the bills. Because consumers can now control their own incoming content mix, anything that meets with disfavor may get eliminated from that mix. Simply put, if your podcast irritates me in any way, I’m gone and so is my demography.

The value of any marketing message is in the perspective of the beholder. For most of us an offer that doesn’t meet a personal need or desire is junk and a waste of our attention. Unless the content being offered is of greater value than the irritation, we will go in search of greener pastures.

While there are no hard and fast rules in place when marketing to podcast audiences, the value of the content has to be worth any intrusions made by advertising. That said, sometimes the secret of success is in how the marketing content is being offered to the listener. Those of you familiar with radio commentator Paul Harvey recognize a radio advertising format that works very well for him. During Harvey’s broadcasts he reads news stories that he feels are of interest to his listeners. He also inserts sponsorship plugs for products and services that smoothly mesh with the news content because it is included in the same format as the news stories. Instead of feeling like interruptions in the newscast, these marketing messages became part of the content and end up as much a part of the broadcast as the news stories.

Another important consideration is to be certain that any ads being presented really do meet the needs and interest of the podcast audience. While the lure of money might be great, any advertiser whose product message doesn’t resonate directly with the listeners may end up being a liability. Carefully selecting vendors whose messages closely match the interests of the podcast and the listeners can mean the difference between growth or failure.

There’s a lot more to touch upon regarding podcasts and their marketing potential. In future columns I will be exploring ways to use podcasting and other emerging technologies to reach target audiences.

I’m also happy to announce that a companion podcast for this column (complete with integrated ad content) can be accessed at http://http://www.xyz.com/. Of course the podcast contains value-added content because that’s what savvy consumers really want.

But then again, you already knew that, didn’t you?

There's nothing like a good story to catch people's attention, particularly when it's narrated. It is something that companies from Hewlett Packard to General Motors and a host of others are latching on to. Podcasts are rapidly being adopted by companies as an alternative to what many see as stale and overworked text based communications. What is more, they are relatively simple, cheap and quick to produce. And, according to many early adopters, an extremely effective means of reaching staff, partners, prospects and customers.

Here are some of the ways in which podcasts are starting to bring a new dimension to communications.
- Regular updates - whether the audience is the salesforce or some other internal group or external, podcasts can be used to alert people to new product and service developments
- Expert commentary - insights and advice on issues that are close to the hearts of customers and prospects.
In addition, podcasts can be used for a wide range of other purposes where audio can provide an attention-grabbing edge: training, market analysis, and news broadcasts.

Companies are already exploring the potential of podcasts for these and other applications. General Motors uses podcasts to inform customers and other audiences about new launches. The Adaptive Enterprise and Software Global Business Unit of Hewlett Packard uses podcasts as a medium for regular items by its general manager.

RSS feeds and blogs can be used to distribute podcasts which are regularly scanned by the major search engines and can be turned up in searches. They are relatively cheap to produce and distribute, and can be used to personalize otherwise bland communications. For example, they can include interviews with customers, details of new contracts or feature key members of the organization to bring an added touch of dynamism to communications.

In his book "The World Is Flat," Thomas Friedman describes how companies that haven't laid one strand of fiber-optic cable have benefited greatly from the largesse of others. He compares this instance of good fortune to the railroad building boom of the 19th century, during which time companies bound for glory hitched a ride on a new east-west transportation link that was financed by others.

Marketers from a sprawling neighborhood of SIC codes should be turning up the volume on a similar opportunity, courtesy of more than 22 million affluent American adult consumers who own portable MP3 players.

While wired consumers may currently have a song in their ears, they also have a great deal of available memory in their pockets. And as a result, these mini listening devices represent a pipeline that's waiting to be filled with more than just music and photos.

Some opportunistic information providers are already directing content into this open pipeline. Ironically, the not-for-profit National Public Radio network, along with certain of its affiliates, has been off the mark early with podcast programming feeds of select shows. (Podcasting is a means of publishing sound files to the Internet. Users subscribe to a feed and receive audio files automatically.)

NPR is not alone, though. The aggressively for-profit Infinity Radio network already feeds its all-news-and-talk programming to mobile listeners through podcasts. Clear Channel is set to follow with its own live morning shows. Others have either already lined up or are stirring. Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin has engaged in content delivery talks with Steve Jobs, his counterpart at Apple Computer. In Washington, President Bush's weekly radio address is available to mobile listeners via podcast.

Playboy, living up to its reputation, also is doing it. And my own favorite opportunists, Joe and Christina, are pairing wines with different foods for anyone who cares to listen at Diningonthevine.com.
While these early efforts are of merit, they are of no more magnitude than a few sheets of paper floating through a packed stadium. This opportunity is still beckoning to marketers with something to say or sell.
In some cases, marketers can use the portable listening device channel to support their existing business.

Direct marketing companies can post audio files that add bass and treble to the customer relationship. For example, Lyman Orton can send out updates on the work of the nonprofit Orton Family Foundation. Patagonia can post audio files of its "Sports We Do" pages. Amazon.com can post talks with authors, musicians and chefs. And audio files can be sweetened with news about private sales.

Financial services firms can post educational seminars on their Web sites, to be downloaded by fitness enthusiasts who fantasize about becoming financially muscular while jogging past houses that are up the hill from their own. The fact that many of the major companies in this category, such as Vanguard, Citigroup and Fidelity, have already created and cleared written content causes this initiative to be even more appealing.

Travel companies can post audiologs describing tour packages and destinations.

Automobile manufacturers can make an early, and possibly lasting, impression on new drivers by posting "Rules of Safe Driving" as a podcast. They can promote it through high school driver education programs. When the adults aren't looking, they can also post a series titled "Road Trips." (This seems like a natural fit for Toyota's new Scion nameplate.) And for adults who are shopping for cars, manufacturers can post expert descriptions of safety features, performance specs and product options.

Evangelical church leaders can post sermons as audio files, thus extending their ministry far beyond the limits imposed by geography. Picture this: Just as you are jogging to the crest of a hill the sun bursts over the horizon, while the voice in your ears describes the pleasures awaiting in the Kingdom of Heaven. These posts also might help to counter the inevitable attrition that comes from Americans' itinerant ways.
Since portable MP3 players often are used to alleviate the tedium of exercise, fitness, health and beauty aid, and athletic shoe companies could pump lifestyle programming through the pipeline and still have something left to say.

In other cases, marketers could target portable listening devices as a means to create ancillary business.

Information providers can repackage content and sell it as downloadable files. For example, while Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ offers free archival rebroadcasts of its "This American Life" program, it charges $3.95 to download a show. Why can't Dow Jones repackage written content as downloadable audio files to be listened to by financial strivers as they climb to the top of the Stairmaster?

Educational and training organizations can sell downloadable content. For example, universities can post lectures given by famous or expert speakers. Language schools can post lessons for executives on the go. Self-help and management gurus can post step-by-step guides to success, wealth, fame, love, revenge, and just about anything else.

Travel book publishers can mine their written accounts of travel destinations to post audio walking tours of cities, great churches, historic battlefields, famous monuments, and so on.

Organic food retailers, such as Whole Foods Market and Wild By Nature, can post downloadable health and nutrition information audio files.

Book publishers can post "Books on Podcast," thus creating an offshoot of Books on Tape. This initiative is especially appealing thanks to its leverage - the readings already will have been recorded.

And in yet other cases, marketers will peer down the portable listening device pipeline to see entirely new businesses. Those perceptive enough will seize the opportunity leading to a base of approximately 22 million affluent adult American consumers and supply content that delivers value. They will recognize that the portable MP3 player is a portal, not a destination.