Podcast To Provide The Lowdown On Downloads

As the recent Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Podcast Ad Metrics Guidelines and upcoming measurement by Nielsen demonstrate, podcasting continues to quickly evolve and grow as a media platform.

DMR/Interactive and Texas A&M’s, The Download on Podcasting team will synthesize the immense amount of research that has been published. The team will then build on these findings by fielding an exploratory pilot study in early 2017 followed by a nationwide research project to further the insights available to radio and podcasting professionals.

According to Dr. Billy McKim, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University and Director, Digital Media Research and Development Lab, “the term podcasting is such an all-encompassing word, we had to first identify our main target audience (radio and podcasting professionals). From there, the specific topics areas quickly came into focus.”

In Phase One, The Download on Podcasting will focus on these areas:

• Are podcast and radio listeners a duplicated audience? “Radio is still primarily listened to live and on actual radios. Podcast listening is time-shifted and primarily on smart phones. With these significant differences, we expect to learn a lot about how much or how little audience overlap exists," said Texas A&M researcher, Eva Vigh, a senior from Katy, TX.
• Is podcasting a viable talent pool for radio? “Depending on who you ask, there’s a healthy debate about whether or not podcasters see themselves as wanting to be on-air. As podcasting grows in popularity, it’s entirely possible that many podcasters will never pursue a radio show of their own,” said Rob Upchurch, a senior from Bedias, TX and member of the Texas A&M research team. 
• What are the biggest monetization opportunities and challenges for podcasting? “There’s no shortage of headlines about the interest that advertisers have in podcasts, but it’s still just a tiny fraction of the overall audio and digital advertising pie. Beyond the measurement limitations inherent in the Apple Podcast App, we look forward to examining the issue of monetization and are excited that Nielsen will begin measurement next year,” said Ben Haase, a senior from Dallas, TX and member of The Download on Podcastingteam at Texas A&M.    
• How are podcasters capturing and leveraging audience data? “User level data is a big part of what makes digital platforms so attractive to advertisers. Along with capturing and monetizing this data, how will podcasters use it to build relationships with their best listeners and drive TSL and consumption," said Meagan Hooker a senior at Texas A&M from Italy, TX.

 “The Texas A&M team has hit the ground running and is asking great questions. I’m looking forward to the insights that we will generate about this quickly evolving space,” said Andrew Curran, President and COO of DMR/Interactive.

The first installment of The Download of Podcasting is due at the end of October. For those interested in participating in this project, please email podcast@dmrinteractive.com.