Connections - Quick tips and trends to use now

Keeping our finger on the pulse of trends is just one more way CPG brings value to our clients. Podcasting is one of the many communications trends we’re following. Here’s a basic primer, along with some interesting statistics on the use of this media and its explosive growth in the corporate communications arena.

To find out more about how Podcasting could be a cost-effective part of your overall communications plan, give us a call to learn more.

Podcasting 101

A podcast is a collection of files (usually audio and video) residing at a unique web feed address. People can "subscribe" to this feed by submitting the feed address to an aggregator (like iTunes - software that runs on the consumer's computer). When new "episodes" become available in the podcast they will be automatically downloaded to that users computer. Unlike radio or streaming content on the web, podcasts are not real-time. There is no live broadcast of content, the material is pre-recorded and users can check out the material at their leisure, offline.

The Early Adopter Podcast Audience

The iTunes podcasting audience is represented by men, with a market share (63%) of the audience than did females (37%). In addition, 18-24 year olds represented a substantial share of the audience (29%) and were more than twice as likely as the average Internet user to download podcasts. People between the ages of 35-54 represented about half of the podcasting audience and were also more likely than average to download podcasts, according to a study by comScore. While the conventional wisdom says that only young, tech-savvy consumers are downloading and listening to podcasts, there is also a sizable market among 35-54 year olds, indicating that the audience is broader than previously thought.

The Future Podcasting Audience

Analyzing the household income and education levels of the iTunes podcasting audience revealed that consumption of podcasts increased with both income and education. In particular, those individuals in households making at least $100,000 annually were 28% more likely than average to download podcasts, while college graduates were 25% more likely.

Podcasts appeal to the more educated and higher-income consumer segments, since many of the top podcasts are in the educational and business genres… it's probably just a matter of time before significant advertising dollars begin to flow toward this medium.