Exploring the Rule of 3’s; Ad Infinitum is Baaack with Insights on Maximizing Personal Endorsements; Congress Takes on Brand Safety

We’ve got a jam-packed edition of the Influencer this week, but first, we’d be remiss not to address the attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump this past weekend.

What the world witnessed Saturday was shocking but sadly, no surprise. From what we know, this heinous act of violence was carried out by a sole deranged individual. And yet, the culmination of rhetoric coming from all sides of the political spectrum are undoubtedly a factor here. Words matter! Saturday’s events are the most extreme version of what happens when words send feelings and emotions spiraling out of control. Sometimes we forget that we’re all members of the human race; including those who may have divergent ideas and values from our own. Addressing differing opinions while maintaining human decency is what we strive for on behalf of Oxford Road here in the Influencer and on the Media Roundtable podcast.

As marketers, we must support building bridges across our differences and preserving fair-minded discussion in the media landscape in an effort to reduce the likelihood of tragic events like this from happening again. We do this mainly through the corporate language of “Brand Safety and Suitability.” This is best represented by our advocacy for the Civility Score as a key metric in podcasting, as a measure of personal attacks in sponsorable content. Only through civil discourse can we, as President Biden so accurately asked, “lower the temperature in our politics” and focus on progress.

Stepping off the soap box, we do have a great edition of the Influencer this week; our Ad Infinitum superhost Stew Redwine sits down with special guest—Mike Jensen, CEO of Rhapsody Voices—to chat about the “Rules of 3” pertaining to audio and advertising.

Audio is replete with 3’s: First, there’s production: voice-over, sound design, and music. Second, there’s the classic story structure of beginning, middle, and end. Of course third, there’s the timeless rhetorical appeals: pathos, logos, and ethos. Mike adds a fourth dimension: the Host, the Audience, and the Sponsor. With all these forces at play in audio advertising, how can marketers make heads or tales of things to get the best ad for their buck?

“We really want to deliver on the connectivity between the host, the sponsors, and the audience.” – Mike Jensen, CEO of Rhapsody Voices

Mike channels his inner audio advertising guru to come up with 3 takeaways for forging connections with brands to make the host-read ads work.

Authenticity is Key: Authenticity in host-read ads is paramount. A host should be able to demonstrate their genuine connection to the product—otherwise, why are they reading the ad?

Simplicity: For Mike, authenticity goes hand-in-hand with simplicity. For example, if a Starbucks ad has 20 potential value propositions, the host shouldn’t try to highlight all of them. Instead, they should focus on one or two things, like perhaps new summer drinks and caffeine-free options. This way, the host can elaborate on what they genuinely like about the product.

Clear Call to Action:  Everyone knows an ad works best when it has a call to action. However, not all CTAs are equal. Triple down on having a clear, concise, and persuasive CTA, and triple-check the copy to make sure it’s solid. After all, a read is only as good as the copy presented.

Check out this Ad Infinitum episode for more valuable insights from these two major players in the audio space. Plus, you won’t want to miss everyone’s favorite segment; the air-check ad ratings!

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The Classifieds

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose

Network: PodcastOne / Monthly Downloads: 25k / Current Civility Score: Pending

Nascent empires are growing rapidly as a result of present day innovation. Kendall Toole and Galey Alix embrace this equation well: Kendall became an instant Peloton celeb, thanks to her openness about mental health and her strong sense of self. Galey Alix is a phenomenal multi-hyphenate on Wall Street, though she’s best known as the host of HGTV’s Home in a Heartbeat, which has found unbridled success on Max. These hugely talented women have found kinship amidst their meteoric rise to fame, beliefs in self-worth, and their ability to influence an audience. The duo’s newest venture with PodcastOne premieres this week, and has already been hyped by numerous news and entertainment media outlets. This is a great opportunity for multiple advertisers, especially those with a heavy consumer base of women who list self-improvement as a major goal. We wholeheartedly recommend clicking below for more.

Get The Deal

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Network: QCODE Media / Monthly Downloads: 135k / Current Civility Score: Pending

Ballen Studios is expanding with a new enticing entry into the horror genre. Host Rodney Barnes is a writer, storyteller and horror aficionado with a long list of accolades in TV and print media. Similar to the campfire stories of yore, Barnes eerily weaves together tales of ghosts, demons and vampires, immersing them into present day scenarios. The sound design, narrative flow and reliance on the macabre make this a skin-twitchingly good listen.

The show is already finding a rapt audience among Ballen diehards, as well as literary readers and fiction fans alike. This opportunity is best suited for advertisers seeking highly educated consumers who are also lifelong learners. The show overlaps with true crime content and is thus a great option for reaching a highly skewed female demo. RUN, FOOL to the link below for more.

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In Case You Missed It

Brand Safety Talks on Capitol Hill

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether advertisers are directing funds away from conservative media outlets, including talk radio, podcasts, and X. Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro claims ‘an informal pressure system ensures left-wing media brands receive the majority of advertising.’ Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) is under scrutiny, with evidence collected from GARM users indicating advertisers are colluding to steer ad dollars away from conservative media. We’ll steer clear of the political aspects and simply state that applying the GARM brand safety framework to podcasts is overly restrictive. Many top podcasts, including two of the most popular genres—Comedy and True Crime—become problematic when marketers use GARM for podcasting.

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Dax Gets Zon’d

Amazon’s Wondery has signed an exclusive distribution and ad-sales deal for the massively popular podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. The deal includes co-developing two new podcasts and one livestream per year, with Wondery having a first-look option for additional podcasts. A couple of items in the announcement stand out to us; Wondery’s deal for Armchair Expert includes video podcasts, which is yet another sign of the growing importance of video. The deal also includes early access and ad-free versions of the podcast for subscribers of Wondery+. This leads us to consider whether subscriptions in podcasting will gain more traction as ad clutter in podcasting grows. It’s worth noting that overall ad clutter in podcasting is still low compared to the majority of other media channels.

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Mutual of Omaha’s ‘Wild Kingdom’ Leaps into Podcasting

Mutual of Omaha’s ‘Wild Kingdom’ ventures into podcasting with Pineapple Street Studios, launching ‘Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom The Podcast’ on July 16th. Co-hosts Peter Gros and Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant will explore wildlife conservation, continuing the series legacy. New episodes will be released weekly through October 1st. “By entering the podcast space, our goal is to reach a wider audience and continue to celebrate the conservation efforts of so many experts, and we’re excited to do so with Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios,” said Jennifer Wulf, VP of Brand Marketing at Mutual of Omaha. Branded podcasts can be a challenging endeavor. They demand significant commitment and must offer content compelling enough to attract and retain an audience, making the investment—primarily in time—worthwhile. Given this, Mutual of Omaha’s decision to revive ‘Wild Kingdom’ as a podcast could be genius, provided enough people remember the TV show.

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#SaveTheLiveReads

LA PLATICA Impara L’Italiano con Babbel

Ciao audio lovers! This week’s #STLR features Josh Leyva, co-host of the hit podcast LA PLATICA, with his molto bene passione for learning to speak Italian—thanks to Babbel! This popular podcaster, YouTuber, social media guru, entrepreneur lures devoted listeners with his exuberant personality and comedic notoriety. Josh has also recently decided to take on a new language as part of his repertoire (pardon our French)… enter Babbel! With flawless set up and substantiation, Josh Babbels his way into Italian. He then takes things a step further with a demonstration incorporating the language learning platform’s operating sonic ID. This personal endorsement and execution of audio branding offers listeners the true hands-on Babbel experience. Bravo Josh! Parlez vous français?

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