FOMO Founder, Patrick McGinnis Dishes on Podcast, Purpose, and Brand; Marvel and Podcast Universes Collide; How to Celebrate International Podcast Day

Success has many fathers, but FOMO only has one. His name is Patrick McGinnis. Yes, he’s a venture capitalist, writer, speaker, and creator/host of the hit podcast FOMO Sapiens, boasting over 2 million downloads, but his true place in history has been secured as the literal inventor of the Oxford Dictionary-recognized word “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out), naming the psychological force that has shaped our feelings (and marketing strategies) for years whether we knew what to call it or not.

Join us as we dive deep into the origins of FOMO, as well as how a small group of well-placed, credible users of the phrase allowed it to spread (which sounds like a case study for a successful influencer campaign). We also get into the responsible marketing use of FOMO (and the unethical kind), and McGinnis’s rule of thumb for how to avoid the FOMO trap and make decisions faster (at least when it comes to the infinite media options at your fingertips).

Oxford Road’s own EVP of Strategy & Insights Giles Martin also stops in as we explore what kind of demographic info for podcast audiences is the most helpful, and what kind of rich audience insight advertisers should be looking for from their podcast hosts. McGinnis also outlines the “valuable gift” approach he uses to figure out what advertisers he’s most excited to work with.

We truly mean it when we say, you don’t want to miss out on this one.

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The Classifieds

What Makes TikTok Tick

Think you know TikTok? Sure, you may spend hours mindlessly scrolling the app, or maybe you spent all weekend mastering the latest TikTok dance. But do you know what makes TikTok actually tick? Rolling Stone’s senior writers, EJ Dickson and Brittany Spanos, are here to help with the launch of Don’t Let This Flop. This weekly “Tik Tok Explainer” analyzes the latest social trends, explaining why some ‘Toks go viral and why others, well – flop. DLTF will keep listeners up to date on the fast-paced, fastest-growing, and highly influential social media destination–explaining why it’s so influential in the process. While we don’t have an official Oxford Road TikTok account just yet, we do know that its popularity is sure to attract the masses to tune in, so click below to get in on this new podcast to impress your Gen Z friends and kids.

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All About That Podcast

The ingredients for most top-performing podcasts for Oxford Road clients include personal lifestyle content, self-help advice, and a dash of celebrity. Workin’ On It with Meghan Trainor and her big brother Ryan Trainor check all of these boxes. From navigating Hollywood as a new mom to struggles with mental health, and everything in between, Meghan, Ryan, and friends get into the nitty-gritty of their lives and leave no details behind. Deep-dives into the personal lives of celebrities are always a major draw for listeners, so we recommend testing this show now while it’s still new and getting some attention. Because sometimes it’s about more than the bass.

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In Case You Missed It

The Time to Learn Audio

WARC did the maths, it’s time to invest in the audios. A new study from WARC and iHeartMedia uncovers a massive audio investment gap in most marketing campaigns and makes a compelling case for marketers to close it. While it’s unsurprising that iHeart, a company so heavily vested in audio (850 terrestrial radio stations, 250k+ podcast, and one of the largest streaming platforms in the US) would release a manifesto on the benefits of the media they own, some of their findings are surprising. According to the report, 31% of media consumption is audio, but just 9% of budgets are allocated to audio platforms. The report goes on to highlight the effectiveness of audio advertising as a whole and delivers a call to arms for brands and agencies to invest more of their budgets into all things audio. The report closes with, “the time to learn audio is now…those who act now will be best positioned to profit in audio’s everywhere world”. The actual report is behind a paywall and while we can’t share it here, reach out to us directly if you’d like to see it in all its PowerPoint glory.

Post-Pandemic Media Consumption Remains High

While in 2020 we saw most Americans consuming far more media than ever due to lockdowns, a self-reported study from Mindshare shows that Americans are still spending more time with media than they did pre-pandemic. Mindshare says, “while self-reported, the data indicates that Americans continue to perceive their overall media consumption to be expanding, especially for digital and on-demand media options.” As we move into this year’s final quarter, marketers will benefit from increased engagement across all forms of media, but as a result, demand for these properties is at an all-time high. If god-forbid you still haven’t locked in your Q4 strategy, you need to do it now before it’s too late.

SiriusXM and Apple Launch Marvel-Nerd Heaven

This week, in podcast paywalls, Marvel and SiriusXM have launched a new Apple Podcasts channel, including a paid subscription tier. The new channel offers scripted, and unscripted Marvel shows through apple podcasts, including; Marvel’s Wolverine: The Lost Trail, This Week in Marvel, and Marvel/Method featuring Method Man. Yes, the competition for your fanboy podcast now includes a member of the Wu-Tang Clan which ain’t nuthing ta F’ wit. While sponsorship details are still somewhat scarce, paying a subscription usually means no ads. The Influencer will keep you apprised.

Happy International Podcast Day!

Tomorrow is International Podcast Day. Yeah, it was news to us as well. But before you fire up the BBQ to grill burgers while binge-listening Season 3 of Dr. Death, we’d like to share some fun facts on the medium that is so dear to our hearts.

There Are Now Over 2,000,000 podcasts with 48 million episodes.

More Americans Listen to Podcasts Than Have Netflix Accounts

Sweden Leads The World In Podcast Consumption

Almost 90% of Podcast Listeners Say the Ads Are Effective

What can you do to celebrate International Podcast Day? Start advertising on them!

A Smart Ad From Dumb People

On a recent episode of their podcast, Dumb People Town, comedians Daniel Van Kirk and Randy Sklar talked about their experience with the financial app, Truebill. During the onboarding process, we learned that Dan, one of the show’s hosts, had been using Trubill for years before us reaching out to him for sponsorship which makes creating a personal connection with the advertiser easy. While there’s nothing funny about overpaying for subscriptions you don’t want or need, Dan shared his experience with using Truebill in a way that informed while entertaining the audience. They also managed to share the stories of others who used the app to manage their subscriptions and save money. Onboarding is important and when done right, you get magic like this!

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OXFORd In The News

Industry Leaders Search for Next Podcast Star

Oxford Road’s very own Joint Head of Client Service, James Ingrassia, sat on the judging panel for LaunchpadOne & LivexLive’s Self-Made Podcast Competition in search of Podcast’s next big star. The panel, which consisted of Adam Carolla, Kaitlyn Bristowe, and other industry experts made their final votes this week, and the winner will be announced tomorrow, International Podcasting Day. The winner will receive a $100,000 podcasting deal, and will hopefully rise to the top of Oxford Road’s performance lists across our roster of clients.

If you’ve read this far, thank you!

The Influencer is a production from the team at Oxford Road.
If you like our sometimes sassy, mostly informed POVs on the wonderful world of audio advertising, you should see what we do for our clients.

Interested in seeing how we could help your business?
Contact us at influencer@oxfordroad.com!