The Media Roundtable Returns with an Unboxing Twist; Seth Rogen Blazes Podcast Trail, Amazon Hearts Radio

The Media Roundtable has evolved in focus from helping marketers steer through a pandemic to taking a hard look at how media may be fueling outrage and driving us apart. At each stage, sponsors are the center to better understand where they advertise and how they can use ad dollars to improve the world around them. We have explored these topics through conversations with leading politicians, journalists, podcasters, and industry executives, amassing a loyal and growing tribe of listeners along the way.

The new season of The Media Roundtable will launch as our (dare we say) final iteration of the program, which will serve as a sort of “Unboxing” or “Buyer’s Guide” to personality-driven shows for brands and consumers.

In each episode, we will profile a new podcast, introducing the program and its host(s), and focusing on not just WHAT is the show, but also, WHY. As consumers are increasingly focused on purpose-driven brands who do well by doing good, they want the same for media. The Media Roundtable is the perfect forum to showcase the purpose of each show and understand how it makes a positive difference in the world around them (or not) in the most entertaining show possible.

We’ve got some great guests signed up in the coming weeks, but for now, join host Dan Granger as he shares his vision for Season 4.

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The Classifieds

It’s Storytime with America’s Favorite Stoner

A few months ago, we were amongst the first to tell you about Seth Rogan’s upcoming podcast, and while details were sparse at the time, we promised to share more when they arise. They’ve arisen. The show, which will launch in early October, is officially named Storytime with Seth Rogan, and each episode will feature Seth asking somebody, “Do you have a great story?” New details confirm that these “somebodies” are slated to be Seth’s Hollywood celebrity friends, like Paul Rudd, Paul Scheer, David Crosby, and more of Seth’s celebrity friends joining the show to share their best stories–and no, it’s not going to be all about weed. One thing that will be high is the price tag. Knowing Seth’s star shines bright, so fan engagement is likely to be high as well, along with ad reads poised to be shareable content. While this may not be a direct response play, brands looking for wide-reaching awareness may find success similar to other celebrity interview shows like Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert or Kate and Oliver Hudson’s Sibling Revelry.

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Leave Britney Alone

If you’ve ever had a Vine account (RIP), been Rick-Rolled, or can relate to Sad Keanu, then NPR’s new podcast Endless Thread: Season 5: The Meme Edition should be on your radar. This 10-part series explores the personal, cultural and historical impact of your favorite memes. They even have their own ‘meme expert’ weighing in to go behind the scenes of the stories behind the world’s most popular memes with the in-depth insights only NPR can provide. Plus with the power of the NPR network pushing the content, it’s sure to be a hit. So if you’re a marketer looking for a high-reach opportunity targeted directly to older millennial males, grab your distracted boyfriend, crying James Van Der Beek, or baby Yoda, and check out this new show.

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In Case You Missed It

Amazon’s Audio Acquisitions Amass Assets

Never to be outdone by its competitors, Amazon is not-so-quietly ramping up its live audio business, specifically in the areas of music and podcast. According to information uncovered by Axios earlier this week, the company is building out a live audio platform that is meant to disrupt traditional radio and podcasts, taking on the competition head-on. The Seattle-based tech giant’s move comes amid an explosion of streaming audio content from Spotify, Twitter Spaces, and Facebook’s new audio rooms and gives Amazon a foothold before others completely dominate the category. So far, Amazon has been keeping tight-lipped on details, but The Influencer will provide more as they arise.

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Massive CTV Ad Fraud Exposed

(Media) Buyer beware! Connected TV (CTV) is the marketing gold rush of this age, and like the ‘49rs, there are crooks looking to steal your gold. In a report released last week, Method Media Intelligence uncovered a five-person counterfeit operation made up of former ad tech industry employees that generated $10 million in monthly ad-fraud revenue by exploiting vulnerabilities in the CTV programmatic landscape. The scheme, dubbed “RapidFire,” feeds counterfeit bid requests into ad exchanges running open auctions for CTV inventory. Like many multimillion video fraud scams, RapidFire targets server-side ad insertion (SSAI) as a means to “spoof” CTV inventory across a large number of apps, IP addresses, and devices. What’s perhaps even more disconcerting is that according to MMI estimates, half of all of CTV traffic made available for auction in the various exchanges is counterfeit. So how can you be sure your ad dollars are going to actual viewers? MMI recommends using cybersecurity companies like Human to protect your CTV investment.

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