Media Roundtable Insider Edition’s Last Show of The Year; Audio’s Hay Day; Join The Media Revolution; Has A.I. Made Humans Redundant?

This week on the Media Roundtable: Industry Edition, the agents of influence are tackling where advertisers should put their dollars to help their brands keep growing. Let’s dig in.

Hosting is Oxford Road’s very own Jennifer Laine, along with fellow Oxford Road luminaries Dan Granger, James Ingrassia, Neal Lucey, and Stew Redwine.

At the top of everyone’s mind:

We Missed You – Podcasters to performance marketers: “Come back”
Courting Controversy – Does it hurt to associate with controversial hosts?
Nothing Killed the Radio Star – Radio: surprisingly resilient and a solid bet?

Short on time? A recap of each topic is shared below, but for industry insights, you won’t get anywhere else, hear the full episode by clicking the link below.

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The Classifieds

Cardigan Wearers Speak on More Than Champagne Problems

Swifties, it’s time to assemble for a great opportunity from Yea networks. The female-dominant podcast network is offering a Buy 3 Get 1 deal on 13: A Taylor Swift Podcast for any interested clients. While Ms. Swift is always highly esteemed in the public eye; she is especially trending with the news of her directorial debut and new album. The podcastis hosted by diehards Nick Adams, Ana Castillejos, Amy Nichols, and Lacey Gee. Together the foursome has recently been listening to Midnights non-stop and getting pumped for the Eras Tour (if they can manage to secure some tickets). This opportunity is best suited for clients interested in targeting Gen Z and Young Millennial women or those looking to capture a fandom’s attention. At tea time, everybody agrees, you should click below for more.

Get The Deal

Cactus Jack Finds New Podcasting Home

Back when it was called the World Wrestling Federation, Mick Foley was one of the biggest names out there. Still a beloved fan favorite, and mostly retired from enticing antics in the ring, Foley is striking out with Podcast Heat to bring you great interviews and never before heard information related to his career and life. Having launched in June, the show is already picking up several direct-result clients and unearthing coveted details that fans will go wild for. Recent episodes have boasted icons such as Jim Cornette and Stone Cold Steve Austin. This is a great opportunity to reach an older male audience that is often left untapped by only targeting the sports genre. “Have a nice day” by clicking below for details.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

Oh, You Want to Talk Again?

Our friend Ashley Carman (formerly from Hot Pod) wrote an article for Bloomberg that is very near and dear to our hearts as performance marketers. As economic uncertainty rattles media organizations, publishers are coming back, hat in hand to the DTC sponsors who built the place. This is GREAT news for performance marketers, as it seems deals are to be had.

Brand Safety Playbook

Sounds Profitable released a study on brand safety and suitability from the listeners’ perspective. Their key conclusions were reached: consumers self-select and avoid what is offensive to them. Brands can be exposed more by associating with controversial hosts vs. advertising in non-controversial shows that include offensive content. For brands, be careful trying to hold up appearances. Practice what you preach, or you will likely be discovered. As we always say, there is no such thing as a truly brand-safe podcast, but if you need help, we’ve got some tools – click here to learn more.

Audio’s Hay Day

We shared this on last week’s Influencer, but the panel wanted to discuss Insider Intelligence’s take on the current media landscape. Audio is looking more promising than ever. This year has been tough for advertisers as inflation impacts consumer spending, causing ad spending to fall. Here are the three insights about the state of audio advertising and what’s in store:

Spotify keeps growing, but it isn’t unaffected by the advertising downturn
The podcast landscape is shifting
Radio’s resilience persists

The Alternative-Media Industrial Complex Revolution

As shared in last week’s Influencer, the panel expands on what’s happening with Twitter and his band of independent journalists. The big picture: Feeding on resentment against mainstream media, new media players have established a power base via Substack newsletters, podcasts, and other independent channels. The good news is that if you want to be a part of what’s happening, these new channels are looking for advertisers to help fund the revolution.

I’m a Friend of Sarah Connor

Are ChatGPT and OpenAI a fun party trick, the future of work efficiencies, or a threat to brand safety/factual information? Journalists beware – initial outputs seem to be indistinguishable from those written by humans, but those with a discerning eye reveal that there is still a lot of room to grow. Our take is that for now, this tech is a great idea starter, but it leads us to ask when we will all be replaced?

Opening Argument for Moink Bacon

For legal expert Andrew Torrez, little is as serious to him as the law until you start talking bacon. As he testifies in his podcast Opening Arguments, bacon is something he will not lie about, so when he tells you Moink bacon is the best bacon, understand he’s telling you the truth cause otherwise, it would feel like committing perjury to him. No description of a meal will feel as vivid to you as the one you’ll hear him describe cooking up last week in this Moink read, which also touches on their grass-fed beef, pastured pork and chicken, and wild-caught salmon. It turns out that the precise language he developed for his legal practice pays off nicely for ad reads. This is the kind of authentic support we love to hear from hosts. Sure, Andrew or his co-host Thomas can set you up with a winning argument if that’s your thing, but first listen to the opening statement they can give on behalf of your brand.

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OXFORd In The News

We Can’t Get Enough Redwine

Stew Redwine lives and breathes Podcast Creative, and we love when he shares his knowledge with the masses. Thankfully, he does it quite often. This week, we’re sharing an interview Stew did with the Lifeblood podcast. He discussed podcast advertising, how the industry has grown and evolved, the decentralization of media, how to measure success, and short-term versus long-term thinking. If you haven’t seen or heard Stew in action, start here.

Here Comes The Bloom!

We spoke on this earlier in this week’s edition, but in case you missed this in the In Case You Missed It section, Dan Granger was interviewed for an article in Bloomberg, we like Ashley Carman, and today is Dan’s Birthday so send best wishes.

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!