MRT Industry Edition Returns with First-Time Super-Host Kristen Duenas

This week, our podcast returns for its first true “roundtable format” in weeks, with longtime MRT contributor, and Oxford Road Associate Media Director, Kristen Duenas leading as our host.

Joining Kristen is Neal Lucey, our EVP of Strategy & Product, and Gary Brown, our Director of Growth, to dive into the most important topics facing marketers right now, including…

TikTok Shut Down? – – Is Congress’ obsession with the Chinese social media company truly about data concerns, or is there more to it than that? The team dissects the underlying issues at play.
Audio’s Forgotten Child – – P&G is diving into radio big-time with a 40% increase in spending YoY. Our team reveals the not-so-secret reasons why.
Edison Research’s Latest – – Is YouTube more popular than terrestrial radio? The latest release from Edison Research on audio listening habits may surprise you.
Follow The Money – – Do you think artists are getting a flat rate per download of their song babies? NPR’s Planet Money created a fake record label to determine exactly how artists get paid, and it’s not what you think.
Take a Beat on AI? – + – Are you ready to lay down to the AI overlords yet, or are you on the side of Elon Musk, who says we should all take a beat and think about it? Our team chats about the pros and cons of each.

Your fast track to being “in the know” on today’s news is just a click away.

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The Classifieds

Run with the Hare and Hunt with the Hounds

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and 2023 has been no different. As spring has begun (for some lucky folks), the great outdoors is becoming more appealing. This week we’re highlighting two selections that showcase nature in all its glory. Fresh from the newly established Gemini XIII, we have an exciting new bundle of shows from the Waypoint Network. These 106 selections center around outdoor entertainment and education, exploring the United States through hunting, fishing, and destination programming. Any scheduled buys would include a single host read, reaching a male audience in the 18-54 demo. This opportunity is best suited for clients who want to reach a rural audience who thrives in the wilderness. Answer the call to adventure by clicking the link below.

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Running Podcast Truly Goes the Distance

Though the time for New Year’s resolutions has passed, many use spring to get outside and get more active. One of the easiest ways to start exercising is running, and there’s no one better to speak on the topic than Lindsey Hein. Hein is the host of Sandyboy Productions I’ll Have Another, a long-running (!) podcast that provides weekly interviews with coaches, athletes, and amateurs alike to speak on the act of running. Whether you’re interested in cross country, long-distance running, prepping for a marathon, or getting started with the right gear, this is the podcast for you. This has proved a great selection for female skew clients in the B2C space looking for active and athletic consumers. Don’t run around in circles looking for the best deal; look below for more information.

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In Case You Missed It

TikTok Ya Don’t Stop

As your audio companion this week, we’ll share the articles and reports that drove the conversations in this week’s Podcast episode. The first is about the ongoing discussion around TikTok and whether or not the proposed ban on the social media platform is about privacy or eliminating competition. Moreover, the team discusses what advertisers already on the platform can do now to prepare for the next step…

If it’s Good Enough for P&G…

According to a recent AdAge article, citing Vivvix as its source, Procter and Gamble (of Back to the Future fame) increased its ad spend in radio by 43% in 2022 to $235 million. This is part of an effort to reach 90%+ of their target audiences and offset linear TV’s declining reach and higher CPMs. The company that literally invented brand management understands that reach is a good way to measure Radio Performance. P&G is known for its scientific marketing approach and has decades of data on twenty or so billion-dollar brands to inform their decision to double down on radio – maybe it’s time to move past force-fitting digital attribution methods on terrestrial radio, especially given it’s not recommended to be visiting websites while driving.

Does Thomas Know About This Trend?

Edison Research just completed a deep dive series comparing terrestrial radio to streaming. Their key findings:

Radio is the top ad-supported audio channel across all demographic groups (even younger audiences); time spent with radio is higher than streaming audio.
Radio leads listenership even outside the car for ad-supported audio.
Digital AM/FM radio leads ad-supported streaming in time spent listening.

With all of the hype around Podcasts and Digital Audio, Radio can be the forgotten child in the audio landscape. This is a mistake. Radio still garners the largest ad-supported audience among all audio channels, and, we’ll repeat it, radio is unmatched at delivering efficient reach (just ask P&G) among all media channels (except Out of Home – which isn’t scalable on a national basis).

I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, But I Need $$$

You would think a popular song on streaming would yield a huge payday for artists. NPR’s Planet Money created a shell record label to track how artists get paid when their songs are played, and it’s probably not what you thought. Spotify, for interest, doesn’t pay artists based on the number of streams. Artists are compensated based on their “stream share.” The piece also delves into how artists promote their music. If you ever wanted a primer on how artists get paid for their music, start here before quitting the day job.

Terminator or Star Wars?

At the end of the day, a full-scale robot takeover is what we’re all worried about, right? Will adopting AI lead to the catastrophic events played out in James Cameron’s The Terminator, or will AI beings become helpers to humanoids as they are depicted in Star Wars and The Jetsons? We’re hoping for the latter, and many highly intelligent humans have signed a letter trying to get the rest of humanity to agree to pause AI development altogether. If you agree, you may want to sign this declaration too -or maybe not. What if the robots identify signers as part of the human resistance and eliminate you immediately? Choices, choices!

It’s All in the Wrist

One thing you can’t accuse Erik Anders Lang of is being predictable. He may not be the most animated voice in the room, but why opt for the hard sell when you can get your message across in more creative ways? Lang presents the e-commerce platform Shopify as the perfect solution to start and grow a business by sharing a real-time sale from his store on Shopify. What truly makes it memorable, though, is that he relays this sale and other metrics from his smartwatch!Demonstration at its finest. Erik is such a supporter of the brand that he even goes so far as to suggest his dad use Shopify! We love a host who can keep listeners on their toes like this, and if you’re looking to keep things interesting for audiences so they’ll stay hooked, consider the Erik Anders Lang Show podcast for your lineup.

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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.

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Contact us at influencer@oxfordroad.com!