What’s a Brand to do in 2022 - with Oxford’s Giles Martin; Anthony Bourdain Launches Podcast; Edison Shares Podcast Gains; Lindell Starts Pillow Fight

The books are closing on our second year of the Pandemic. Now what? This week, Oxford Road’s EVP, Strategy & Insights, Giles Martin shares his take on what marketers must think about as we boldly dive head-first into the next new “not normal” “normal” with part one of his two-part series…

It Is The Worst Of Times,
It Is The Best of Times

It’s been another crazy year at Oxford Road’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks – or should we say the US? Or, heck, civilization? If the ancient Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times” is a real thing, well this is perhaps about as ‘interesting’ as it gets. Reality continues to be, let’s say, challenging in many ways, with what we like to call “the largest social and human experiment in history” still going on after 18 months, so it’s perhaps not surprising that some companies have decided the way forward for us humans might be to simply avoid this unpleasant reality in the future – and hang out in another one instead. Might not be a bad bet!

There are a lot of things going on for marketers to keep track of, as ever, and today we’re summarizing what we believe to be some of the fundamental, key trends for 2022 that are happening both in response to the pandemic and its management, and also independently, that will meaningfully shift the ways marketers should behave in the coming year…

Read the full piece HERE.

The Classifieds

Iconic Chef’s Travels Recounted, Posthumously

The original blueprint for culinary travel shows is finally available in audio form. Gruff realist and world traveler, Anthony Bourdain, hosted Parts Unknown on CNN for 12 seasons over five years and went everywhere from LA’s Koreatown, to Spain, to Iran. His patented New York branded gourmet vocabulary helped bring together the upper crust of the elite food scene, and the rest of the world. Hearing him once again recount his most beloved moments of human interaction in kitchens, at street carts, and even at a Congolese steamship’s stovetop, is a needed comfort in these pandemic-filled times, even if it’s coming from beyond the grave. For those who want to target food or travel-based podcasts, pull a chair up to our table and request details below.

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AITA or Am I Writing a Classified?

The internet’s craziest cult stories, and most hated anonymous villains, are feverishly roasted in this new comedy podcast from Audioboom. Morgan and her team of co-hosts scour Twitter, Reddit, and the very bowels of the internet, to find the best stories of human heartbreak, severe miscommunication, and large-scale public embarrassment. Two Hot Takes is also extremely popular on Tiktok, where their account has amassed 2.2 million loyal followers by weighing in on the scandalous stories of everyday strangers. If you’re looking for a fresh, popular, and untapped comedy podcast to test, follow the link below.

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In Case You Missed It

Podcast Audiences Soar – Edison’s Q3 Share of Ear Report

Westwood One and Cumulus Media’s data guru Pierre Bouvard released his analysis of the recent Edison Research’s Q3 “Share Of Ear” report last week, and his key takeaways, while showing an obvious bias towards radio and podcast, are promising for audio advertisers (at least those that advertise outside of Pandora). In summary, for ad-supported Audio: Podcast and AM/FM streaming represent the majority of growth. Pandora is down, and Spotify, though booming in the audio world right now, is flat with most of its growth coming from ad-free subscriptions which account for 72% of all Spotify listening. Check out the full report HERE or watch Pierre’s video recap in the link below.

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Let’s Go Apple Picking 

It’s that time of year when everyone and their brother compile their end-of-year recaps (stay tuned for ours). Apple Podcast is first out of the gate with their annual “Best Of” list celebrating the year’s best and most popular podcasts and their creators. A Slight Change of Plans with Maya Shankar nabbed the Best Show of The Year from the Apple Podcast team and Anything for Selena with Maria Garcia was named Newcomer of the Year. But before you race off to booking, the shows that receive the most accolades aren’t necessarily those that perform for advertisers. Thankfully, Apple’s list also includes shows that actually work for advertisers including Anything Goes, Las Culturistas, Pantsuit Politics, We Can Do Hard Things, The Ezra Klein Show, and more. So before plunking down ad dollars onto shows that are creating a buzz, talk to someone who’s tested them all and has separated the wheat from the chaff.

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How Advertisers Can Navigate The Podcast Swell

Last week, SVP of Ad Innovation and B2B marketing at SiriusXM, Lizzie Widhelm discussed the challenges marketers face with buying advertising within the exploding podcast ecosystem. With over 5,000 podcasts under her purview, Widheim understandably makes a case for programmatic (because it’s easier to sell), but still shows fondness towards tried and true host-reads in some instances. Widhelm also addresses targeting and measurement challenges in the space and shares how SXM is working to make it better.

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Pillow-preneur Suffocates Radio Relationship 

Nothing to see here, other than the continued fracturing of the media landscape when either the advertiser or network refuses to find any middle ground. During a marathon 96-hour “Thanks-a-Thon” live stream, (which has since been taken down), MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell announced that he’s pulling all advertising from The Salem Radio Network (Hugh Hewitt, Dennis Prager, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Larry Elder, and more). The pillow pundit and election conspiracy theorist said in reference to Salem: “They haven’t had me on for a long, long time.” Apparently, Lindell wants the radio network to allow him to join their talk shows to discuss why he was canceled from major retailers following his conspiracy allegations from the 2020 election. Because he’s been “silenced” Mr. MyPillow is pulling the plug on all advertising across the platform as a form of punishment. Turns out it only takes one person to have a pillow fight.

This Week in Great Podcast Reads

Comedian Quips on Quip

There’s a reason comedian-hosted podcasts, like Whitney Cumming’s Good For You, continuously crush it with great ad reads. You might argue it’s because she’s an expert markswoman when it comes to delivery, but a recent read proves that witty banter from co-hosts like Benton Ray is what really keeps us engaged. After winning us over with great chemistry, the pair, along with Whitney’s childhood friend, demonstrate the many benefits of Quip, a sleek electric toothbrush, with a long list of features in a read that sounds more like a comedy bit than an ad. They’ll make you laugh, then help you keep that smile right.

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