Mediaboss Marketing

As more podcasters offer subscriptions around their shows to build a more direct relationship with listeners and an additional revenue stream, many podcasters are looking beyond Apple and Spotifys subscription platforms to third-party vendors like Supporting Cast and Supercast.

We are seeing an appetite for subscriptions, But we need more competition than just Apple in the market, said Sony evp and co-head Steve Ackerman.

The main reasons for this are threefold: more access to listener data, not being beholden to one platform in particular and more favorable revenue share deals, podcast executives told Digiday. Apple and Spotify dont share data like subscribers email addresses or credit card information with podcasters. Apple takes 30% of subscription revenue from podcasters. Spotify takes 5%.

Supporting Cast and Supercast share listener data with podcasters, giving them the ability to directly reach out to listeners. Supercast charges a flat fee of 59 cents per subscriber a month, said Jason Sew Hoy, co-founder and CEO at Supercast. Supporting Cast takes on average about half the cut that Apple does, said founder and CEO David Stern.

Being able to access more data was absolutely a part of why Crooked Media chose Supercast to host their subscription business, which launched last week, said Dariush Brizuela-Nothaft, svp of community & partnerships at Crooked Media. Crooked uses their own Stripe account on their website to take subscription payments. They get access to analytics on who is listening to what episodes, and can make content decisions based on that data, Brizuela-Nothaft said. He declined to share how many people had signed up for Crookeds three-tiered subscription around its Pod Saves America franchise.

However, the issue with launching a subscription somewhere other than Apple or Spotify is friction. Most podcast listeners are on the Spotify or Apple Podcasts app. Buying a podcast subscription on those apps is straightforward, and can be done in just a few clicks (especially on Apple Podcasts, and for those who use Apple Pay).

The challenge with other platforms is listeners have to click through to a podcasts show notes and find a link to a landing page, or go directly to a podcasts website to sign up. Its also why nearly all the podcast networks interviewed for this story (other than Crooked Media) sell subscriptions on Apple or Spotify in addition to supplementing it with other third party platforms like Supporting Cast or Supercast.

It can also mean more work for the publisher, said Stern at Supporting Cast. They have to be diligent about putting the link in their show notes, and about reading the URL where they can subscribe [in the podcast], he said.

But that doesnt seem to be a huge concern for podcasters.

Betches Media is introducing a subscription offering with Supporting Cast, Slates podcast membership business, next month to coincide with a relaunch of its website. Betches CRO David Spiegel said driving listeners to the website is an advantage it brings more eyeballs to its pages.

The partnership gives us more flexibility with pricing, bundling and a range of different options. It also gives us more control of the relationship with the customer from retention or for messaging or marketing or giving them incentives to other parts of our business, Spiegel said.We could message every U.S. subscriber in Chicago and say, Hey, you have live coming in three months, before it goes live to the public, heres a special pre-sale, he added.

While most of Sonys subscribers come through Apple, the company also works with Supporting Cast and Patreon as additional subscription platforms, said Sonys svp of business development & ops Emily Rasekh.

Sony averaged 10% month-over-month growth in its podcast subscriber count, and 150% year over year., Rasekh said. The company introduced podcast subscriptions in 2021, but in the past year put them into two buckets: individual subscriptions for always-on chat shows and a bundle called The Binge for limited-run, narrative shows and true crime shows with new series every month. This two-pronged offering has helped it grow its overall subscriber base, said the Sony execs who declined to share by how much exactly.

The number of subscribers on Supercasts platform has tripled in the last year, according to the company.

Subscriber downloads at Supporting Cast were up 205% from April 2022 to April 2023 and paying listeners were up 180%, Stern said. In the last six months, the company has launched subscriptions with networks like QCode, Tenderfoot and Kast Media and works with over 1,000 podcasts. Vox Media is launching a subscription with the company soon, Stern added.

While Stern declined to share how much revenue their podcast partners are making, he said, We have a lot of subscriptions on the hundreds of thousands of revenue per year, and a growing handful that are in the millions of dollars a year.

NPR also works with Supporting Cast to sell its NPR+ bundle of 17 shows to 34 U.S. markets. NPR plans to roll the bundle out nationwide by early 2024, said Joel Sucherman, vp of audio platform strategy. The bundle launched last November to a limited number of markets. NPR also sells individual show subscriptions to 16 of its podcasts (up from six shows last year) through Apple Podcasts or the NPR+ website (though Planet Money, Planet Money Summer School and The Indicator are packaged together into a single subscription).

The bundle has led to an influx of new member sign-ups to support NPRs member stations. On average, 64% of those signing up for an NPR+ bundle are new members, said Leda Marritz, NPR+ program manager. She declined to share how many NPR+ or individual show subscribers NPR has. Single subscriptions have more than doubled compared to this time last year, Marritz said. Bundles, the NPR execs noted, are trickier to sell on Apple or Spotify (Spiegel also echoed this).

Digiday asked podcast execs if this influx of podcast subscription launches is due to the current slowdown in podcast ad revenue, with CPMs and budgets contracting (a recent report found U.S. audio ad revenues fell 5% in Q1 2023 year over year). But all the executives interviewed for this story said there was not a direct correlation more so an evolution of their growing podcast businesses.

Podcasters arent aiming for large conversion rates, however. Even a small fraction of listeners converting into subscribers appears to be the goal for most.

We originally modeled out that if just 1% of our podcast listeners become subscribers there is a legitimate business. For some of our shows we are well ahead of that pace, others are not there yet, Sucherman said.

Sony considers a 2-5% conversion rate healthy, Rasekh said.

Originally posted here:
Why podcasters are selling subscriptions through third-party vendors - Digiday

Imagine a toolbox filled with different tools that brands can use to attract, engage and convert customers. Tools that allow you to meet people where they are which, as weve come to know, is online. Effective digital marketing is all about finding the right mix of those tools and strategies to help you achieve your business goals. Understanding the fundamentals of digital marketing can help you choose the right mix.

Digital marketing refers to the use of all internet-based marketing efforts. It's about sharing content with the aim of engaging and influencing potential customers, driving website traffic, generating leads and ultimately converting those leads to sales.

The fundamentals of digital marketing refer to the guiding principles that can help lead your strategy and result in successful marketing campaigns.

When building your brands digital marketing toolbox, consider these 3 key fundamentals:

Digital marketing begins with understanding your target audience:

By answering these questions, you can create targeted campaigns that resonate with your audience.

Steve Geibel, an adjunct instructor of marketing programsat Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and managing director of Hype Creative Group and owner of Urbane Commando, said that knowing the target audience or customer inside and out is the most fundamental principle to keep in mind.

If you dont know who your customer is, you wont know what messaging will resonate with them," he said. "If you dont understand your customers media consumption habits, you wont know where to find them.

By understanding your audience, you can focus time, effort and dollars in places you are most likely to see a return. Define who it is youre already reaching and who you want to reach. Try honing your research on these groups to better understand how to reach and serve the right people.

With this new age of marketing, businesses have the power to reach a global audience and connect with customers in ways that were once out of reach.

The advent of digital marketing was a game-changer for many, Geibel said. Few new companies can afford to buy large blocks of network TV time, but everyone can have a website."

He said that digital marketing is cheaper, more immediate and customizable compared to traditional outbound marketing.

Content is at the heart of digital marketing. Whether its blog posts, videos or social media updates, your content needs to provide value to your audience. This can mean educating them, entertaining them or inspiring them. Whatever the format, your content should be engaging, informative and shareable.

A compelling story is the key to enticing your audience to engage with your content, said Dr. Jeff Haddox, an adjunct marketing instructor at SNHU and chief digital officer at RuffleButts. Content includes imagery, video, copy and calls to action. This is how the consumer sees and consumes your brand and the product or service youre selling.

In a time where people are consuming more content than ever before, Haddox said that this is fundamental and must break through all the other content being consumed by your target audience.

A few things to consider when creating valuable content include:

Tami Brouillette, an SNHU adjunct marketing instructor and owner of Contented Media, said that a common mistake companies make when it comes to media creation specifically social media is being too self-centered.

Companies should do some promotion, but they should provide more valuable (related) content to users and listen to what users say, she said. Otherwise, they wont come back. No one likes the guy at the party who only talks about himself.

To be effective in digital marketing, you need to track your results and measure your return on investment (ROI). By using tools like Google Analytics, you can monitor website traffic, engagement and conversion rates, and use that data to adjust your campaigns accordingly.

Think of the data as the book ends; data holds the content together, Haddox said.

This means starting with data to define your audiences for targeting and ending with data for optimization.

"Being able to consume and interpret large amounts of data and turn those data points into insights and actions is (a) fundamental key to digital marketing, he said.

Digital marketing is unique in how readily available these insights are to businesses. With traditional outbound marketing techniques like radio, print or TV, there is less engagement to measure, which means less information to help you learn what is working and what is not.

Brouillette says data and analytics are essential parts of digital marketing.

Its the best way to see if youre progressing toward your goal, she said. If the goal is the destination and the strategy is the map, key performance indicators (KPIs) are the street signs that direct you to your final destination.

Another way to approach digital marketing is to think of the 5 Ds. The 5 Ds of digital marketing are:

This refers to the various devices people use to access digital content, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers. Digital marketers need to optimize their content for each device to ensure a seamless user experience. Think back to the mobile-first mentality.

These are the online platforms that people use to consume digital content, such as search engines, social media networks, email and websites. Digital marketers need to understand the nuances of each platform and tailor their strategies accordingly. YouTube, for instance, has best practices around video titles, captions and descriptions that can help your content be found (or hinder it).

The forms of digital content that people consume such as text, images, videos and audio are all considered digital media. Digital marketers need to create compelling and engaging content that resonates with their target audience. This is also where the term integrated marketing campaign comes into play, where marketers develop campaigns that span multiple channels, both digital and offline, to help create a cohesive experience for their audience.

This refers to the vast amounts of data digital marketers can collect about their audience, such as their demographics, interests and behaviors. This data can be used to create more targeted and personalized marketing campaigns. With more traditional marketing techniques, the data is much more limited.

The additional nuance with digital marketing is the concept of a digital footprint and the ability to track and understand engagement at a much deeper level, Haddox said.

He said that the visibility and understanding of the customers journey is significantly more understandable in the digital marketing space than in the traditional marketing space.

This is a term for the various technologies that digital marketers use to create and deliver their campaigns, such as marketing automation software, data analytics tools and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Thinking of entering the world of digital marketingin your career? Now is a great time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the overall employment of advertising, promotions and marketing managers is projected to grow 10% from 2021 to 2031, faster than the average for all occupations.

The BLS notes that the demand for advertising and promotions managers is expected to be highest in industries that rely on these workers to create digital media campaigns, targeting customers through the use of websites, social media or live chats.

Consider amping up your marketing careerwith a digital marketing course to sharpen your skills and build on your own personal toolbox.

My SEO class made my transition into working with real campaigns in the workplace a flawless one, said SNHU digital marketing programgraduate Danielle Upham '19 '21G. I walked in Google and Hootsuite Certified and was able to manage the SEO campaigns from day one because of the experience I had in my classes.

Education can change your life. Find the SNHU digital marketing coursethat can best help you meet your goals.

Emily Distasio '19G is a copywriter at Southern New Hampshire University. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Excerpt from:
What are the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing? - Southern New Hampshire University

PRESS RELEASE

Published May 25, 2023

Texas May 27, 2023 Texas Web Design, a prominent web design company, announces its commitment to building websites that deliver on their marketing goals. The emerging importance of online presence and digital marketing makes it imperative for every business to have a website that stands out. Texas Web Design is poised to deliver creative and functional websites that are tailored to achieve specific business objectives.

Designing a website is more than just aesthetics. It is about creating a functional and user-friendly platform that is tailored to meet specific marketing goals. Texas Web Design prides itself on delivering websites that anticipate the user journey, minimize bounce rate, and maximize conversion rates.

"The mission at Texas Web Design is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives through the use of functional, user-friendly, and beautiful websites, says the founder of Texas Web Design. "The company understands the importance of crafting websites that not only attract visitors but also engage and convert them into customers. Texas Web Design is excited to partner with businesses to help them develop a distinctive online presence that aligns with their brand and story."

With a team of experienced designers, developers, and marketers, Texas Web Design offers a range of web design services that cater to every business need. The company's impressive portfolio showcases its expertise in e-commerce websites, landing pages, custom websites, WordPress websites, website redesigns, and mobile-responsive designs.

Texas Web Design also offers additional services, including SEO, social media management, landing page design, and internet marketing, to help businesses maximize the value of their online presence.

By collaborating with clients, Texas Web Design utilizes its design, development, and marketing expertise to help businesses establish a unique online presence. From creating a website that reflects the brand identity to ensuring the website's functionality, Texas Web Design ensures every detail is tailored to the client's goals. Each project is built to drive more traffic, increase brand recognition, and convert more visitors into paying customers.

"The team is passionate about creating websites that embody excellence," says the company spokesperson. "The approach is to get in touch with clients, understand their vision, and translate that vision into a functional and visually appealing website."

Texas Web Design has earned accolades for its visionary design work, and the company's expertise in the web design industry has made it a preferred choice for businesses across Texas. With the goal of helping businesses stand out and achieve their marketing objectives, Texas Web Design is set to continue to deliver world-class web design solutions that meet the diverse needs of businesses at a cost that does not compromise quality.

For more information about the company's web design services and to start your journey to a unique online presence, visit https://texaswebdesign.com/web-design/.

###

For more information about Texas Web Design, contact the company here:

Texas Web Design 210-796-6341 9993 Frontage Rd, Suite 101 San Antonio, TX 78230

Press Advantage is a Full-Service Press Release distribution service. Learn more at PressAdvantage.com

Original post:
Developing an Effective Online Presence Made Easier with Texas ... - Digital Journal

With pride month just around the corner in June, numerous brands have begun releasing special edition items and collections to encourage visibility for the LGBTQ+ community. From Apple to Calvin Klein, brands are no stranger to creating products to show their support for their queer consumers.

While some campaigns have been a hit this year, we also have had our fair share of fails with netizens taking to social media to voice their complains.

In honor of the celebrations, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE decided to take a look at some of the biggest Pride campaigns and initiatives that we have seen in the region.

1. Adidas X Rich Mnisis Let Love Be Your Legacy collection

This Pride month, Adidas releasedanew collaboration with South African, queer designer Rich Mnisi for Pride 2023; Let Love Be Your Legacy as it celebratesallyship and freedom of expression without bias in sports and culture.

The collection, which features a range oflifestyle and performance apparel as well as footwear, was inspired by alove letter Mnisi wrote to his younger self, in which he declaresLet Love Be Your Legacy- serving as his mission statement, but also a rallying cry for active allyship to empower and champion the LGBTQIA+ community.

Unfortunately, the collection made headlines for all the wrong reasons whenit launched the new range of women's swimsuits but used a man to model them. Netizens took to social media to share their distaste withwomen's rights activist Riley Gaines tweeting out that the use of a male model "erased women".

"I don't understand why companies are voluntarily doing this to themselves. They could have at least said the suit is "unisex", but they didn't because it's about erasing women. Ever wondered why we hardly see this go the other way?" she asked.

Other users said that they would be boycotting the brand with the hashtag #BoycottAdidasgarnering significant usage following the outcry.

Don't miss:LGBT party organisers slam Capitol Theatre for 'disingenuous' response to cancelled event

2. Revolut X Oogachagas Diversity Card

This year, fintech company Revolut decided to get in on Pride with a collaboration with local non-profit LGBTQ+ organisation Oogachaga which provides those in the LGBTQ+ community with emotional support services and counselling. The companies came together to launch aspecial-edition pride themed card called the Diversity Card.

As part of the initiative, consumers can donate a minimum of SG$10 to Oogachacha to obtain a limited-edition card that will feature the colours of the pride flag. Consumers can also opt to set up recurring donations should they wish with the card.

3.Apples Pride Edition Bands

This month, Apple unveiled two new Pride Edition watch bandswith dynamic Pride watch faces in honour of the celebrations, according to a statement by the tech company.

The first band is a sport loop wherein members and allies of the LGBTQ+ creative community at Apple were asked to deliver a new expression of pride through a unique design. The result was adouble-layer nylon-woven band with the word 'pride' woven in cursive-style.

The second loop is the Nike sport loop which features a rainbow strap anda matching rainbow-colored Nike Bounce face to accompany it.

Inspired by multiple pride flags, Apple also released a new pride thread watch face with the colours of the rainbow thatmove as the Digital Crown on the Apple Watch is rotated.

4. Swatchs Love Is Love Watches

As part of its ongoing celebration of love and joy, Swatch released a vivid collection of watches inspired by the bold colours of the Pride flag. The watches also feature a symmetrical seconds hand to symbolise equality along with two rainbow loops that aim to celebrate unity and diversity.

Despite the thoughtful collection, it recently made headlines when Malaysian authorities raided a number of its stores in the country and confiscated 164 rainbow-coloured watches worth a total of US$14,000 from its Pride collection for LGBTQ connotations, according to a statement by the brand.

The seizure was reportedly based on the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984 which ensures that content produced does not offend or undermine race relations.

Swatch has fought back against the raid however and its legal team is currently looking into the matter.

5. Calvin Kleins Let It Out Campaign

This month, Calvin Kleingot in on the action with acampaign video costarring LGBTQ+ actors Amandla Stenberg and Brandon Flynn along with its 2023 This Is Love apparel collection. The campaign, interestingly enough, was shot entirely in black and white, a break from the bold and colourful campaigns we have seen thus far.

Using the tagline "celebrate pride in fluid pieces to style with anything, the apparel collection is a sleek take on pride as it utilises colour blocks and bold colours in its gym wear, clothing and accessories.

Related articles:Why did Burberry's LGBTQ focused Valentine's Day ad cause such a ruckus? How these famous brands are celebrating King Charles' coronation this weekendOut in HK founder complains about StanChart marathon staff's attempt to remove LGBTQ+ flag

Read more from the original source:
Yay or nay? Pride campaigns the internet has loved and hated in 2023 - Marketing Interactive

As part of our Salary and Career Survey, we interviewed people about their experiences in marketing. Today were talking to Kathleen Voboril who is now a consultant after many years in top marketing positions. Shes also figured out how to combine her first love, musical theater, with martech. (Interview edited for length and clarity.)

Q: How did you get started in marketing?

A: I actually went to school for musical theater and had a dream of being an actress on Broadway. So for my first few years out of college, I was in New York City trying to make it as an actress on Broadway. I was temping and the best kind of side jobs were in financial services.

I wound up in a private equity firm because they would give me health insurance and one thing led to another and they offered me a full-time job as a marketing associate. I did that for a year or two and then decided to go get my MBA at the University of Texas.

Q: In marketing?

A: I did not focus on marketing. I didnt love marketing. The classes and the coursework didnt light me up. I concentrated on entrepreneurship. I thought Id do the VC entrepreneur thing, but there was an opportunity to go to GE which had this experience commercial leadership program. I thought of it as a vocational MBA because it was two years of training. You do three, eight-month-long rotations in different GE business units. It was a great gig.

Dig deeper: MarTech Salary and Career Survey shows a profession coming into its own

Well at GE, pretty early on, I got the digital bug. My sponsors and mentors kind of thought it was a fad and like something for the interns and very marcom-y and not very strategic. But I was like, Well, were supposed to be like the future marketing and sales leaders of the company. And all of the data shows that users, whether theyre B2B buyers or B2C buyers, theyre increasingly spending time online. So, are we going to be relevant and understand that?

Q: You called it. That must have positioned you very nicely.

A: Yeah, I started becoming known for being a digital expert inside GE. When it was time to graduate from the program, GE was actually one of the first brands to spend more on digital ads than traditional ads. And Jeff Immelt, the CEO, had mandated that every business unit have a mid-to-senior-level digital leader. I kind of got to choose which unit to work with and I went and led digital for GE Transportation, which was a $5 billion business, but GEs smallest division.

Q: Sounds great, what made you leave?

A: What I was doing in transportation was great and really well received across the company, but I couldnt get bigger budgets. There was no CMO in that business and I was one of three marketers for the entire division. There were bigger business divisions that wanted me to come and do digital for them, but at GE at the time, the transportation business would have had to be willing to sell me to the energy business and they werent willing to do that.

Q: Where did you go from there?

I had a friend at a consumer packaged goods company called Central Garden and Pet, and they wanted a digital leader and it was in Atlanta. I was in Atlanta at the time and didnt want to leave. And I got really excited about the idea of it being a CPG and marketing was really in the drivers seat. They had a lot of classically trained CPG marketing leadership and they had this big vision for digital. I was going to come in and manage a digital agency, have big budgets, build a team, so I was excited.

My second week there they laid off the entire senior leadership team. I went from I was going to have a multimillion-dollar digital ad budget to getting $100,000, and you get to fire the agency because of how much they cost you. So we did content marketing, we did social. I replaced our agency with software companies. We also re-platformed all of our websites to Sitecore, like 50-60 sites, and did a lot of training and stuff like that.

Q: How did you go from Atlanta to Oregon?

A: I wanted to move back to Portland where I was born and raised and got offered a job at Oregon Tool, at the time it was called Blunt International. Up until that point, Id really only done digital marketing, I really hadnt done much with ecommerce. And the opportunity at Oregon Tool was 50/50 digital marketing and ecommerce. That was really intriguing.

Q: But there were problems?

I get there and theyre like, Weve spent all this money and hired all these people. And Im thinking, Oh my God, they bought the absolute wrong technology. And I think I can get this team to work together and theres some diamonds in the rough here, but this isnt the right skill set for what they say theyre trying to do. So I spent my first two years cleaning up and course-correcting.

I think most senior leadership teams, especially those of a certain age, dont want to admit that they dont understand this stuff. They feel like, Oh, by now I should sort of get that the Internet matters. The truth is they dont really know what kind of capabilities and resources they need, but they dont want to admit it.

I was there for about four-and-a-half years and built a global ecommerce business and grew revenue from $2.5 million to $30 million. We also developed a direct consumer fulfillment capability and were really starting to do some cool things, like re-platforming the websites. But it was bought by private equity owners. They took on a lot of debt and I was part of a mass layoff. I think unfortunately its probably only a matter of time till its a shell of its former self.

Q: What do you like about marketing?

A: I love how multidisciplinary it is. I love how the art meets the science and how its all just an ecosystem. Its the perfect blend between structure and creativity, between technology and art, between data and feeling. And I love how cross-functional it is, especially digital marketing.

Q: I have to ask, is there a Broadway musical hiding in digital marketing?

A: Funny you should ask that. I have started this side project that Im calling corporate karaoke. Im taking musical theater and pop songs and Im reperforming them with corporate context. My latest is Joni Mitchells A Case of You, but its about SAP and how SAP is the invasive vine in your tech stack that you just cant quit.

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(You can check out Kathleens other funny songs on her YouTube channel, @Corporate-Karaoke.)

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Read more here:
Salary and Career: Kathleen Voboril can make martech sing - MarTech