We Don’t Have to Follow Public-Radio Rules! Podcasters Play for Keeps at an Upfront
Podcasters sought to shed any public-radio, non-commercial vibe that still lingers around the format on Thursday night, when they pitched their popularity and audience demographics to advertisers at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s first podcast upfront.
Presenters from Panopoly, AdLarge, Podtrac, Midroll, ESPN, CBS, WNYC and NPR talked up the opportunities that their shows present for advertising, not to mention their freedom from public radio’s rules against explicit calls to action.
You can’t promote the growth of podcasting without mentioning “Serial,” the murder investigation that became a media phenomenon last year and delivered Mailchimp, the most prominent sponsor, a burst of awareness in the process. “If there’s a Renaissance, it started with Ira Glass, Sarah Koenig and ‘Serial,'” Mark McCrery, CEO at Podtrac, which represents podcasts such as “The Tech Guy”
