MainStreet Communications

Who needs a TV?

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:00:23 +0000

The ranks are swelling of those who choose to watch video online. And by 2014, the number of U.S. online video viewers will add up to 77 percent of Internet users, or 193.1 million people. That’s what the eMarketer’s forecast says. Content and bandwidth is growing, as is the number of devices which permit more comfortable, convenient viewing.
Are you watching more video lately – online?
Link

The “Lost” podcast

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 17:39:15 +0000

Serious fans of TV’s ‘Lost’ are gathering here and there across the country to celebrate their love of the show. One “Cranky Fan” produces a regular podcast. On one episode of the Cranky Fanatic Lost Podcast, Lost season 6 episode 15 titled “Across The Sea” is highlighted. The promo line for one episode says, ”Things weren’t so cranky as last week, but there were still a lot of mixed feelings about what can be called the largest backstory dump we’ve ever had on Lost.”
(More)

A new ad to Tweet About

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:25:56 +0000

A race to cash in on the global Twitter phenomenon is set to be triggered on Monday with the launch of a service that attempts to replicate the highly successful search engine advertising formula that has made Google rich.

Bill Gross, the Los Angeles-based internet entrepreneur who invented search advertising in the late 1990s, said that Twitter’s audience was already potentially worth “billions of dollars” a year. The lack of effective ways to tap this meant an advertising service like the one to be launched on Monday from his new company, TweetUp, could become an entrenched part of the Twitter ecosystem within three months, he predicted.

(More)

Print media must accept new role and new money model

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:02:55 +0000

There is no escape from the digital challenge: online, mobile, audio and video. Newsrooms around the world not only have to strike an accord with them, but also learn to execute new strategies offering web-video, podcasting, social networking and (entertainment and information) mobile services. If modern day journalism can reinvent itself with the new tools of communication, can it find a revenue stream for itself? Not only have telecommunication gadgets changed, so have the reading habits and priorities of the people. Communicating news and entertainment has to be in direct speech, and that too in a matter of seconds and minutes, because people have much more to be bothered about than sticking to an idiot box or a newspaper. Opting for multiple media publishing strategies is thus the only way out. You can make people hit the website, but making them pass through the pay wall will be real business.

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Is there anything funny about podcasting?

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:43:54 +0000

Comics Richard Herring and Marc Maron

Two comics are blazing a trail by sharing their comedy for free and reaping the benefits of that freedom. Although many comedians, especially those specialising in topical gags, personal anecdotes, or lacking television exposure, have embraced podcasting as a cost-effective means of raising their profile, Herring and Maron exploit it to a rare degree – creating huge swathes of material beyond editorial control and the demands for slick, mainstream content.

(More)

Podcasts pushing brands

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:07:14 +0000

For brands, podcasting has turned out to be especially effective for timely internal communications (e.g., speeches you missed in the office), customer service (e.g. Whirpool), business to business and some consumer areas, especially high-interest stuff. My experience has not only been blabbing about podcasting at conferences on both coasts but in producing some branded podcasts for Johnson & Johnson and most recently for CIT Group.

As opposed to unbranded user-generated content, podcasting is basically brand-generated content — but with an interactive twist.
(Advertising Age)

Advertisers reaching consumers on podcasts

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:58:32 +0000

So how do media buyers do their homework on the podcast medium? Now researchers have a new tool. Podtrac introduced a free online service that shows advertisers audience information for audio and video podcasts. They can detail demographics, size, and other characteristics.

Podtrac is a matchmaker, connecting 5,000 of the top podcasters to advertisers, including data for all podcasts in their service. It indexes its data to information in Mediamark Research’s Survey of the American Consumer.

Podtrac’s chief executive and co-founder Mark McCrery says his company will give advertisers enough data to make good choices in about this relatively new medium. McCrery says, “We want to grow the market for podcast advertising.” Of course advertisers want the same information they get from traditional media.

Advertisers need to be enabled to prove the quality of their audience. Jonathan Cobb, CEO and founder of Kiptronic, a startup that places ads within audio and video podcasts, says marketers have been hesitant to embrace a medium that can’t verify it audience. “There is no way for somebody who is jogging and listening to a podcast at the gym to click on an ad,” Cobb notes.

But television and radio do not provide click-through rates either. Advertisers have grown to trust the date, or is it ‘ignore’ the inconsistencies and gaping holes in the provability index.

The Next Big Ad Medium

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:26:17 +0000

Remember podcasting? While marketers have been busy uploading commercials to YouTube, the once-buzzed-about medium has spent the past two years building its audience and enhancing advertising capability. Now, podcasts are finally poised to grab a larger slice of the multibillion-dollar online advertising pie.

by Catherine Holahan – Business Week – More -

Aurora Health Care begins podcasting

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:19:46 +0000

There is a new, 15-minute podcast delivered every other Monday. Approximately 250 people view their podcasts monthly, said Neal Linkon, Web communications manager for Aurora.
Aurora’s podcasts include information on how to obtain medical records, change physicians, dispute a bill or learn about health topics. Podcasts can be downloaded from Aurora’s Web site, www.aurorahealthcare.org, iTunes or any syndication Web site.

Why Associations add podcasts to communication mix

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:03:55 +0000

“We wanted to offer our members and the public a new way of learning about ACTE and issues affecting career and technical education. Podcasting is a key
piece in providing an effective grassroots movement and getting CTE-related
news and information into the ears of students, educators, policymakers
and the general public. This is an exciting new venture that will allow
our members to take our information on-the-go and share it with their students and community.”

Peter Magnuson, Sr. Director of Programs and Communications,
Association for Career and Technical Education.