Spotlight: Maribel Quezada Smith of BIPOC Podcast Creators / Ad Buyers Prefer Shorter Spots / Spotify's Ad Slip-Up

Plus, "Persona: The French Deception" is Wondery's latest, Tom Webster makes a plea for transparent research methodologies, and event updates

Inside.com Part of   Network May 24, 2022

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Hey Insiders!  Last week, I asked if you wanted to read interviews in the newsletter at the beginning or the end. Little did I know that the survey link was broken; I couldn't get people's responses on it. So for now, I am going to continue to spotlight the BIPOC Women in Podcasting by featuring their interviews at the beginning of the newsletter.  Happy reading,  Shreya

SPOTLIGHT: MARIBEL QUEZADA SMITH, BIPOC PODCAST CREATORS Maribel Quezada Smith is a video and podcast producer, as well as a production consultant, with over 16 years of expertise developing meaningful content. Her TV credits include producing shows for the Discovery family of networks, Netflix, Oxygen, and A&E (among others). She co-founded the BIPOC Podcast Creators organization in order to help amplify the voices and stories of people of color. Today, she helps entrepreneurs, startups, and growing brands build deeper connections with their ideal customers through meaningful video and audio content. Shreya Sharma (SS): Why does podcasting need more representation? Maribel Quezada Smith (MQS): Two big reasons: 1. Representation brings diversity of thought and opinion, which is a huge component of growth. 2. Diverse voices will inspire the next generation of creators; you have to see yourself represented to know what is possible.   SS: Do you think the talk of diversity in podcasting is performative or even moving in that direction? MQS: Yes, it is mostly performative, and we have seen this with companies who will launch one solid campaign on, let's say, Women's History Month, but they are very quiet during Black History Month. It's also obvious when people invest in a temporary project to "try" and attract more diverse audiences or participants, but they pull out the moment they realize this is a long-term investment. SS: When you were a budding entrepreneur, what was the dream you held when starting this business? MQS: I want to build a better version of the media industry through podcasting.  SS: What message would you like to share with young BIPOC women in the podcasting space? MQS: You're going to hear a lot of people say that the podcasting industry is "crowded." Don't let that deter you from being a part of it. While podcasting is having a moment of impressive growth, it is still in training pants when it comes to representing our communities of color, not just in the creative process but in the business of running a podcast or podcast service provider. There is room for you, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

As podcasters focus on selling longer-form ad formats, ad buyers seem to prefer shorter and cheaper spots, per Digiday. Ad buyers from Mediahub, Horizon Media, and GroupM weigh in.  More: At the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Podcast Upfront last week, production companies pitched longer ad segments or, rather, custom-branded segments, which are on average 60-90 seconds.  Compared to the average CPM of a host-read ad, which is $25-30, these segments cost upwards of $75.  Ad buyers shared that while these may be better suited for brands with deeper pockets, advertisers are "sticking to the 30- to 60-second ad length."  In addition to CPMs being higher, custom segments also "require a higher minimum spend" from brands, which can be deterring for those on a tighter budget.  Jacob Schwartz from Mediahub notes that if brands can't get across messaging and intent in 60 seconds, "it's more of a creative issue."

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A technical error caused bourbon brand Wild Turkey's banner ads to be promoted across many podcasts on Spotify, including an unofficial Alcoholics Anonymous podcast. Podnews also spotted podcasts promoting call girls on Spotify.  More:  Last week on Spotify, Wild Turkey banner ads were showing up on podcasts that did not opt in for them. As Tanner Campbell notes, these also appeared on sobriety podcasts such as "SoberCast."  A Spotify spokesperson told Podnews: "On Saturday, Spotify made a technical error that caused ads featuring the Wild Turkey brand to be incorrectly placed on a number of podcasts. We identified the cause and swiftly resolved this matter."  As for the podcasts promoting call girls, RSS.com shares how to fight podcast spam.

PODS ON THE BLOCK  "Persona: The French Deception" is a new Wondery show that releases today. Host and journalist Evan Ratliff investigates Gilbert Chikli, a con artist who became a Robin Hood-type hero, as he conned powerful people in the world to hand over their fortunes.  "Messy Situations" is a new podcast from Lola Media that shares unfiltered stories from people who live without judgment, thus, serving to remind listeners that no one has their life "together 100 percent of the time."  "Off Leash" is a new podcast that takes listeners into the world of dogs. Host and author Alexandra Horowitz answers questions like what it means to "own a dog" and if our canine friends can demonstrate genuine heroism.  "A Voice From Darkness" is an ongoing audio drama of the horror kind. Parapsychologist and radio broadcaster Dr. Malcolm Ryder helps callers who "suffer the supernatural." Fans of "Welcome to Nightvale" will enjoy this one.

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PODCAST EVENT UPDATES On May 25, Disney's Robert Peterson will host a panel of podcast PR experts titled "Help! I Need to Grow My Podcast!"  On June 7, Podbean will host a free event on Audio Storytelling by Ben Merens, a broadcast veteran and story coach.  On June 8, there's an online meetup on how to ask your podcast listeners for money.

QUICK HITS Bubbles, with users from around the world, encourages teams to decline meetings-that-should-have-been-emails.* Tom Webster of Sounds Profitable asks if we know where our data has been, making a case for research in podcasting to be more transparent with methodologies being used. In podcast moves: Marc Maron's "WTF with Marc Maron" joined Acast for representation and distribution, and Conan O'Brien's Team Coco has been acquired by SiriusXM for $150M.  Podtrac shared that for podcasts that share episodes with full video, YouTube is the platform of choice.  The RØDECaster Pro II is available for pre-ordering now.  Brendan Baker shares more about spatial audio and promises it "may or may not deliver on." Baker has worked on the sound design of the podcasts "Wolverine" and "Love + Radio." If your site is struggling, it may be time for a powerful commerce platform. Read our eBook and find out if your business is ready.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming events at Inside: May 24 - Meet Our Fund 3 (Register Here) May 31 - Ethereum Merge with Anthony Donofrio (Ethereum) (Register Here) June 01 - Selling Consumer Goods in Web3 (Register Here) June 06, June 07, June 08 - June 09 - In-Person RSA Conference 2022: Control IT, security, and SaaS complexity with Axonius (Register Here) * June 09 - Empowering Content Creators with No Code (Register Here) June 15 - Need To Know NoCoder - Artem Harutyunyan (bardeen.ai) (Register Here) June 16 - Future of the Art Market (Register Here) June 30 - HR Strategies to Retain Remote Employees (Register Here) *This is a sponsored listing.

This newsletter was curated by podcast geek and marketer, Shreya. She loves storytelling in all forms but podcasts are her favourite. A resident of Vancouver, her favorite podcast genres are sci-fi, comedy, TTRPG, and a combination thereof. Follow her adventures on Twitter. Do you or anyone you know host an indie podcast? Hit reply to tell me about it. I might feature it on Pods On The Block!     Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford.

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