Making content available to people on demand is revolutionizing the music and television industries—so why not events? Here's a primer on the latest digital communication trend.
A podcast is a digital audio or video file that can be distributed over the Internet. While podcasts can be listened to or viewed on a desktop or laptop computer, they are changing the way we communicate because they can be downloaded on demand to a portable device. Podcast creators, or podcasters, can also employ the Web to set up subscriptions to podcast feeds, whereby users can sign up to automatically receive new podcasts as soon as they become available.
IMG Media produced vodcasts of Olympus Fashion Week in New York and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Los Angeles and made them available on the Web.
Events professionals have just recently caught on to the power of
podcasts. They are deploying these messages via the Web in the hopes of
creating stronger, more profitable connections by both marketing their
events and distributing event content to a wider audience. "A lot of
events and companies are using these to build communities among
customers and suppliers," says Tim Scannell, principle at Shoreline Research, a technology consulting firm in Needham, Massachusetts.
So what does this have to do with my iPod?
Technophiles coined the word podcast in 2004 as Apple's iPod
portable device surged in popularity. (Analysts predict that by the end
of this year, Apple will have shipped some 85 million iPods since they
were introduced in 2001.) But the term is something of a misnomer.
Almost all podcasts can be downloaded and played on any device that
supports the nearly ubiquitous formats such as MP3 (audio) or MPEG
(video).
Can I just convert the conference audio I record now?
You can, but it may not get you very far. Few podcast listeners will
endure recordings of 50-minute keynote sessions or long sales pitches.
Content should be sliced and diced for this new, portable medium. Focus
on shorter formats and one-on-one interviews. Some companies produce
podcasts in the months and weeks leading up to an event that feature
previews to market the live conference. "Most companies think they are
making an audiotape, but you really need a broadcast perspective,"
Scannell explains. "It's like creating a radio show." The best
podcasters are adept at writing scripts for the ear and have the
interview skills and sonorous voices that work best in this medium. If
your company does not have someone who possesses these talents,
consider hiring an experienced podcaster for your event.
Won't podcasting my conference eat away at attendee revenue?
Tim Bourquin, who produces the annual Podcast and Portable Media Expo
in Southern California as well as podcasts focused on business trends
in this market, scoffs at this idea. "It's an urban legend. Nothing
replaces the face-to-face encounter," he says. Bourquin will podcast
all 44 sessions of his September event, after producing 36 in 2005.
Live attendees will enjoy free access to the podcast when they pay to
attend, but he also plans to sell podcast-only registration for those
who cannot be onsite—for nearly as much as live attendees pay. "It
won't cannibalize attendance, but it could add extra revenue," Bourquin
says.
But podcasting is too complicated. I can't manage yet another piece of technology!
If you have ever used the video editing software on a home computer,
you can probably handle editing an audio podcast. "It's not brain
surgery, but it can get tricky," Scannell says. While a large company
may be able to entice in-house IT staff to take a crack at podcasting,
a smaller company may want to invest in audio editing software and a
dedicated computer and server to manage all the files. In a pinch,
event managers can even outsource podcast editing.
The thorniest challenge, however, may not be technology related. The
primary problems most podcasters face are capturing quality audio and
producing podcasts that are lively and entertaining.
What's the next step beyond podcasting?
Vodcasting (also known as video podcasting or vidcasting) is the next frontier. IMG Media produced cutting-edge vodcasts for Olympus Fashion Week in New York and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Los Angeles earlier this year. Both vodcasts ran 22 minutes and mimicked the highglam style of behind-the-scenes shows on MTV or E! In fact, don't even think of vodcasting badly lit or poorly produced video of your event to a discerning audience.
"This allows people to get content that may not fit on their TV schedule, so quality matters," says Russell Quy, an IMG executive producer who booked fashion editor Kelly Killoren Bensimon
to host the vodcasts. "Three years ago people were using sped-up slide
shows. Now you have to [work with] people that specialize in not only
production, but people who can tell a story."
So how much is this going to cost me?
If you already make high-quality audio- or videotapes of your events,
that's a start. You will probably need to pay someone—perhaps the
audiovisual company that handles your tapes—to edit and convert your
content to a downloadable format. If you need to hire a freelancer,
expect to pay at least $60 per hour for a consulting podcaster, or as
much as $350 per hour for a professional editor—and that's for audio.
Vodcasts can be much more expensive, as they usually require high-end
equipment, significant editing, and skilled producers and editors.
Bourquin brought his podcast production in-house for less than you
might think. He invested about $2,600 on hardware and software and
hired his brother, a software engineer, to produce the podcasts.
So this is just another tech fad that I can ignore, right?
Worldwide sales of portable digital audio players hit 140 million units
in 2005, up from 35 million in 2004, according to market research firm InStat.
The company predicts shipments will reach 286 million by 2010.
Moreover, some 7.5 million portable media players will be providing
consumers video-on-the-go by 2009. While Bourquin, who boasts 263,000
podcast downloads from his Web site since last November, admits that
podcasting is not yet a requirement for event executives, "it's like
email was a few years ago," he says, "and now everyone has email tools."
Original Casts
Events both large and small are now integrating podcasts into their
audience marketing strategies. Here is a sampling of some notable
podcasters:
International Consumer Electronics Show
The show features 16 vodcasts from its 2006 incarnation. Offerings
range from short, rather amateurish interviews on today's "hot"
technologies to full keynote sessions that run more than an hour.
National Association of Broadcasters
The association provides, naturally, a plethora of vodcasts from its
annual show. Highlights packaged from each of the event's four days
lead the way. As any NAB denizen might expect, the vodcasts are slickly
produced.
Reboot8
Only the most dedicated technophile will be intrigued by the content of
this event based in Copenhagen. But the show's approach applies to any
prospective podcaster. Leading up to the event, conference organizers
conducted some 10 interviews with speakers to juice interest in
Reboot8. Interviews range from 15 to 36 minutes in length.
CATO Institiute
The famous libertarian think tank presents MP3 files of its live
events, a mix of traditional luncheons, briefings, and book
discussions.
Podcast and Portable Media Expo
The self-styled Podcast Brothers, Emile and Tim Bourquin, produce
regular podcasts to promote their annual event. Their Web site also
offers such items as a podcasters legal guide and podcast advertising
contracts.
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