Ricky Gervais Tops the Pods
The Ricky Gervais Podcast has topped the iTunes charts in both the US and the UK.
The Guardian has outsmarted The Daily Telegraph in the podcasting stakes. The Telegraph has a professional voice-over person reading out stories and columns from the paper. Some of them just don’t translate into an audio style . The over all result lacks human interaction or warmth.
The Guardian has thought laterally, and found a talent that complements its brand. Businesses could think this way too. They could sponsor podcasts that are not directly about the business, but which have good associations for their brand.
Newspapers and publishers have a huge opportunity to get into radio very cheeply through podcasting. They are saving tons of money on licences, transmission, etc. They should not, however, cut back on production values. That means they need a creative person to produce the show. It’s not just about speaking into a tin can.
