Podcast SWOT

Podcast SWOT

1. Strengths - Internal

   • cammaradarie amongst the team
   • Built relationships with reps in a short period of time. Rate advantage/inventory advantage. Audio Boom, Podcast One, Midroll
     • Grown relationships with Art19, PMM, Barstool, Kast, Podcast Ad Reps. Podcast One has fallen off (untrustworthy downloads). Less competitive rates.
       • 2020: iHeart. Paragon isn't a huge SMI fan. Looking at networks with higher CPMs (Dear Media, True Native Media)
   • exponential growth YOY 2017: $3k 2018: $879k thru 9/30 2019: $1.7M thru 9/30
     • 2020: 2.2M through 9/30
   • innovator in space (ie. text)
     • early adopter of attribution tracking (ie. podsights)
       • Look at testing Barometric through A-cast
   • tiered strategy for testing/rollout
   • look at our clients dollars as if they were our own
   • gathering more data on more shows 351 shows, 62 formats tested
     • Keep testing to expand our learnings (Lisa & Hilary)
     • Gives new clients an advantage. And SMI to evaluate new products.
   • adding Hilary helps with communication
     • +Anna, Andrew, Colin, Robin & Sarah
   • Volume/relationships is allowing us more negotiating power on rates
   • Resources: ie. Magellan

2. Opportunities - External

   • podcast is booming. top of mind. everyone wants to test it
     • How are we positioning ourselves as the go-to agency? (Jeff)
       • More speaking opportunities for Jeff and/or our clients (maybe FightCamp) on panels?
       • Face to face meetings and 2021 planning with Networks, Partners
       • continue to invest in paid search for podcast terms
   • agencies/clients who commit to big budgets get rate & inventory advantages
     • grow relationships with network for rate advantage/inventory with additional networks (Barstool, Cadence13, Wondry, Kast) (Lisa)
   • Podscribe: info on demo
   • Testing YouTube video shows & Spotify
   • Programmattic - PAX? Downside: Pre-produced
     • Action item: review pre-produced NBC News Network. CBS News Network
   • ~50% Adoption on DI. Evaluate whether increased frequency through DI buys improves performance and/or expedites learning.
     • Morbid case study?
     • DI vs. BI A/B Test on Wondery for Hims?

3. Threats - External

   • inconsistency in results
   • difficulty in conducting A/B tests for learning
     • Reset expectations on what we can test & how? (Team)
   • challenging attribution
   • as competitors (ARM) ask for bigger budgets, SMI gets smaller
   • our clients don't have the budgets (currently) to test the bigger shows
   • risk of hosts running their mouths & saying controversial things
     • Client coaching on what to expect. Develop FAQ packet. (Hilary)
   • inventory issues shows are selling out
     • Transition to planning ahead further (ie. quarters vs. weeks) (Hilary, Jeff, Bob, Brooke, CS)
   • media consumption behavior (lag)
   • demo & accurate download data on shows
   • we're the small fish in podcast
     • Are we a medium fish? Having HIMS has added us to the map. ARM & Veritone are the big fish.
   • relationship with ARM
     • Define what limitations this has (Jeff)
   • Competitive brands locking our clients out and/or cutthroat attacks on client buys from competitive brands

4. Weaknesses - Internal

   • knowledge on what works is segmented
     • training new team members, building infrastructure, unique arrangements, reporting, planning & with each network make this challenging
       • Invest time in documenting
       • Better contact management systems - leverage ways we're doing this with Legacy business (Andrew)
   • tabelau dashboards are inconsistent from client to client
     • Standard dashboards developed. Need to transition clients. Goal completion date (Hilary & Anna)
   • small test budgets don't have enough data to make quick/accurate conclusions
     • Evaluate funnel metrics, establish minimum budget/show based on client KPIs (Brooke)
       • Transition to presenting data after a 2-4 weeks. Walking through the presentation with the client when results are first released
   • infrastructure to support large clients
     • manual traffic system
       • What is the action item, timeline, owner(s)?
     • manual airchecks
       • Work on automation (Lisa)
     • no planning ninja, currently starting from scratch everytime
       • Import master show lists to tableau (Lisa)
     • time to evaluate results
       • Create SOP for analyst to review & recommend changes on monthly/bi-weekly basis (Anna)
   • resource strain of small clients
     • Would prefer to test with $50k minimum over $30k. More qualifying: "Will you continue to test if only 10-30% reach goal", "Are you willing to test beyond the specific niche you're in?" "How big would you grow this if it worked?"
   • we've approached podcast with a terrestrial planning mindset (WOW, MOM).
     • not been able to get beyond MOM planning (client driven). Seeing progress in Q4. Want to keep pushing for quarterly planning
   • making assumptions without data to support
     • Define what our conclusive learnings are. Plan testing for what we want to learn next. (Hilary, Lisa, Brooke)
   • regular transparent communication with clients - tell the narrative of the tableau dashboard, what's going on?
     • Do it! (Hilary)
   • need longer lead time for hosts to receive/review product
     • Issue is network/host related.
   • want to spend money on podcast?! OK! Need to be more targeted on who is a good fit.
     • Only client in current roster that is on the "is it worth it? list" is Lightstream.
   • Time!
     • Prioritize, focus on what will advance the business (Team)
   • Clearly defined roles within department
     • Making progress. Will need to further define when Robin comes back from maternity.
     • Will need more team members for CS & Attribution in 2021
     • Emily Accounting contact for Podcast?
   • Cancellations disrupt relationship with podcast networks
     • This has proven to not be a issue that disrupts relationship. We've figured out how to work through this with both client & network. The whole industry does this.