The Ottawa Podcast and New Media Meetup Group kicked off it’s second season last Thursday (September 20). The gathering of podcasting veterans (Charles Hodgson and Steve Reside), potential podcasters (Mitchell Beer, Dan, Chamika Ailapperuma and Chakula Chaluka), out-of-towners (Julien Smith and Isabelle Michaud).

After the community had shared ideas and war stories for a while, Maurizio Ortolani (New Media Producer with the National Arts Centre) delivered a great presentation on the NAC’s podcast and new media strategy.

Maurizio discussed:

• how production methodologies can be traced to the NAC’s national mandate as a public institution
• the use of podcasts and new media to educate and entertain while promoting the NAC’s ongoing activities, music and theatre performances, orchestra tours and special events
• the very different formats and styles, ranging from methodically planned to off-the-cuff, of the various podcasts
• production and hosting challenges and solutions
• legal challenges and how the NAC has found solutions in cooperation with the orchestra, the musicians’ union, guests and rights holders
• measuring success quantitatively and qualitatively
• graduating from consumer-grade to professional audio gear
• podcasts and new media as part of the NAC culture

Maurizio’s presentation should be required listening for anyone and any organization that is considering (or may already be) using podcast and new media technologies as part of marketing and PR strategies.

Links to resources mentioned:

• National Arts Centre website
• National Arts Centre podcasts
• Arts Alive website
• Canadian Podcast Legal Guide

 

 Podcasts and new media as part of the NAC culture [48:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As the Director of New Media at the National Arts Centre (NAC), Maurizio Ortolani is the force behind the organization’s Podcasting initiatives which began with event-specific Podcasts to promote the AlbertaScene festival and the NAC Orchestra’s 2005 tour of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and has expanded to include several regular programs (both english and french) including the NACOCast.

Maurizio’s approach to Podcasting as a business tool is brilliant. The NACOCast, for example, is designed to showcase talent, culture and NAC Orchestra events without putting the business agenda on the show. The focus is on education and discussion that, as a listener, inspires me to explore more about the topics and — if it weren’t for an over-scheduled life — buy tickets for concerts or subscribe to a performance series.

The hard-core Podcasters know that Podcasting isn’t just about hitting record and publish. Podcasting is a social media and Maurizio represents the NAC extremely well in this regard. Besides hosting and attending meetups and conferences, Maurizio donated decommissioned recording equipment for a giveaway in the Canadian Podcast community.

Maurizio has established a Podcasting strategy that is truly in the spirit of social media and proves that some businesses “get it”.