In order to justify any expenses, companies typically map money out to money in (Return on Investment or ROI).  This introduces many challenges for companies who are considering launching their own Podcasts.  This is where a new definition of ROI is becoming more popular - Return on Influence - and those who use this definition are convinced that if Podcasting is used to increase influence, the money will follow.  Audrey Reed-Granger (Director of Public Relations, Whirlpool) delivered a great talk that demonstrates this concept during the Corporate Podcasting Summit.

Modelled after NPR’s This American Life, Whirlpool’s The American Family Podcast has increased the company’s influence through some very calculated, and “outside-the-box” decisions.  Ms. Reed-Granger’s presentation outlined decisions that were made during the planning stages of the program.  Those decisions include:

• Forge an emotional connection with the listener that is NOT about the product/service by specifically excluding any mention of the product/service from the Podcast.  People still relate more to other people, not their appliances (although, this trend may change).
• Give customers another reason to choose the product/service.  This can be done by sharing the expertise of those within the company, experts in the field, and the greatest experts in “your” community… your current and prospetive customers.
• Build influence through word of mouth, not through slick marketing campaigns.  While building an audience this way may take longer, the audience will be stronger and more committed to the Podcast (and the product/service by extension).

Does it work?

The only promotion that Whirlpool did for its Podcast was a single press release when the first episode was launched (July 25, 2005).  That’s it.  According to Ms. Reed-Granger, there were 800 downloads of the Podcast in the first quarter of its release.  The American Family Podcast now enjoys 70,000 downloads per month - all through word of mouth.

Like many new technologies before it, Podcasts are changing the way companies create and manage their marketing strategies.  Podcasting offers incredible power, flexibility and especially freedom.  What’s more significant is that it is amazingly affordable if done in the true spirit of the movement.  The companies that will succeed in this new media age are those that continue to push the limits of the technology and their creativity, and abandon the tired and patronizing infomercial.