At parties, I’m “that guy” … the one that has a playlist for every occasion or every mood and can find a song in a couple seconds when requested. So, when one of the parents asked if I would DJ the junior high dance at my son’s school, I jumped at the chance. Although I was not armed with “two turn tables and a microphone,” I did have a couple 2000-watt speakers, a subwoofer, and mixer.
Oh, and Spotify.
If you are not familiar with the streaming music service, it may be the most important app I subscribe to. Millions of songs are available, and for $14.95 per month I can listen to what I want, when I want it. I’ve used it to introduce my sons to James Brown, Johnny Cash, Prince, Tupac, and Metallica. I’ve used it to choreograph 90-minute basketball practice drills to keep the tempo of practice up. And last week I used it for 200 teenagers whose music tastes ranged from classic hip hop to an Irish jig. For a couple hours, I wasn’t Coach Loeser, I was DJ RL, mix master and somewhat cool dad. Check out the evening’s playlist:
(No this post is not sponsored content, I’m just a true believer. But is there a difference?)
Spotify has been the app to help keep me entertained on long drives or for background noise in my office. But recently I discovered another purpose – to keep me informed.
On a morning commute where Howard Stern was a repeat and I didn’t care who was going to take the 53rd spot on the Browns roster, I switched over to the streaming service and accidentally clicked on the podcast tab. I found that I had access to thousands of podcast options to fill my 45-minute drive.
While I was searching, I remembered that many of the Babcox editors were producing podcasts, so I typed in TIRE REVIEW and found a host of options available from my co-workers. In less than an hour, I listened to editor Maddie Winer interview various subject matter experts on a variety of topics:
- The first podcast was an interview with DoubleCoin’s Walt Weller and Tire Review editor Mary DellaValle on the impact of Chinese tariffs on the tire market.
- The second podcast highlighted the one-year anniversary of Goodyear and Bridgestone’s distribution partnership.
- And the third podcast was a deep dive with Babcox Research Manager Bruce Kratofil into the new information in Tire Review’s 46 Annual Source Book.
Spotify is my audio content concierge in the same way that you can be a content marketing concierge to your audience. Are you building a content playlist for your customers? What form does it take, and can you fill the channels where your customers search for content?
Single topic podcasts are a simple, cost-effective marketing product to consider for your sponsorship dollars. All of the Babcox brands produce podcasts to support editorial found in our magazines, websites and social media channels.
With podcasts growing in popularity and marketers looking for new ways to tell a brand’s story, sponsorship of a topic in your market is perfect when your goals include thought leadership or to keep your brand top of mind. The Babcox Innovation Group can help you tell your story and connect you to your desired target audience.
Randy Loeser is the Publisher/Executive Director of Content & Video at Babcox Media. Connect with Randy by email or call (330) 670-1234 ext. 285.
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