Ad agencies have caught podcast fever. Here are four that caught our attention.
‘Madison and Culture’
Y&R’s new biweekly podcast, launched this week and hosted by its global CEO David Sable, delves into how culture and technology shape advertising and marketing, and vice versa. The podcast was born out of Sable’s widely read LinkedIn blog, which he and the agency felt could be crafted into a more compelling format. The debut episode features Sable in discussion with GroupM chairman Irwin Gotlieb about how advertising interacts with the internet of things, as well as the data and privacy issues related to the technology. Produced by DGital Media, the upcoming episodes feature a diverse range of guests, from NHL evp of marketing Brian Jennings to WPP worldwide creative officer John O’Keeffe.
“It’s not a sales pitch; it’s literally about my ramblings,” said Sable. “It’s a confluence of culture, technology, people, society and behavior, and us trying to make sense of them.”
‘The A-List’
Tom Christmann, chief creative officer at DiMassimo Goldstein, hosts this podcast, which the agency created to help its client Adhouse NYC attract more students. The podcast covers how industry veterans managed to break into the agency business, highlighting the skills and lessons they learned along the way — making it a must-listen for any aspiring creatives. It has featured a bunch of stalwarts, from McCann global creative chairman Rob Reilly to Barton F. Graf founder and CCO Gerry Graf.
“Our belief was that actions are better than ads, and the podcast series was a way of doing that,” said Christmann. “It also helps us drive awareness about ourselves, keeps us top of mind, gets people in the industry talking about us and helps us attract talent.”
‘Disruptor Series Podcast’
TBWA kick-started its podcasting efforts at CES in 2015 with “Not Even Beta,” which focused on digital advertising, technology and innovation. More recently, it has soft-launched the “Disruptor Series Podcast,” which grew out of the “Disruptor Series,” an agency speaker series it started in 2015 at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York that features people who are “disrupting” business, culture and life. Six episodes have been released to date with over 1,000 downloads since it was launched in April 2017.
“We’ve been talking about disruption since before it was a trendy word in 1990, and this was our way of showing how evergreen the concept is,”said Rob Schwartz, CEO of TBWA\Chiat\Day New York. “It’s modern-day thought leadership.”
‘The Unconventionals’
The idea behind PJA’s podcast, launched in 2012, is to chronicle the stories of those CEOs and CMOs that have dared to question the prevailing wisdom. Produced in conjunction with the Center on Global Brand Leadership at Columbia Business School, this podcast hopes to inspire its listeners and teach them how to stand out, as well as the value of pursuing a mission, not just a market. Guests have included GE CMO Linda Boff, Warby Parker CEO Neil Blumenthal and even Peloton founder and COO Tom Cortese.
“We work in innovation-driven industries like tech and health care, and telling the stories of disruptive brands like Waze, Warby Parker and GE helps reinforce our own reputation as an innovative agency,” said Mike O’Toole, the agency’s president and the podcast’s host. “I find that the conversations with entrepreneurs and marketing leaders inform PJA’s strategic brand practice.”
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