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And Now, A Podcast From Our Sponsor

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DQI Bureau
New Update

Over July 4 weekend, Audrey Reed-Granger, a Whirlpool marketing exec from

Stevensville, Mich., came home to find her husband listening to National Public

Radio. A report on podcasting caught her attention, and she asked him to explain

it. After he described how podcasts were basically radio shows that people

download from the Internet and listen to whenever they want, she had an

epiphany. "We should do that," she said. "You and I?" he

asked. "No, Whirlpool," she said.

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That Tuesday, Reed-Granger went to her boss with a proposal. Whirlpool should

do podcasts, she argued, but the shows shouldn't push washers and dryers.

Instead, they should feature interviews with real people -moms balancing work

and family, dads staying home to raise kids. "There was a pause," says

Reed-Granger, director, Consumer Insight at Whirlpool. "I said: 'Think

about who uses our products. It's families.' We're all about helping them

in their lives. This is about connecting." She got the green light that

afternoon. Reed-Granger now puts out the show twice a week, producing it at home

after her toddler goes to bed.

A growing number of companies that are turning to podcasting

to connect with customers, investors, and employees. As befits a medium only a

year old, there's loads of experimentation. Some podcasts are straightforward

marketing. Others are more entertainment, with only passing references to their

corporate creators. In June pet food purveyor Purina decided to convert a

call-in radio show it sponsors with vets in St Louis into a podcast. "Our

attitude was: It's early days," says Michael Moore, director, Interactive

Marketing, Purina. "It may be successful or it may not be, but let's not

wait around and end up being surprised."

There's little downside to such efforts. Any audio clip can

be turned into a downloadable podcast with software available on the Web for

free. That's one reason companies such as insurer Aflac can create podcasts of

their quarterly earnings calls, even if only a few people listen.

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Popularity requires a bit more than reciting gross margins,

though. Audiences are gravitating to the things that make compelling radio-good

entertainment and useful discussions about family or work issues.

"Issue-oriented marketing will have a lot more success," says Charlene

Li, an analyst at Forrester Research "I don't know if I want to listen on

a regular basis to what a company has to say about its products."

Podcasting also companies feed consumers' appetite for

information whenever and wherever they want it. Virgin Atlantic Airways is

creating travel guides for 20 destinations it flies to. Why? Simple, says Breda

Bubear, head of advertising and communications at Virgin Atlantic: "We like

to be a pioneer."

By Heather Green in New York

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