Disney wants Fox…Now what? And… What consumers REALLY want from brands. And… Consumers are running away from advertising in droves. Plus, rants and raves about Netflix’s personalization not just of recommendations but even artwork images, James Franco’s terrific movie, The Disaster Artist, and more. It’s episode 76 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play butt

Andy Bowers is the Chief Content Officer of Panoply, a leading podcast network and an innovator in the space. In this Q&A from hivio 2016, the audio future festival, I talk with Andy about Panoply’s business model, how the company works with advertisers and brands, and the future of podcasting as a business. Among the questions Andy addresses: Describe Panoply For advertisers, Panoply is more about impact than scale. How is that distinction important and how does it work for

Tweet this: Quality news is dying. And… Twitter growth screeches to a halt – at 52 million users! Plus, rants and raves about the “connected lawn” and proof that Donald Trump’s hands are not as HUUGE as he says they are. It’s episode 48 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re reading this by email, click here for the audio. Sample

I knew this would happen. And I’m not surprised that it’s originating from podcast networks rather than radio broadcasters. I’m talking about the newest trend in podcasting: Turning brands into podcasters (part of a larger trend I have been talking about for years: Brands as media). I have long argued that radio broadcasters – the experts in audio – are well-positioned to create audio content for their clients and help those clients distribute that content on-demand. Or – as

How can audio brands master social media? What are the best practices in social media for audio brands? How should audio brands be thinking about social media strategy and the importance of influencers? I was thrilled to have Jaclyn Johnson answer these and many other questions at hivio 2015. Jaclyn is one of Forbes’ “Top 30 under 30.” Her company, [NO SUBJECT], is one of the go-to marketing, influencer and events agencies in Los Angeles, servicing brands such as Nasty Gal, L

It may be the most popular presentation from hivio 2015, the audio future festival. It’s branding authority and celebrated author Tom Asacker on what folks in the audio space can learn from the big brands and the critical trends shaping the winners and losers in the modern media world. Tom cuts to the chase and spells out not only what’s going on out there but what you and I should do to leverage consumer and business trends and emerge on top. Many people told me this was a h

The secret to marketing movies like brands. And… Will Vessel crush YouTube? It’s episode 18 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, rants and raves on what a Vine superstar has in common with one of the Staples Singers, faulty statistics in determining that millennials are flooding back into movie theaters, Ben Affleck’s Slave-gate coverup, and a great co-promotion between HBO’s Game of Thrones and UBER. Listen as we go i

Who needs an agency when brands want CONTENT, not ADS? And… Disruption comes and goes, but human desire is forever. Then Tom Asacker rants/raves about advertisers who don’t seem to mind that their ads aren’t seen. And Mark rants/raves about his first experience “going viral” with a piece on Leonard Nimoy and how video game breasts are made and why they can go so wrong. It’s episode 14 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Lis

Alex Blumberg is the creator of the popular podcast Startup and founder of the new podcasting network, Gimlet Media. Given his deep background in public media, it’s fair to ask what anyone in the commercial audio space might learn from Alex about audio advertising. What the heck does he know, anyway? Well, Gimlet Media is powered in no small part by advertisers, and Alex brings his knowledge of storytelling to bear when he crafts ads for his clients. His goal is to extract wh

Recently I was in a gathering of brands. Not agencies, brands. Among my conversations was one with the VP and Director of Global Media & Digital Marketing for a well known company that, among other things, produces one of the most famous brands of whiskey in the world. I asked him: What do you spend your day doing, thinking about, worrying about? He talked to me about the time he and his team spend creating personas representing the user segments of his brand. He talked about

Podcasting, online radio, terrestrial radio, satellite radio….Do you think that all these audio silos have little in common? That podcasting is different from radio is different from online radio and Pandora, etc? You’re wrong. Do you think that ever-increasing choices in a world offering everybody their own personal customized experience means the end of “hits,” and – by association – the end of radio? No, in fact the more choices you have, the more important “hits” become.

When we say things like “let’s whip up a better story for radio to convince folks how important it is in their lives” we are fighting an impossible battle for this reason: “Radio” is not a brand. “Radio” is a distribution platform for brands, where the brands can, should, and do live on other platforms, too. If we have learned anything from this digital age it’s that the most useful brands are those that are device-agnostic, those that view platforms as distribution opportuni

This is Part 2 of my special conversation with branding guru and author Tom Asacker. If you missed Part 1 go here. Tom and I talk about his new book, The Business of Belief: How the World’s Best Marketers, Designers, Salespeople, Coaches, Fundraisers, Educators, Entrepreneurs and Other Leaders Get Us to Believe Watch the complete Q&A here, or skip to Part 2 of the abbreviated transcript below. If consumer desire precedes interest, how does the marketer effectively tap in to t

Tom Asacker is an advisor to major brands like Procter & Gamble, UPS, and G.E. and the author of many thoughtful and incisive books on branding and marketing. He is one of the brightest minds in any business, and his latest book is his best yet: The Business of Belief: How the World’s Best Marketers, Designers, Salespeople, Coaches, Fundraisers, Educators, Entrepreneurs and Other Leaders Get Us to Believe Watch the complete Q&A or skip to Part 1 of the abbreviated transcript

Based on stats released by Facebook last year, only about 16% of Facebook fans receive the posts of the pages they “like.” This is Facebook’s effort to maintain the “quality” of the feed whether or not a consumer has opted-in to connect to it. While Facebook continues to send lots of traffic to lots of brands, publishers are beginning to sour on the platform, and Facebook’s solution to the problem is to charge publishers to reach the same folks they used to reach for free.  W

One of the greatest challenges for ALL traditional media – radio, TV, and print – is what I’m calling the “mediacizing” of brands.” As our client brands create content via media these brands become media, and as brands become media we have to ask: Where does that leave traditional media brands? Will big brands need radio (or TV or print) when they are their own media and can create their own content? Just today, the New York Times reports on the “mediacizing” of Oreo, a Times