Marketers and advertisers have been throwing more of their support behind podcasting in the form of spending their ad dollars with the medium. But iHeartMedia thinks there is a greater opportunity to be had, and it has unveiled a new business-to-business podcast network created for and hosted by advertising and marketing industry leaders. The B2B Podcast Network will collect marketing and advertising podcasts under one umbrella, which iHeart says will keep executives up to date with industry trends, and make it easier for brands to use audio to reach a large addressable audience of media executives.
“We know that marketers are hot on podcasts with the majority planning on increasing their advertising spend in audio this year. While marketers are spending more, they’re also listening for longer, which is why we wanted to create a network of podcasts specifically for their industry with content that inspires and educates," said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. “iHeartMedia’s B2B Podcast Network brings this highly strategic audience into focus and provides the platform brands need to access them authentically.”
Hosted by a range of marketing thought leaders, the B2B podcasts within the network includes the American Advertising Federation-produced The Future Legends of Advertising podcast. Co-produced by iHeart and Known, the series is hosted Known President Ross Martin and Hayley Romer, former Chief Revenue Officer and Publisher at The Atlantic.
The 4As’s The Sound of Serotonin with Charles Cantu: Interviews Reshaping Advertising podcast is also part of the B2B Podcast Network. Also co-produced by iHeart, it features Reset Digital CEO Charles Cantu in conversation with celebrities, CXOs, academics and other provocateurs for an hour of deep discussion about what stimulates, unites and divides us as people and a culture.
And iHeart CEO Bob Pittman’s own Math and Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing will also be part of the B2B Network lineup. Now in its third season, the show features Pittman sitting down with visionaries such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Allen Grubman, Paris Hilton, Angela Yee and Jon Bon Jovi, to hear how they’ve used data and creativity to push business into the future.
Podcasts have become one of the fastest-growing mediums, reaching over half of the U.S. population every month. Beyond delivering mass reach, marketers and business decision makers are among the most passionate podcast listeners. Research shows they over-index as consumers spending a third of their time with streaming audio. Recent studies also confirmed that more than three-quarters (77%) of advertisers are listening to podcasts on a regular basis.