This headline from CNN caught my eye: Queen’s Podcast Plea For Elderly. At first glance, I was trying to figure out why the rock band Queen had created a Podcast? I was even more confused when I realized that this piece was about Queen Elizabeth (of England, of course).
It turns out Her Highness’ royal techies took her annual Christmas Day message and not only made it available as a digital download from the British Monarchy website, but it has become part of their “The Royal Podcast” area – which has feeds from iTunes, etc…
The Queen’s podcasted message was centered around how the young and older generations must bridge their divides. It has been described by Buckingham Palace as “what old and young have to offer each other, how all faiths highlight the need to nurture and guide young people, and to encourage respect for elderly people.”
Word.
When you head over to the official website of the British Monarchy and The Royal Podcast page, they make Podcasting as easy as possible. The page features a click-to-subscribe link as well as the ability to cut and paste a unique URL for your “podcast software.” The page also includes a link titled, Information About Podcast.
Here’s what it says:
“Podcasting is a way of subscribing to a series of video and/or audio content from a website.
Once you have signed up for the British Monarchy’s podcast, for example, the latest installment will automatically become available for you to view or listen to on your computer. This can then be put onto your mp3 player if you wish.
All you need to sign up is an Internet connection and a free piece of software.”
The British Monarchy recommends using either iTunes, Juice or Doppler.
While Podcasting has not hit mainstream yet, this is a great example of someone having content and leveraging the power of Podcasting as an additional channel to get their message out. The content of the Queen’s Podcast was supplied by the BBC (according to the website).
There are two types of content that make Podcasting fascinating. One, re-purposed content from mainstream media. Think about radio. If you don’t hear it live, at that particular moment, in that particular region, it’s gone. Not anymore. Podcasting allows this content to not only live on forever, but to be accessible by any interested party, whenever they want, wherever they want. From a Marketers’ stand-point, think about how targeted your message can be – and how much longer it will live versus a radio spot.
The second type of content is what you get from my Six Pixels Of Separation – The Twist Image Podcast. This is full-on, independently produced content. The quality varies from show to show, but now we’re looking at depth and niche. You can find independently produced content on just about any topic – from marketing to music to people talking about knitting and crocheting to a Podcast about children’s books. From a Marketers’ perspective, we now have access to that unique “early adopter” segment (most recognized as ground zero for the ideal seeding ground of a successful viral marketing campaign).
In the end, if you are grappling with how to sell Podcasting to your company, just remember, the Queen is doing it.
(thanks to Sulemaan Ahmed)