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Kicking off 2024, my fellow podcaster – but really more known as the expert in shoppable video, Cynthia Nelson – turned the mic on me, inviting me to guest on her show “Let’s Talk About Live Shopping.” Being in the hot seat myself was instructive as I thought back to the many takeaways of my inspiring guests in the media and marketing landscape this past year. Then we vamped about what’s coming down the pike as I head to CES this week! (I encourage listeners to catch the last couple minutes to see if you can spot the AI version of me!)

First, Cynthia asked me to reflect on podcasting’s continued evolution. I shared some points from Sounds Profitable’s Bryan Barletta, a past Insider Interviews guest. As we hit the 03:00 mark, I noted the trend research he and Tom Webster recently shared with the help of another past guest, Paul Riismandel of Signal Hill Insights, on how people are consuming podcasts in video form. (Note: People increasingly “listen” on YouTube while multi-tasking, as formats merge.)

Around the 06:44 mark, Cynthia asked about the fuzzy definition of the fast moving category of retail media. (Here’s an article I wrote about that.) As lines blur across channels, retail media represents the personalized targeted impressions served to consumers on their path to purchase. This stretches from out-of-home displays driving awareness to retail media networks architected by heir apparents like Walmart and Target (and of course the mac daddy, Amazon.)

I passionately relayed the research I could recall from a chock-full interview with Lou Paskalis on news media’s high ROAS and its ability to capture lucrative unduplicated audiences. Yet misperceptions linger, undeservedly tarnishing outlets. Quality checks through firms like Ad Fontes help instill confidence for brands to proudly and safely reinvest in news. And hint: that’s one of the things I’ll be speaking with Matt Prohaska about in a conversation I’ll publish out of CES!*

Speaking of speaking at CES…

I’ll be spotting the brand marketing and media stars at Brand Innovators, DPAA, Female Quotient and MediaLink, if they’ll have me! Then I’ll walking the (2 million square feet!) floor with some trusted pundit friends, David Berkowitz and Kathy Newberger to capture what we’re seeing in the media area and the always groovy Eureka! Hall of innovation. I’m looking forward to seeing, of course, voice-activation technologies to a soundbar aiming to help distinguish conversation tones as we age. Finally, I’ll share the mic with two brilliant minds from Marketing Architects to hear THEIR takeaways (and don’t miss their terrific b2b podcast, too!)

So, definitely expect the first full episodes of ’24 to deliver MORE!

Key Moments:

  • 03:00 – Podcasting still gaining awareness as video podcasts grow
  • 06:44 – Defining the expanding world of retail media
  • 09:46 – Voice tech and accessibility interests at CES
  • 13:30 – Study showing news media’s strong ROI but brands hesitant
  • Around 19:00 Is it live or is it Memorex! Points if you know what that is and why I wrote that!