Even "Unsponsored Content" Drives Business: Xandr's New B2B Podcast
A podcast about "a day in the life" of Xandr employees and industry leaders serves two purposes: It leverages a hot content platform — audio — for a primarily video-based company; and, it humanizes a large organization to attract and retain employees via behind-the-scenes conversations. And, given the name of Xandr's new interview show, Unsponsored Content, it's clear that the latter is the big goal; there's no sponsor underwriting here. In fact, this "branded podcast" for Xandr itself is the point — and a great example of how media companies can expand on their B2B communications.
Unsponsored Content host Jessie Resnick has the inside track on her first guest, Xandr's chief executive officer, Brian Lesser, as a member of his chief of staff team. Her approachable style ("it's just us chatting" kind of feel) shows a different side of Lesser, and as listeners, we feel we get to know him personally, as well — from why he named his children what he did, to his bar mitzvah theme, to his favorite baseball team, to his preference for blue clothing and sweaters.
The discussion with Lesser includes several personal admissions ("my closet is hyper-organized"), his views on the advertising industry, and his top takeaways from CES — including, "There's this symbiosis between electronics and advertising, obviously, with content being the key component of that. The more sophisticated screens, cars, and electronics get, the more ways there are to enjoy content and that creates a big opportunity for us," which opens the episode.
MediaVillage has long encouraged the media and marketing industry to recognize our low marks in employee retention and attracting diverse talent, and content just like this — in a medium that is the current darling of Gen Z and millennials — literally speaks to that need. With plans to interview executives, media industry leaders, and employees throughout the organization, Xandr takes a page from the Insider InSites podcast rationale: educate, inform, and open the door to more business via a personal touch. While Unsponsored Content is not fully rolled out to all podcast distribution platforms yet, just being able to point prospective partners and employees to these conversations on Soundcloud (or right here) is a great step in an important direction.
Next episode? Vice president Jill Siegel explains her area of product marketing and business intelligence, and Elsa Castro Blumberg, vice president of media and market research/analysis, makes data and research more compelling.Click the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleagues.
The opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author and/or subject(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated writers.
E.B. Moss
E.B. Moss is an award-winning writer, podcaster and strategist who creates content that opens revenue doors and brings out the human to human side of B2B marketing. An expert in explanatory journalism, E.B. served as an inaugural editor at media trades &l…
