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Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Why can’t companies use podcasting for issues advocacy?

Why can’t companies use podcasting for issues advocacy?

PodcastingYou can’t talk about podcasting these days without someone bringing Serial into the conversation. The first season of the 12-episode true crime series was downloaded 68 million times as of early February, according to a CBS News report.

The podcast, featuring host Sarah Koenig’s distinct narration, has become a cultural touchstone, parodied on Saturday Night Live; brands of all kinds have tried riding Serial’s coattails, from Best Buy (one of its retail outlets figures prominently in the story, though its tweet was criticized and the electronics chain wound up apologlzing for it) to Sesame Street.

Serial led to an Innocence Project team taking up the case of Adnan Syed, the Baltimore native serving a life sentence for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. That effort led the Maryland Court of Special Appeals deciding to hear arguments in the case.

The attention Serial has gotten has led many to assume it’s at the root of the renewed interest in podcasts. Real data indicates that’s not the case—podcast listening has risen incrementally year after year. But Serial’s impact is undeniable. The latest report should get the attention of the business world, which still hasn’t jumped on the podcast bandwagon to the extent it should.

Sarah Koenig recording an episode of SerialWhile Serial will tackle an entirely new case when it returns with fresh episodes, Syed’s tale will continue in a new podcast produced and hosted by attorney Rabia Chaudry, who figured prominently in Serial’s early episodes. The podcast, Undisclosed: The State v. Adnan Syed, is due to launch on April 13. According to the placeholder text on the podcast website, “Much new evidence and information has been discovered and uncovered thanks to the investigations of attorneys Susan Simpson, Colin Miller, and the Adnan Syed Legal Trust. ‘Undisclosed’ will examine and explore the case in greater detail, from an investigatory perspective instead of a narrative one.” Chaudry says the podcast will include guest experts and a closer look at the case’s evidence and documents. Attorneys Simpson and Miller will co-host.

Serial fans will no doubt flock to the show now that they’re hooked on the case, while they will also surely be gripped by the new case Koenig chooses for Serial’s second season. From a business perspective, though, Undisclosed points to an untapped potential for business podcasting: issue advocacy.

Placeholdeer text on Undisclosed website

Koenig, part of the team behind public radio’s This American Life series, started the podcast in order to report on an interesting case. Undisclosed, on the other hand, is directly from a legal team seeking to exonerate Syed. Those who will listen have an interest in the case, even if that interest is based on being caught up in Serial. While the audiences interested in issues important to businesses most likely aren’t as large, they come with that interest built-in.

Consider, for example, tech companies that suffer from patent trolls, those organizations that exist simply to acquire patents and then sue the stuffing out of any deep-pocketed company whose products use the technology contained in those patents. Why couldn’t one of those companies produce a podcast on the issue of patent trolls, presenting stories that create outrage with the goal of supporting legislation against the practice?

Applying the success factors from Serial—an engaging narrator with a personality, solid production values, interviews with parties involved in the stories told, and top-notch storytelling with suspense and conflict—this podcast could attract a sizable audience that could contribute to the end goal of legislation. If Serial can get Syed an appeal, why couldn’t a patent troll podcast result in pressure on Congress to take action?

And that’s just one example, an idea directly off the top of my head. Another example: In 2008, Boeing launched a blog dedicated to updates on the company’s protest of an Air Force award of a contract to a competitor; Boeing asserted corruption was involved and eventually won a rebid. How much more compelling would a tale of corruption in a government contracting process have been if delivered via audio with participants, witnesses, and experts relating their stories? Consider the issues your organization faces. Could an advocacy podcast—even one with a limited run, a defined set of episodes—make a difference in getting what the company wants?

Not to mention that producing such a podcast would be a kick and a half for a podcast producer. (I’m available for such a project, by the way.)

What issue does your organization face where an advocacy podcast could play a part in reaching a resolution?

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