Are We in a Recession or Not? Brands Must Continue to Advertise

 

There's a saying in sales, "In times of prosperity, you should advertise. In times of hardship, you must advertise." 

During these times of uncertainty, it makes sense to want to save as much money as possible. Businesses often downsize during times of recession to accommodate for losses. One forefront of thought is reducing advertising and marketing expenses - this is a classic pitfall that usually ends with businesses having to shut down. For the sake of your business's longevity, you must continue to move forward, as consumers have higher expectations from brands in times of crisis. It is proven that brands that continue to advertise in a recession fair the best. 

Keeping up with advertising and marketing during a recession is one of the most powerful investments you can make for your business. Stability and consistency displayed to your targeted audience go a long way. Think about it - if your competitors start slowing down and cutting back on marketing dollars, that leaves all the open-air space for your business. Don't let that opportunity go to waste! Keep your business at the forefront of people's minds and stay in front of your target audience. 

And let's not forget about gestures - recession discounts go much further to show consumers you care and that your brand can be relied on. Here at TWiT, we immediately reached out to our partners at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic and offered free added value to showcase our appreciation and gratitude during that unprecedented time. We're doing it again now because we all know this is another unusual situation, and we are encouraging our partners to pay it forward to their customers. 

It's as simple as this. If you have the money to spend on advertising, you should spend it on advertising!  

Are you ready for smart growth and to elevate your business? Want to work with the best tech podcast network with a highly qualified audience? Reach out to us at advertise@twit.tv today.

Leo Laporte & Why TWiT Works

Sponsoring TWiT's innovative podcasts automatically puts your business in front of an affluent, highly-engaged, tech-savvy audience with one-click purchasing power. TWiT only partners with sponsors who have products/services that will benefit their audience. 

Our top-ranked flagship podcast, and network's namesake, This Week in Tech, hosted by Leo Laporte, is the crown jewel of our ad reads. Leo and his ever-changing panel of experts discuss the who, what, and why of tech news. This Week in Tech spotlights Leo's 40+ years of broadcasting experience and passion for tech. 

This Week in Tech is also one of the longest-running podcasts. It all started in 2005 when Leo and several former TechTV colleagues gathered for a reunion at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco and recorded their conversation. Leo posted the recording on his website, which led to overwhelming fan requests for more. Three months later, in April 2005, Leo and the crew launched the show as a weekly podcast - the rest is history!

Today, This Week in Tech has audience statistics sure to make any executive swoon. With an average impression rate of 260,000 per episode, 67% of listeners earn over $100,000 yearly, 50% are in management positions, and 87% are Tech/IT decision-makers. This Week in Tech's audience also ranges from companies of all sizes; Whether it's for companies with less than 100 employees (36% of listeners), or 1000+ employees (43% of listeners), This Week in Tech has valuable information for all of our tech-minded listeners. These are powerful percentages and what makes our qualified audience stand out. 

Interested in having Leo Laporte help elevate your business? Reach out today to advertise@twit.tv.

Trust Doesn't Come Easily: Why Host Read Ads Work

 

Why do Host Read ads work? It all boils down to trust. Podcast audiences trust the hosts they listen to more than they would a pre-recorded or producer-read ad. Here at TWiT, our hosts are experienced, knowledgeable professionals with decades of experience; we don't take giving out tech advice lightly. Our hosts support our listeners by providing accurate, beneficial tech guidance, and we only partner with sponsors who align with our values. Our listeners know they can trust that whatever they hear on TWiT will bear their best interest in mind. 

Now, it takes a lot of work to ensure we partner with high-integrity sponsors - here at TWiT, we have a rigorous vetting process for all potential partners. We discuss their goals with our editorial team, as well as the entire overview of a campaign. Part of what sets us at the gold standard here at TWiT is providing white glove service and only signing those with products or services that benefit our audience.

Our listeners often become our partners. Founder of Thinkst Canary, Haroon Meer, says, “We expected TWiT to work well for us because we were long-time listeners who, over the years, bought many of the products and services we learned about on various shows. We were not disappointed. The combination of the very personal ad-reads, and the careful selection of products that TWiT largely believes in, gives the ads an authentic, trusted voice that works really well for products like ours. 10/10 - Will use again." 

Are you ready to discuss your campaign? Reach out to advertise@twit.tv today.

TWiT.tv Sales Process Overview

Our sales process is extensive at TWiT.tv because we want to ensure our audience can benefit from the partners we sign to our network.  

First, we start with a conversation. Before we dive into budgets and timing, we need to hear from our potential partners about their advertising needs and goals. Since I own a sales agency and have placed buys on several other podcast networks for my direct clients, I find that no one asks questions. Why not? It's crucial to listen to your potential partners and then decide if a campaign makes sense. Plus, the potential partner must have services/products that will benefit our audience. Hence why we start with a conversation. We also ask about their existing and past campaigns and cover the features and benefits of working with TWiT.

Next, we check in with our production team and build out our ideas based on our team's feedback, results from other partner campaigns, and using our notes from our initial conversation. Once ideas are presented, we scale up or down based on what the partner wants to do and execute the IO.

We take time to set up new partner campaigns. We help them build their ad copy, implement Podsight's pixels, and schedule a host call to ask questions before campaigns begin. We find that our extra care continuously improves messaging and builds excitement with our team and partner. We constantly improve ad copy on onboarding calls, and our partners can ask for updates weekly. 

Lastly, podcast ads need time to reach their full impact. Think about it, we drop an ad. You need to give it time for our audience to download the episode, listen to it, and then act. It can take 8 - 15 advertising touchpoints to entice a fan to make a purchase. We recommend waiting 8 weeks after every ad drops to gauge traction. 

Interested in partnering with us? Reach out - advertise@twit.tv.

 

Why TWiT? Because TWiT's Host-Read Ads Stand Out

 

Sponsoring TWiT's innovative podcasts puts your brand in front of an affluent, highly-engaged, tech-savvy audience with one-click purchasing power. TWiT only partners with sponsors who have products/services that will benefit their audience. Read client testimonials here: Advertise with TWiT.

TWiT's podcasts are in audio/video formats, except for new shows, allowing for product or service demos. Our full-service continuity team will care for your copywriting, graphics, and editing needs.

85% of listeners made a purchase based on a TWiT host-read ad

99% listen to most or the entire podcast

87% are involved in their company's tech/IT decision-making process

TWiT believes in delivering powerful host-read ads that properly introduce a sponsor's products/services to its audience. Overdelivery on impressions is guaranteed as all ads are embedded. Sponsorship promotion appears on TWiT's sponsor page, show episode page, and RSS feed. Newsletter and social media promotion is included, and courtesy commercials on video shows are provided with every ad read.

Are you ready to grow your business?

Reach out today to advertise@twit.tv and start your powerful campaign with TWiT.tv and have your products/services promoted by its expert hosts.

Ridiculously Insecure Digital Driver’s License

 Sometimes the news shared on the podcast Security Now is baffling. Take, for example, driver's licenses. Driver's licenses aren't usually considered insecure, but Australia has effectively made it so with the New South Whales Digital Driver's License ("DDL"). This story has extended to the most recent SN podcasts 873 and 874.

The first episode has Steve explaining what the DDL is and how poorly it is secured. Released in 2019, the DDL is currently being used by approximately 70% of the population, which means 3.9 million people have opted into using it.

The New South Wales government has touted the DDL as "difficult to counterfeit," but that is far from the truth. A hacking group called DVULN, known for pen testing and secure application development, revealed many security issues with the DDL.

DVULN found that DDL data can be manipulated and used to create fraudulent digital identities. In other words, if bad actors were interested in altering data, they could potentially do it straight from the NSW government's iOS app! One of the testers went so far as to prove that this is a problem publicly.

But how do we know the information on DDLs is already being altered? Itnews.com.au reported, "Farmer observed that social media users reported that a number of underage people were using fake DDLs that are easy to make to visit drinking establishments in the state."

There wasn't a formal response from the New South Wales government when Steve first brought the situation to Security Now fans, but by episode 874, there was a response that Steve found to be lacking.

The NSW rebuttal states that this issue is not a risk, that no other customer data or data source has been compromised, and that the licenses are hard to forge. And, by the way, altering a DDL is against the law.

In both episodes, Steve gives us the rundown as to why the security systems for DDLs that are in place are not enough and, even more importantly, that real-world physical driver's license counterfeiting is far more challenging to accomplish.

An exasperated Steve says, "Apparently now we believe digital, over 'real world,' 'old school' physical."

Check out both of these and future episodes of Security Now. 

Hands-On Photography (HOP) and Its Host Ant Pruitt

 

Sometimes there are learning opportunities right in front of us. Maybe you're someone who thinks they need to attend a school or a particular class, but how about a free alternative - podcasting. You can listen to or watch a podcast on TWiT.tv. Our resident photographer, Ant Pruit, host of Hands-On Photography, is a credit to photographers everywhere. Every Thursday, Ant shares stunning photos and provides quick tutorials. He also invites expert guests to appear on his show and offers essential tips and tricks for the beginner or expert photographer.

One of his favorite things is getting fan feedback and answering photography questions. In episode #128, Ant answered the following question: "I have a Mac but am looking for a PC for holding and editing my photos only. I don't want to spend a lot of money. I have an area set up to transfer or scan my pictures. What are my best options?" 

Ant does more than answer inquiries with a "one size fits all" approach. He runs the gamut of low-end to high-end options. Ant gives his fans the confidence to accomplish their photography and editing goals. Ant wants you to enjoy photography as much as he does. 

Feel free to peruse the HOP episodes, especially those that include guests like Terrell Lloyd, the NFL's San Francisco 49ers team photographer, and Laretta Houston, one of the most popular fashion and marketing photographers in the world! 

There's something new and fun every week. Make sure to subscribe to Hands-On Photography, and if you want more Ant Pruit, check out Club TWiT and This Week In Google.