Compiled by Trent Thomas and Tess Connery
Why industry legends launched the Black T-Shirts
Thinkerbell’s Adam Ferrier and IAG chief marketing officer Brent Smart, recently launched their new podcast on LiSTNR, Black T-Shirts.
Ferrier is a multi-award-winning advertising creative strategist and founder of the creative agency Thinkerbell. He is also a leading consumer psychologist, and authority on behavioural economics. He is the author of Stop Listening to the Customer andThe Advertising Effect, and a regular on shows such as Gruen, Sunrise, and The Project.
Smart spent 20 years in agencies, leading the NZ agency Colenso BBDO and rising to CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi New York. In 2017, he moved client side, becoming CMO at IAG.
Podcast Week‘s Trent Thomas caught up with the pair about their motivations to launch the show, which they said came from that saw as a change in the industry.
BS: “About 18 months ago, Adam and I had a drink. We’re having a bit of a chat and we said, ‘this would be a good podcast’. Then we thought about what we thought was missing in the creative market.”
AF: “Everyone’s talking about data, everyone is obsessed with the consumer, and there are a lot of conversations around marketing sciences, behavioural economics, data sciences, and so forth. Most marketers, their key strategic opportunity, or one of the things they bring to the table within any organisation is creativity. There are not a lot of people in the whole marketing landscape championing creativity and how to be more creative in a commercialised business sense. That’s what we think is fun and interesting and missing from the narrative at the moment.
“I’ve had a relationship with SCA’s Nikki Clarkson for a long time, and LiSTNR are actually a client of Thinkerbell’s so we spoke to them and formed a relationship.”
In each episode, Ferrier and Smart will go deep into a famous piece of creative work to understand what it takes to make something great, and also whether it would pass market research, putting it to a focus group.
BS: “As a marketer, I see so many marketers who take the customer’s word as gospel and use research in a way that I don’t believe is conducive to great creative work happening. Research is a wonderful thing to get insights early in the process, but it is not a great tool to test creative ideas. We wanted to make that point. What better way to make that point than taking famous work that’s really worked, and reengineering it back into a research process to show that that work wouldn’t have done that well in your normal focus group?”
AF: “We find out a bit about our guests, jump back in time a little bit about what they were like growing up, then look at their overall approach to creativity, and then start to drill down on one particular piece of work and express it to a focus group. Then we pull together the emerging themes.”
When asked about their future plans for the show, they said that they want it to become a brand.
BS: “We do a parody ad at the start of each episode and that’s unique every single time which is a lot more work. We don’t think we can be out there being opinionated about creativity without this being creative, without the show being creative, without the brand being creative, and without applying creativity to what we’re doing as well.
“We want globally renowned marketers and globally renowned creatives who are doing globally renowned work. We want to look at world-class creativity, not just great Australian creativity that’s a really important way we’re trying to position the show”
The Daddos peel back the curtain on Nova’s So You Want To Make A TV Show?
Ever wondered how your favourite TV shows get made? So You Want To Make A TV Show is a new Nova Podcast that follows brothers Cameron and Andrew Daddo as they take you behind the curtain of the creative process. The pair create their very first TV show by roping in industry heavy weights including an Emmy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner to help them to make their vision a reality.
Podcast Week’s Tess Connery spoke to Cameron and Andrew about what goes on behind the scenes of the show.
The first episode of So You Want To Make A TV Show opens with the brothers coming up with the idea for their show from scratch.
AD: “I was curious – what if you have one idea, and then put it to lots of different people? How do they influence your thought and make it their own, or change your idea and make it better? Or worse? I thought it would be a great podcast to start with nothing and see where you wind up, so put that to Cam. He said ‘you’re an idiot, but okay’, and off we went.”
The pair then took the raw recording to Nova’s Rachael Corbett, and presented what would eventually become episode one.
AD: “We went to Rachael and Rachael goes, ‘Great. So now that I’ve heard the tester, can you do it again?’ We went ‘no, that’s it!’. She said ‘okay, fair enough’. It was quite funny, actually.”
With careers that span TV, radio, podcasting, books, and acting between the two of them, So You Want To Make A TV Show is the first time that both Cameron and Andrew have actually worked together.
CD: “We haven’t done anything like this, and also we’ve had 25 years apart because I’ve been away. Both of us have gone off and experienced all these varied things. I’m still catching up with what Andrew has done in his career – which is massive, the breadth and all the scope of what he’s done. So for me, it was a journey of discovery as well of who Andrew is and his expertise.”
AD: “We’re very, very different. Cam’s much more serious and looks deeper into things than I do. I want to have jokes pretty much wherever I can. So it works that way as well.”
At the end of the day, the pair hope that the podcast will give people a little more patience next time they finish an entire season of a show in one sitting and can’t wait for the next one.
CD: “We all do it now, we all sit down and binge on these TV shows. I remember just getting so cranky because Game of Thrones was taking 18 months to fire up, but it takes time to procure that quality, it doesn’t just happen – especially when there’s an expectation built around it as well. So maybe it’s a bit more about educating people about the process, we need to have a little more patience with our TV creators or film creators.”
AD: “To do anything creative is all a lot more difficult than people give it credit for.”
Cameron and Andrew Daddo
And as for what happens with the idea once the podcast reaches its end?
CD: “I’m going ‘This is really good. We can do this,’ and Andrew is going ‘It’s a podcast. Just a podcast. We’re making a podcast, bro!’ and I’m going ‘yeah, but!’”
AD: “I haven’t got the patience to go through this process for real. Someone can do it, Cam can do it and I’ll take an executive producer credit!”
[Listen to So You Want To Make A TV Show here]
LiSTNR and Schwartz Media team up for The Politics Podcast
Schwartz Media and SCA’s LiSTNR have announced their first podcast co-production, The Politics Podcast following a strategic partnership in 2021.
The Politics Podcast is hosted by The Monthly’s Rachel Withers and will be published at 6pm each weekday evening. Launching in the lead up to one of the most talked about Federal Elections in Australian history, The Politics Podcast is designed to cut through the soundbites and spin to give listeners the information they need.
New episodes of The Politics Podcast will be available each week-day evening and is available now on LiSTNR.
[Listen to The Politics Podcast here]
CRA and Triton Digital sign Podcast Ranker agreement through to 2024
Industry body Commercial Radio Australia has signed a three-year agreement with Triton Digital to continue publication of the Australian Podcast Ranker through to March 2024.
The partnership will see Triton Digital continue to publish the monthly report on the top 100 podcasts in Australia, provide data on listener numbers and monthly downloads, and further develop the australianpodcastranker.com website.
Since its release in October 2019, the ranker has increased from seven to 18 participating publishers, and the number of monthly podcast downloads has grown six-fold from 10 million to 62.3 million in February.
The ranker is produced in accordance with IAB Tech Lab’s Podcast Measurement Guidelines and reports on the most popular Australian and international podcasts in the country among participating publishers across radio, TV, print, and independent producers.
SMH and 60 Minutes launch investigative podcast about Melissa Caddick
The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) and 60 Minutes have teamed up to launch an investigative podcast series exploring the case of Sydney businesswoman Melissa Caddick, her audacious $23 million Ponzi scheme and the subsequent, grisly discovery of her severed foot on a beach.
Launching on April 11, Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions will be hosted by the Herald’s Walkley award-winning investigative reporter Kate McClymont and award-winning 60 Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort, with the series uncovering startling new evidence, and features never-before-heard audio of Caddick, as well as interviews from key players speaking for the very first time.
Delving into one of the most captivating crimes of the century, the nine-part series will chart how a seemingly successful financial planner, from Sydney’s eastern suburbs, turned out to be a sociopathic con artist, who stole more than $23 million from mainly family and friends who thought their funds were being invested in shares.
Within hours of her home being raided by ASIC in November 2020 amid questions over an unlicensed financial services business, she disappeared. But this is no ordinary missing persons case.
Featuring chilling audio of Caddick as she leaves phone messages for victims, Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions follows the web of deceit and behaviour that allowed Caddick to rip off some of her closest friends and ended with her vanishing into thin air on November 12.
9Podcasts launches two political series
With a federal election just around the corner, 9Podcasts has launched two series to help you navigate the political landscape, unpack the key policy issues and give you greater insight into what makes our leaders tick.
Deb Knight‘s Pollie Waffle is an opportunity to get to know the politicians we think we know: their upbringing, professional careers, and why they chose to enter the bear pit of Federal Parliament. Most importantly, do they really believe the “pollie waffle” they dish up every day?
This in-depth interview series will introduce listeners to the people who represent us, away from the camera lights and scripted speeches – all over a plate of waffles.
On The Trail: Election 2022, lead by Nine’s former US Correspondent Charles Croucher, speaks with some of Australia’s best political minds to condense years of fires, floods, lockdowns, lies, crisis, and cost increases into the one decision we all have to make.
From the leaders, the tactics, the commercials, and the campaigns themselves, On The Trail: Election 2022 analyses what’s happened, what will happen, and what it all means for you.
On The Trail: Election 2022 features Nine’s leading political experts, spearheaded by 9News Political Editor Chris Uhlmann, together with 6PR’s Gareth Parker and 4BC’s Neil Breen.
[Listen to Deb Knight’s Pollie Waffle here]
[Listen to On The Trail: Election 2022 here]
Love Island stars launch season three of Where’s Your Head At podcast
Fronted by former Love Island stars, Anna McEvoy and Matthew Zukowski, the Where’s Your Head At podcast debuts its third season and marks the latest project from DM and Born Bred Talent.
McEvoy and Zukowski talk about relationships, break-ups, reality tv and more, clearly striking a chord with fans as a regular feature in the top 10 most downloaded podcasts in the country.
Further to this, Where’s Your Head At has now attracted over 600,000 listeners over the last three seasons, making it one of the most listened to Australian-made podcast series.
Supporting the podcast is an army of high profile guests from across the reality television space including fellow Love Island stars, Beauty and The Geek contestants, and guests from The Bachelor all discussing their life after reality tv and their respective quests for love.
“No topic is ever off limits to us, we bare it all” says podcast host, McEvoy.
[Listen to Where’s Your Head At? here]
Season four of What She Did Next
Season four of What She Did Next has launched, with the first episode released on April 6th.
In a brand-new season, host Jacqui Ooi chats with women from different fields and backgrounds who’ve successfully made career changes 10, 20, even 30 years into their careers.
“I’ve made two career changes myself so I know what it feels like to want a new challenge or more flexibility in your work, or to do work that feels more meaningful,” says Ooi.
“Hearing other women’s stories can spark ideas and give us the courage to take that next step. Our podcast features an amazing group of women who’ve made different types of career changes, sharing how they did it, why they did it and their best tips to help other women.”
Upcoming guests include former ABC TV host Jane Hutcheon, who is now ‘creator-in-chief’ of her own communications business, academic turned award winning gin maker Dervilla McGowan of Anther, journalist turned sustainability consultant Tamara Pitelen of Greener Matters, and pharmacist turned ethical fashion designer Chamani Weerasekara of CHAMANI.
[Listen to What She Did Next here]
