Behind SCA adding a chef’s kiss to Grey Goose Vodka’s Garden Bar
The Studio at SCA has developed a world-first podcast in partnership with Grey Goose Vodka and its agency OMD Create that features 3D augmented reality audio and sonic seasoning to immerse listeners in a virtual garden bar.
The Grey Goose Garden Bar, hosted by Brooke Boney, is designed to offer listeners a smooth and premium tasting experience. It is available on LiSTNR and wherever you get your podcasts.
Podcast Week‘s Trent Thomas caught up with the head of The Studio at SCA Sydney, Luke Parsons about the project.
“It’s unique for a few reasons,” said Parson. “Firstly, it’s recorded and produced all in 3D audio or spatial audio, which is very different. How we hear audio is just linear, right? Whereas 3D audio and spatial audio gives you dimensions – think of it as VR for audio. It’s a huge revolution. We’ve been working on it for four years doing R&D because it’s a very different way to write. It’s a very different way to direct because you have got to think of the different space. It’s like writing for the theatre nearly. You have got to know that the character is going to go there.”
Sonic seasoning has been used by some of the world’s top restaurants and is designed to make use of the fifth sense of hearing. Low-frequency sounds have been scientifically proven to add bitterness to food, with higher frequencies bringing out the sweetness. This is the first time in the world that sonic seasoning has been applied to a drink, with bespoke soundtracks composed to complement the flavour of each cocktail. Parsons said that a project like this was a good fit for the LiSTNR brand.
“We’ve got to be understanding where the consumers are going, so we’ve got to be on the cutting edge of technology that makes their experience of audio different and unique. 3D audio makes sense because it’s new, it’s a unique listening experience, it’s more engaging, it’s just a better overall experience for the consumer, which is obviously more effective for the client. We’re the first ones in Australia to jump on 3D audio which takes a lot of R&D, if you’re going to execute it correctly. There’s a lot of people that you claim to be doing it but it takes a lot to execute it well.”
Parsons said that it took up to four years of R&D to get a project like this off the ground.
“All of those years we were spent trying to understand how to record it properly – because there are all these different ways you can record – but mainly scripting. We’re used to linear right? This is what happens and you talk straight into the mic and it’s fine. But when you’ve got a sound coming from the right to the left, how do you record that appropriately? It’s basically foley but with equipment that is recording in 3D. For this project we had a pretty big crew and we’re able to do it within four weeks, which is remarkably quick for something like this, but it’s because of all the training that we had. On set we had two studios, we had three directors, we had a writer, we had a composer, we had a runner, we had a producer. So it’s nearly like how films are constructed.”
This is one of the most innovative commercial campaigns of the year, but you can’t have a commercial campaign without a client, and Parsons said that a Grey Goose were an easy partner to work with on such a big project.
“Clients normally take the plunge and then there’s a step where they get fearful, and then it gets really quite awkward. I can’t tell you how brave Stephanie Sarantakos the marketing manager from Grey Goose was. She was really constructive. She was really open to understanding what is 3D and what is sonic seasoning. Once we showed her, she really bought into it and went along the journey with us.”
Podcast Ranker: November
Triton Digital has released its Podcast Ranker for November which has remained fairly steady overall.
ARN/iHeartMedia, LiSTNR (SCA) and Audioboom continue to be the top three publishers in the Podcast Ranker with ARN/iHeartMedia #1 with over 3 million listeners and almost 14 million downloads.
The Top 100 Ranker and Top 100 All-Australian Ranker remain unchanged at the top with the top four podcasts holding firm. Casefile True Crime (Audioboom) was #1 followed by Hamish & Andy (LiSTNR – SCA) and, Life Uncut with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne (ARN/iHeartMedia), and The Update (Nova).
The top radio show in the Podcast Ranker was The Kyle & Jackie O Show at #5 with 444,258 monthly listeners and over 2 million downloads.
The biggest riser was My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark which moved up 30 spots after registering 204,179 listeners and 722,721 downloads.
The highest-ranking program by Schwartz Media was 7am which came in at #6, this was the first ranker that the show was represented by LiSTNR after a new deal by Schwartz and SCA.
The highest-ranking program by News Corp was I Catch Killers with Gary Jubelin which is up three spots to #8. Jubelin has been in the news more of late due to the William Tyrell case which he was the lead investigator on.
Total downloads of all shows by all participating publishers in the month of November was 58m.
Commercial Radio Australia launches website for Australian Podcast Ranker
A new website for the Australian Podcast Ranker goes live December 15 at australianpodcastranker.com with the release of the November ranker.
The new site features more information on individual podcasts including show descriptions, publisher and sales representation. The Ranker provides insight into the Top 100 Podcasts as well as the Top 10 Publishers in Australia from the first through the last day of a month, as measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service.
“The site is designed to make it easy for advertisers and agencies to get information and data on Australia’s top podcasts in one place,” Commercial Radio Australia chief executive officer Joan Warner said.
The site will be updated when the latest ranker results are released each month and offers users the ability to search by podcast category or publisher and sort results by either monthly listeners or monthly downloads.
The website was developed by Triton Digital and additional features and functionality will be added throughout 2022 to help inform ad spend decisions.
Acast Australia hires Daisy Smith as Automation Director
Acast has hired Daisy Smith as automation director for the region. Joining the team from Nielsen, Smith will lead Acast’s programmatic advertising offering locally, as the company continues to pioneer automated ad buying for agencies and direct clients.
Since 2017, Acast has operated in the programmatic ad buying space for podcasting — and the company’s most recent financial results showed programmatic sales growth of 263% in Q3-2021 versus Q3-2020.
With experience including Multi Channel Network (MCN) and WooliesX, Smith most recently spent three years with Nielsen — in roles both in Australia and the UK — specialising in audio, using data and tech to facilitate a deeper understanding of listeners to help publishers better monetise their audience and inventory. For the past nine months, Smith worked on the relaunch of the Nielsen Data Marketplace in Australia.
On the appointment Smith said: “Our Automated offering is well established globally, so I’m looking forward to working with key strategic partners across Australia and New Zealand to align this with the needs of our local market. My role is to help our buyers understand how effective programmatic advertising can be within podcasting — because the medium offers unique opportunities for brands of all shapes and sizes.”
The Guardian announces cricket podcast partnership with The Final Word
The Guardian will team up with The Final Word during this year’s Ashes series, with hosts Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon joined by Guardian cricket writer Emma John for a sharp and light-hearted spin on each day’s play.
Released soon after stumps, episodes of The Final Word Ashes Daily will give listeners a lyrical first-person summary of the day from John, who will follow the action through the night from London. Collins and Lemon will add their take direct from the grounds as they follow the action across Australia.
“We will be at every day of the Ashes by hook or by crook,” said Lemon. “Nobody knows where some of the Test matches are even going to be, but we will be there. We will find a way to bring listeners reports from the ground each day.”
The Guardian teamed up with The Final Word during the 2017-18 Ashes, while John helmed The Guardian’s much-loved The Spin podcast during the 2019-20 series.
[Listen to The Final Word Ashes Daily here]
Guardian Australia launches new summer podcast
Top Australian authors will reflect on the ideas that shape their work in Guardian Australia’s new summer podcast series, Book It In.
The weekly series will run across the summer months, taking listeners deep into authors’ worlds, as they reflect on the rich and complex interplay between books, ideas and culture.
Each episode will feature an in-depth conversation with the likes of Tara June Winch, Thomas Mayor, Tony Birch, Kathryn Heyman, Debi Marshall, Marion Frith, Paul Cleary, Emily Bitto, Rawah Arja and Alice Pung.
They will speak with one of three rotating hosts: Guardian Australia features editor Lucy Clark; author and journalist Paul Daley; and writer and editor Zoya Patel.
“This is more than a chat about a book,” said Clark. “Three experienced interviewers, all from very different backgrounds, dig deep to try to untangle the problems, issues, joys and quirks that make us human, make us want to read and stop to think about what books teach us.
“Listeners can expect thoughtful conversations that challenge our assumptions and perspectives. They’ll be invited into a space where they can really think and enjoy what literature gives us.”
