How the Penny Dropped for Matty J
Earlier this month, LiSTNR announced the launch of a new podcast: The Penny Drops, a show that follows Matthew ‘Matty J’ Johnson in his quest to understand the world of finance.
The series is sponsored by CommBank, and aims to take millennial audiences along for the ride on Johnson’s mission to become more financially savvy.
Podcast Week’s Trent Thomas caught up with Johnson about what he learnt from working The Penny Drops.
Johnson said that since doing The Babble for Nova that he had wanted to get back into podcasting and was inspired by his wife Laura Byrnes who hosts Life Uncut.
“I’ve always wanted to do another podcast. Looking at Laura and what she’s done in the space. I just haven’t known the right topic. Originally I thought I might want to do something about parenting. I found finance by accident, I was already in a position where I had two kids and was in my 30s and wanted to buy a house. I needed to start figuring out what I was doing with my money.
“I was listening to other podcasts and they were really informative but found it hard to digest the information because I felt like I needed a bit of entertainment with it as well. Serendipitously, CommBank reached out and I was like why don’t we do a podcast together? Based on the fact that I’m trying to figure out my finances and we could do a series where I meet with these experts each week and they love the idea.”
Johnson will talk to experts from CommBank, as well as experts in particular fields, like financial commentator Effie Zahos, financial planner Adam Montana, and Elisabeth Shaw, CEO of Relationships Australia.
Johnson said that he has come at the topics with a complete layman’s point of view.
“Before I started the podcast my knowledge was as basic as you can get. The only thing I knew was don’t spend more than what you earn. That was the only rule of thumb that I was abiding by. The show has absolutely changed my perception of finance, and more than anything, it’s just something that I now give attention to. I would only really look at my finances in detail when it came to tax time. And outside of that, I didn’t want to know about it. Now, Laura and I have a sit down every Sunday where we talk about where we’re currently at and how we’re doing. Now finances are something that I check in on every single week.”
Johnson said the enjoyed working with his wife who appeared on episodes one and two.
“I dragged Laura into this experience. She didn’t realise it at the time, but for a few episodes we were recording at home snd I was like, you need to jump on this with me, which was a bit of a last-minute call and she wasn’t even aware of it. But it was great to have her input as well. She’s someone who’s really successful in the podcasting space. To get her wisdom and to together and bounce off each other was quite nice as well.”
Johnson said that he hopes that there is a second season of the show so that he can continue to build his knowledge of finance.
“There’s so much more that you could talk about with financing. We only just skimmed the surface here. I would love to do a second season, partly because it would also benefit my own personal situation, the more we learn, the better off we are with Laura as a couple. It all kind of depends on how people receive the podcast. I’m hoping that it’s something that everyone’s going to enjoy and we have an audience, if we do I think coming back to season two would be great.”
[Listen to The Penny Drops here]
Adam Ferrier and Brent Smart talk marketing for LiSTNR
Two of Australia’s best-known creative professionals, Thinkerbell’s Adam Ferrier and IAG chief marketing officer Brent Smart, have come together to celebrate creativity in marketing in their new podcast on LiSTNR, Black T-Shirts.
In each episode, the adland staple black t-shirt wearing duo Ferrier and Smart will go deep on 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.
Ferrier is a multi-award-winning advertising creative strategist and founder of celebrated agency Thinkerbell. He is also a leading consumer psychologist, and authority on behavioural economics. He is the author of Stop Listening to the Customer and The Advertising Effect, and a regular on shows such as Gruen, Sunrise, and The Project.
Smart spent 20 years in agencies, leading NZ agency of the decade Colenso BBDO and rising to CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi New York. In 2017, he moved client side, becoming CMO at IAG, where he has taken the NRMA Insurance brand from 36th strongest brand in Australia to 5th according to Brand Finance, and won the coveted Grand Effie last year. Smart is also one of the world’s most creatively awarded CMOs.
[Listen to Black T-Shirts here]
The Australian launches weekday news podcast, The Front
The Australian has announced the launch of a weekday news podcast, The Front.
The Australian’s first daily news podcast, The Front is bringing the journalism of Australia’s national broadsheet to on-demand audio.
Hosted by The Australian’s editorial director Claire Harvey, the 15-minute podcast will feature each day’s page one stories, journalists’ take on the issues, and behind-the-scenes insight from The Australian’s newsrooms.
Claire Harvey
“Everything we do at The Australian is about storytelling – and The Front is an exciting chance to introduce our journalists to new audiences,” said Harvey.
“Every day our newsrooms hum with debate and discussion as we work out how to break news and bring it to life. I feel really lucky to be able to talk every day with this passionate bunch of journos and to share those conversations with everyone.”
From politics to world news and society, a range of experts from The Australian will be contributing to The Front including the likes of Yoni Bashan, Troy Bramston, Trent Dalton, Nikki Gemmell, Jessica Halloran, Paul Kelly, Sharri Markson, Rosemary Neill, Caroline Overington, Cameron Stewart, Paige Taylor, and Hedley Thomas.
2021 Quills: Podcasting winner
At the Melbourne Press Club’s Quill Awards last week, Genevieve Alison, Ashley Argoon, Andrea Thiis-Evensen, and Jon Burton of the Herald Sun won the 2021 Podcasting Quill for their series Class Act.
The Quill judges commented: Class Act demonstrated the increasing symbiotic relationship between print and podcast journalism. The story broke and evolved in print but was intentionally developed beyond that medium. The team identified that a podcast could extend the depth of the story through various voices and bring it all together – the reverse order storytelling, from court case back, was a clever way to do that. The podcast sourced first-hand accounts from former students who demonstrated a love and healthy respect for the teacher before the court – while unpacking the broader views of those who worked alongside him to gain a fulsome perspective on his character. In a quality field of diverse entries, the judges singled out Class Act for its extremely balanced journalism, depth of research and innovative approach to telling this story – the impact of which was both significant and long lasting.
Highly commended in the category was:
Mahmood Fazal, ABC Radio National, The infiltrator who helped hatch a terror plot
Other Quill Podcast finalists:
Bethany Atkinson-Quinton and Madison Griffiths, Broadwave, Tender: Roia Atmar
John Silvester, Margaret Gordon, Anu Hasbold, and Cormac Lally, The Age, Naked City
Andrea Thiis-Evensen (right) with Class Act colleagues Jon Burton and Genevieve Alison and their Quill Award
Binge lifts the veil on Skip Intro
Foxtel Group streaming platform Binge launched a weekly podcast called Skip Intro earlier this year. But the brand has only just started promoting the series after being happy with the way the format has settled. Hosts are Binge executive director Alison Hurbert-Burns and Binge head of content John Beohm. The two used to work at Stan and are now working their content magic at the Foxtel Group-owned entertainment streaming platform that offers impressive value from $10 monthly. The free podcast features quality behind the scenes too – former Mediaweek deputy editor Dan Barrett is the Skip Intro producer.
Dropping episodes every Thursday, the aim of the podcast is to help listeners navigate to the world’s best TV and movies.
Hurbert-Burns told Mediaweek the podcast name felt right because people accessing programming on Binge, Netflix and other services are very familiar with the “skip intro” instructions at the start of an episode. “The words skip intro allow the listener to get straight into the show and that’s what this podcast does, allowing people to skip past some of the clutter out there.
“We want to talk about some of the shows that aren’t just the big, noisy things. We will talk about the biggest programming that has launched that week, but we look past that for many other gems too.”
The co-host stressed it’s not a review podcast. “Sometimes there are things one of us might love, but that view might not be shared by the other. The podcast has to be authentic for people to listen to it.
“We are here to solve a problem. People are overwhelmed by choice. We just want to direct listeners to the cool stuff whether it be drama or unscripted, TV or movies.”
Binge has been a partner in some of Foxtel Group’s original series commissions, including the drama Love Me, which is now in Binge’s all-time top 10 most-watched list. Warner Bros TV has recently sold Love Me to the US where it screens on Hulu from April 1. Another Binge-led commission is the recently announced Colin from Accounts romantic comedy created, written by and starring Patrick Brammall.
Time to travel? London’s Podcast Show
London’s Podcast Show 2022 is planning to welcome 6,000 people in person to the event catering for industry professionals, independent podcast creators, business leaders, emerging talent and fans. The festival will take place across two days at The Business Design Centre in Islington, London on 25 & 26 May 2022.
The Podcast Show 2022 is promising 150 in-person panels and sessions with industry leaders, discussing everything from what commissioners, ad buyers and potential funders are looking for, through to best-in-class marketing campaigns, how to succeed and how to avoid a flop. Sessions are planned for people at every stage in their audio careers, whether just starting out or seasoned professionals.
Delegates are being offered international networking opportunities with executives and decision makers, offering a chance to be face-to-face with some of the biggest global organisations in the podcasting world, all showcasing many aspects of their business at the show with activation stages and more. Brands confirmed include Spotify, Amazon Music, Acast, BBC Sounds, Global, Wondery, Sony Music Entertainment, Audioboom, Anchor, Megaphone, Podnews, IAB UK, Insanity Group, The Guardian and Broadcast.
With over 350 speakers, attendees will hear from award-winning creatives, podcasters and rising stars. Recent additions to the programme include Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, alongside Happy Place’s Fearne Cotton; Wondery’s CEO Jen Sargent; Acast’s CEO Ross Adams; Tolani, Audrey and Milena from Spotify exclusive podcast The Receipts; My Dad Wrote a Porno, The Observer’s audio critic Miranda Sawyer, Podnews’ James Cridland, BBC’s Nihal Arthanayake and Soundtracking’s Edith Bowman.
Other partners include Audible, Audioboom, Sony Music Entertainment, Patreon, Marshall, Wondery, Fresh Air Productions, Shure, Triton Digital, Dolby, AdsWizz, Anchor and Megaphone. Media and content partners include Somethin’ Else, Pod Bible, Podnews, The Guardian, Broadcast, The Radio Academy, AudioUK, IAB UK, Student Radio Association and Insanity Group.
POPSUGAR launches podcast Dinner For Two, with Alyce Tran
Alyce Tran has partnered with POPSUGAR Australia and Vistaprint to create Dinner For Two, a podcast that shares the story of The Daily Edited over a series of eight episodes, each with its own theme. From how to start a brand, how to market your product, how to launch into physical retail, how to take on investment, how to lead a team and more.
Tran sits down with a different guest in each episode where they each share their knowledge and insights, answering the most common questions that come up when launching a small business, or about being a small business owner.
The series features Pip Edwards, co-founder and director at P.E Nation, Shelley Barrett, CEO at Model Co, Adrian Norris, CEO & co-founder at Aje, former Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, and founder of Reliquia Collective, Ana Piteira.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age launch Enough
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have launched a new podcast examining mental illness among Australia’s youth.
The powerful six-part podcast series called Enough, from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s journalists Jewel Topsfield and Sophie Aubrey, delves deep into the hearts and minds of our youth to reveal the extent of mental health issues in Australia, what led them into their illness and how they’re dealing with it.
Youth mental health issues have been on the steady rise for years. Before COVID-19 almost half of Australians aged 18-24 were experiencing psychological distress. But since the pandemic, experts say rates have skyrocketed.
Available on all major platforms, each episode of Enough will focus on a specific mental illness topic including anxiety, eating disorders, LGBTQI+ mental health, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.
Episode one centres on depression, an illness that one in seven people will experience in their lifetime. But telling the difference between teenage angst and a depressive illness can be challenging.
Featuring moving episodes with youth talking candidly about their experiences, the episode also delves into the shockingly high prevalence of mental illness in Indigenous youths. Researchers say anxiety in Indigenous Australia is disproportionately represented.
The Daily Aus launches podcast with editor Billi Fitzsimons
The Daily Aus has followed the launch of the election podcast series Young, Dumb & Informed last year, with a new podcast, No Silly Questions, hosted by The Daily Aus’ editor Billi Fitzsimons.
Fitzsimons commented on the launch on twitter: “The Daily Aus launched a new podcast today! It’s called No Silly Questions and it’s all about breaking down the big issues for young people in the lead-up to the Federal Election. Listen here: spoti.fi/3trYXxU #auspol”
This follows Fitzsimons appointment earlier this month to the editor position at The Daily Aus.
[Listen to No Silly Questions here]
Finder announces House of Tech with Senator Andrew Bragg
Finder has announced the launch of its podcast series, House of Tech, in collaboration with Senator Andrew Bragg.
The podcast is co-hosted by Finder Founder Fred Schebesta (right) and Senator Andrew Bragg (left), who are both passionate about innovation and the future of Australia’s economy. The podcast covers the cross-section of policy and business, with a founder and a politician at the helm of the conversation.
The hosts will be joined by business leaders from various industries, from Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen to Artificial Intelligence expert Dr Catriona Wallace.
The six-part podcast series, consisting of 30-minute episodes, is an Australian-first collaboration between a sitting federal government member and a global fintech leader.
To celebrate its launch, a non-fungible token (NFT) artwork has been created in line with the House of Tech theme. The NFT will also include an exclusive lunch with Schebesta and the Senator, and will be auctioned off with funds raised going towards the First Nations Foundation.
[Listen to House of Tech here]
Triton Digital releases February New Zealand Podcast Ranker
Triton Digital has released the New Zealand Podcast Ranker for February 2022. The Ranker provides insight into the top 100 Podcasts as well as the top networks in New Zealand from 1 February through 28 February, 2022.
The Top 100 Podcast Ranker and Top Network Ranker are ranked by monthly listeners, in accordance with the latest IAB Podcast Technical Measurement Guidelines.
See More: Triton Digital announces it will provide podcast reports in New Zealand
There has been a big shakeup in the top three this month, with all three pods being published by NZME/iHeartRadio/ARN. Taking #1 after rising 11 places is Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive, while The Mike Hosking Breakfast has risen seven places to take #2. Falling from second to third this month is Fletch, Vaughan & Hayley on ZM.
The biggest rise came from Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby (also NZME/iHeartRadio/ARN) who shot up 48 places to land at #10. The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin rose 42 places to #57 and Kerre McIvor Mornings Podcast rose 41 places to finish at #41.
New podcasts debuting on the ranker this month include She’s On The Money ranking at #15, Jase & Lauren at #18, Life Uncut with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne at #22, Toni and Ryan at #29, and The Kyle & Jackie O Show at #37.
There has been a 30% increase in total downloads of all shows by all participating publishers in the month of February with the ranker recording a huge total of 7.5M downloads.
The top-ranked publisher is in New Zealand is NZME/iHeartRadio/ARN by a significant amount, with 4,868,646 monthly downloads and 932,431 monthly listeners. In second is Stitcher Media, followed by Audioboom. Rounding out the top five are Kast Media and MediaWorks Radio Limited.
