Podcasts in the Workplace A Research Project for Acme International, LLC By Wallis Arundel

Introduction Acme International, LLC is a company that provides technological solutions for other companies. We have 450 employees and serve as consultants for over 10,000 companies around the world, but primarily in North America. We need to practice our recommendations while improving relationships within our internal employees. This project is a proposal to achieve that goal.

Solution: Podcasts Reason 1: Podcasts help us learn. We can use podcasts as professional development. Reason 2: Podcasts spread the word. We can use podcasts as a low-cost marketing tool that highlights our strengths as a company. Reason 3: Podcasts can bring departments together in the brainstorming, recording, editing, and consumption phases. This will help us improve inter-departmental collaboration.

1. Podcasts Help Us Learn Podcasts allow people to learn while driving, running errands, or cooking A 2018 study found that information from a podcast was retained more thoroughly than via lecture (Bruster et al 2014) Podcasts are growing in popularity: 20 million people watch Sunday Night Football; 46 million people listen to a podcast weekly (Baer, 2018)

2. Podcasts Spread the Word Anyone can start a podcast! All you need is an idea, a computer, and an internet connection Podcasts and YouTube Channels are democratic – anyone can put an idea out there, and good ideas spread Omaha Research Group portrays the Podcast as the “Essential Marketing Tool” of 2018 (ORG, 2018)

3. Podcasts Bring Us Together 47% of Americans wish they had more time to read, but believe they do have time to listen (Dahl, 2016) People can listen to podcasts instead of taking time to read books and still share their learning Podcasts can replace reading during our busy lives so that we remain informed and continue to grow as individuals

Podcasts at Acme Apply my research to Acme International internally We could produce podcasts to teach each other and foster inter- departmental relationships We could also use podcasts to create opportunities for professional development similar to book clubs Apply my research to Acme International externally Sharing podcasts produced through Acme teams could be spread to new clients and shared on social media Podcast choices could work with our Marketing Team Marketing via Podcast is critical for success

Podcast Examples The $100 MBA Show: https://100mba.net/show/ University educators teach business concepts by using $100 ideas to build a business plan Footnoting History: https://www.footnotinghistory.com/ A series of History PhDs explore tiny stories from history to explain the world as we know it today Criminal (In)Justice from NPR: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/512656781/criminal-in-justice A podcast on challenges facing the American justice system today

Conclusions Podcasts are a democratic institution: anyone can make a podcast and share it on the internet Podcasts help us pursue our company mission of serving the community and bringing our teams closer together Podcasts can spread the word of Acme Industries products by creating interesting ways of speaking about our missions and ideas Let’s use Podcasts at Acme today!

Bibliography Bruster, M. et al (2013). Using Podcasts as an Educational Tool in Research Methods and Intro to Psychology. Georgia Southern University. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1643&co ntext=sotlcommons The Creative Monsters (2018 Apr 16). 4 Reasons Why Podcasting Is An Important Marketing Tool. Omaha Media Group. Retrieved from https://www.omahamediagroup.com/blog/article/4-reasons-why-podcasting- is-an-important-marketing-tool Dahl, M. (2016 Aug 10). To Your Brain, Listening to a Book is Pretty Much the Same as Reading It. The Cut. Retrieved from https://www.thecut.com/2016/08/listening-to-a-book-instead-of-reading-isnt- cheating.html Edison Research (2018 Apr 19). The Podcast Consumer 2018. Retrieved from https://www.edisonresearch.com/podcast-consumer-2018/ Kaplan-Winn, R. (2018 Oct 16). 2018 Podcast Stats & Facts. Podcast Insights. Retrieved from https://www.podcastinsights.com/podcast-statistics/ Supovitz, B. (2018). Nielsen Podcast Insights: A Marketer's Guide to Podcasting. Nielsen Ratings. Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2018- reports/marketeres-guide-to-podcasting-march-2018.pdf