Just read an article on Podbranding in Adotas mentioning Audio Branding and how to do it. One of the examples is from IBM’s Shortcuts - I’m familiar with Shortcuts as I pull the metrics for it.

"Likewise, IBM has created an extremely user-friendly and interactive Podcast in their IBM ShortCuts series that provides weekly tips on making the most out of email, IM, blogs and other online tools. Listeners can contribute their own comments or expertise or put questions to IBM experts. The show lends an approachable and playful voice to Big Blue that demonstrates why IBM stays at the forefront of innovation—they understand that products/services need to communicate to customers on a real level versus relying on business-speak."

Shortcuts is currently on the US Homepage of IBM, usually on the weekends, but  you catch it there today as well.

I find it interesting that authors can use Podcasts to pre-sell their books

"….I think podcasting takes the personal element we are used to in face-to-face interactions and brings it to prospects in a way that was previously not possible for Internet advertisers,” explains Michael Stelzner, author of Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged who is providing a content rich 30-minute audio interview to people who buy his book.

He’s also featuring an Audio Interview as an adjunct to his September newsletter that features music, multiple voices, and teasers about articles to help drive traffic to his content/site: “In the case of both my newsletter and my book, it has bonded me and my readers even closer together. This is something that goes well beyond the written word. It is all about that affinity that only can be communicated through sound.”

I have also met Gregory Galent several times and I may see him in a couple of mintues when I make my way over to the NYC Podcasting Meetup that is going on now:

"Gregory Galant, CEO of RadioTail, a service that provides automatic ad insertion services, notes that, “thousands of podcasts have proven themselves excellent media outlets by focusing on a niche and building a strong relationship with their audiences. Due to the subscription nature of podcasting these audiences are measurable and predicable so you can target your campaign with laser-like focus, track your results and get a great ROI.”

See? You don’t even have to reinvent the wheel. Just spin it."

The point of the article is people are going to listen to something - might as well be your content ….if you have content.