Barack Obama didn't get there first

I'd had enough of playing Robbie Williams and George Benson. The time for a change had come. I'd been thinking it long before Barack Obama said it out loud. Yes, there'd been some compensations in being a radio presenter; the interviews it had allowed me to do. Sir Ian McKellen, Sharleen Spiteri, The Beautiful South etc etc. I could go on. Some of them did. Along the way, I'd met my now business partner and erstwhile Australian, Colin McGinness. As someone steeped in broadcasting production ( and with a Sony under his belt ), Colin's creative muse is almost always on the go. After an arduous day of podcast and radio ad production, he spends many an evening hunched over his home studio, producing music and writing sketches for our "hobby" comedy podcast Waiting for Death.

I remember clearly the point at which Wonkana Productions went from being a smorgasbord of "what if's" to a living, breathing start up. Just over 18 months ago, we were viewing the BBCs use of podcasting with great intrigue. Then came the phenomenal success of The Guardian's Ricky Gervais podcast. Download statistics read like Australian telephone numbers. Surely it was possible to take this medium and fashion it into a new and powerful marketing tool for both external and internal communications in all kinds of business. We had no shortage of professional voice overs and presenters in our midst, we could write scripts and music and I had the interview skills to get the best from a company's CEO or newest recruit. Like an HGV driver using satnav, our first order took us in a completely unexpected direction., With a respected sports journalist acting as go between, Littlewoodspoker.com signed up for the first professionally produced poker podcast "The Pokercast". Now available on their website, itunes and other podcast directories, he says, deploying the obligatory plug. As we close out our first year, we've been working with a number of PR agencies to service their clients. One of them is the Bristol Enterprise Network, whose event Entrepreneur's Question Time has now drawn 35,000 downloads as an audio podcast. Greater awareness, more new business and more repeat business - that's what this medium can bring. We even make broadcast standard video.

Networking has of course been one of our priorities as a new business and whilst the BNIs, BRXs and every other acronym under the sun have their place, I can honestly say Enterprise Club is invaluable. Well run events and no costly membership make it a great way for business to spread its wings. I've now been able to put into practice some of the techniques and devices demonstrated at Enterprise Club seminars. It's surely no coincidence that we're just in the process of picking up a handful of new clients.
As many other businesses, Wonkana Productions laughs in the face of the credit crunch, thanks in part to the knowledgeable and supportive work of the University. And just in case you're wondering, it means "happy hunting ground" in Aboriginal. Wonkana, not the credit crunch.

The devil's in the detail

The title of today's prosaic meanderings came to me as a result of a meeting. This was, however, no ordinary meeting. As any self respecting new business ( and some older ones ) will know all too well, you will not get to see the CEO of the company you are pitching too. Certainly not on the first tryst. Unless you're fortunate enough to have met them at a "networking opportunity". Now I know that term conjures up images up lukewarm bacon sandwiches in Godawful hotels (c) Robert Craven or even "coffee, a piss and fag" as one less than effective radio manager puts it. Not so at the Enterprise Club at the University of Northampton. David Thomson, CEO of Best Deal Insurance had just given a presentation titled "Close that Sale". No suprise then that half the room wanted to combine a handshake with their business card a la Alan Partridge. Happily, I didn't give a paper cut to anyone from Nestle or any other confectioners. What did happen was a fortuitous and cordial chat with David, a self made businessman who embodies drive and a "can do" spirit. One conversation with him is like sipping on neat adrenaline. So meet we did in the impressive Best Deal HQ and pick over the power of podcasting. I was even made a cup of tea. By the CEO. Why shouldn't you go straight to the top? What's stopping you? You've got the organisation where the decision making and purse strings lie. For the best deals in insurance, I've no doubt it's Best Deal Insurance. For smart, compelling and professional podcasting, it's http://www.wonkanaproductions.com