One night, the Director of Public Relations at Whirlpool saw her husband doing something odd. He was listening to a recording of a program that sounded like radio, only it wasn’t on radio. After Audrey Reed-Granger listened to her husband describe what a podcast is, she decided to produce one for Whirlpool.
Not only did Audrey make podcasting history by becoming one of the first consumer goods corporations to launch a podcast in 2005, but she silenced many of her critics who thought she’d fall flat on her face for focusing on issues rather than promoting products.
The success with The American Family Podcast (what the Whirlpool podcast is called) is all in the numbers. Audrey reported at a conference that the Whirlpool podcast went from 800 downloads to 70,000 in just 12-months. Her return on investment for all those ears? Just under $140 on podcasting equipment.
Audrey Reed-Granger is one of my picks as a top 10 savvy woman in podcasting.
Technorati: women in podcasting, women, women in technology, top 10, podcasting
I am glad to hear Audrey is still going strong at Whirlpool. I interviewed her for my Trafcom News Podcast last fall, not long after she started the Whirlpool American Family podcast. I was very impressed with her energy and enthusiasm, and I always use The American Family podcast as an example in my webinars and podcasting workshops.
Great work, Audrey. And good on you, Leesa, for recognizing Audrey’s brilliance. 😉
This is just a great story. I remember reading it last year as well (maybe in BusinessWeek?).
I think I also read that just a few days after finding out what a podcast was, she marched into the office and announced a plan for the Whirlpool was. No spending months tossing it around in a committee.
Audrey had the vision, and she’s executing brilliantly!