Zenith Media's report, "Podcasting 101: The Future of Radio or The Latest 8-Track?," takes a look at the history, viability and advertising potential of podcasting. Here are some important points from the POV paper:

As Americans move toward a society built upon on-demand information, it is crucial that advertisers take note of existing "one-to-one" relationships. Podcasting allows for audio to be efficiently distributed to a highly targeted audience.

Once downloaded, podcasts can be stored on one's computer or transferred to a digital music player. For heavy users of digital music players, podcasts provide an alternative to their music library and increase one's diversity of audio options through access to daily updates from news/information sources such as NPR or the BBC.

There are several options available for advertisers to enter the podcasting space:

Audio Spots: Using the traditional radio advertising model, audio commercials can be inserted into podcast programming. These ads, however, may be viewed as obtrusive to listeners, who could skip over them easily with their MP3 devices.

Sponsorships: As a presenting sponsor, advertisers could underwrite entire podcasts

Owning Your Own: Advertisers could produce their own podcast devoted to their brands, which could provide exclusive information to listeners. The podcast link could be housed on a client's existing website.

Building an Online Community: Advertisers have an opportunity to provide a message space where users have an opportunity to post experiences relating to a specific product/lifestyle

Podcasting is here today. The question is: will it be here tomorrow? In the overly saturated world of marketing, a new technology may represent a flash-in-the pan advertising opportunity, or an opportunity that could generate as much awareness through the PR it may generate. It can also provide an excellent way of being first-in to secure a heritage position (as Zenith was able to do with satellite radio six years ago when it signed a multi-year deal with XM).

In today's on-demand environment, more consumers are seeking out content that appeals to them and are reading, watching, and listening on their own schedules. Podcasting is the latest way to enable consumers to fulfill their growing appetite for specialized audio programming. As bloggers have turned the journalism world upside down and have given a voice and power to the individual, podcasting is emerging as the latest platform to fill gaps in audio news, information, and entertainment programming that big media cannot afford to offer at this point. Advertisers need to keep up with the consumers as they migrate away from traditional mass media in order to reach these people, who are seen as early adopters and opinion leaders. Advertisers who embrace the new technology and communicate to consumers in meaningful ways through podcasts may be viewed as innovators, forward thinking, cutting edge, and the envy of the neighborhood.

At an anticipated low cost of entry, podcasting provides advertisers an opportunity to enhance radio's existing "one-to-one" relationship with its target audience. Since a template for advertising has not been established at this time, advertisers have an opportunity to help create one, and leverage podcasting's potential as an additional touchpoint. We believe the upside potential could be significant, while the downside is pocket change by comparison