Kiptronic

Sector: podcasting sponsorship network
Headquarters: San Francisco, CA
Management: Jonathan Cobb, CEO and founder. Former DJ and General Manager of KWUR 90.3FM.
Funding: private
Secret Sauce: Sponsorship network engine to help podcasters find sponsors and incorporate them into their podcasts. Kiptronic enables podcasters to take advantage of advertising opportunities without giving up control of content. The Kiptronic Podcast Marketplace features insertion technology that allows podcasters to use the ads they want without being too intrusive to the podcast. Podcasters don’t have to manually insert ads into their content because Kiptronic automates the process. Advertisers can access targeted podcasts tailored for their specific message and in a geographically appropriate location.
Seen and Heard: This month, Kiptronic announced a partnership with Podarama Studios, which says they have 1.3 million subscribers and 3.5 million listeners. The partnership means the Podarama podcasters can automatically use Kiptronic’s services. In January, Kiptronic and podcasting powerhouse LibSyn did the same thing. TNC New Media Founder and CEO Tim Bourquin said several aggregation networks such as Radiotail, Podziger an Kiptronic can make the job of ads for podcasts easier. A good article here on Adrants says: “Mostly, the big hurdle for the pocast medium is getting advertisers to understand there’s nothing wrong with small audiences. The industry has already bought into the notion of nice audiences. Podcasts simply extend that notion exponentially. And as Tim Bourquin said in answer to an audience member who said he would not be able to get his client interested in such a small audience, if an IT advertiser could advertise on a podcast with only three people and those three people were Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison, the concern would be put to rest. And that, my friends, is what podcasting can deliver.” I haven’t seen too much coverage about Kiptronic in mainstream media, but lots of blog (and of course podcast) mentions. Here is an older interview with founder Cobb.