Audio research firm Signal Hill Insights announced that veteran podcast researcher Paul Riismandel has joined the company as its new chief insights officer, according to a press release published by Podnews.
Riismandel’s new position is part of Signal Hill’s expansion into podcast measurement and his responsibilities in the new role will include furthering innovation in that area, as well as researching and analysing ad effectiveness and audience insights.
“I’m thrilled that Paul has agreed to join us as a senior partner,” said president and founder of Signal Hill Insights Jeff Vidler. “The podcast industry is hitting an inflexion point as more major brands are coming into the medium looking to understand how to best harness the power of podcasting. No one has Paul’s passion for finding research insights to move podcast advertising forward and no one but Paul has the experience to make that happen."
Coming from his latest role as senior director of insights and podcast advertising research lead at SXM Media - audio powerhouse and combined sales organisation of Sirius XM holdings - Riismandel brings in over eight years of podcasting knowledge to Signal Hill Insights.
He is considered one of the first researchers in podcast advertising, having worked at Midroll Media since 2014 as the director of marketing and insights, and oversaw hundreds of studies on the effectiveness of advertising that lead him to build and establish the marketing and research strategy behind the company’s podcast advertising business.
Riismandel also co-founded Radio Survivor, a news and opinion website on radio, broadcasting, and podcasts, in 2009 and started co-hosting the weekly Radio Survivor Podcast in 2015 which explores the future of community media.
“I’m excited to take podcast research to the next level,” said Riismandel. “I’ve worked with Signal Hill as a client, and I know first-hand the expertise and acumen they bring to market. I’ve always thought of Signal Hill as the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of podcast measurement, because of their innovative thinking and can-do approach to solving even the toughest analytic questions.
“In particular, I’m looking forward to developing a predictive performance model with Signal Hill that would advise advertisers and publishers on how to optimise their podcast strategy, even before launch.”
