Gary Coichy, CEO of Pod Digital Media, the first multicultural podcast agency network, announced a groundbreaking advertising partnership with McDonald’s. The dynamic new deal launched with custom segments and content featuring McDonald’s offerings in addition to specialized ads targeting diverse young audiences.
The new deal will help McDonald’s connect with Gen Z listeners and their core 35-49 audience in meaningful ways across the Pod Digital Media agency network. The network will support McDonald’s by creating custom content, placing pre-roll, and mid-roll advertisements across the network’s African-American, Asian-American & Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Gen Z, and Esports properties.
“Partners like Pod Digital Media make it possible for McDonald’s to authentically connect with our customers,” said Michael Joiner, Director of US Marketing DEI Strategy, McDonald’s USA. “Diverse-owned media provide opportunities for our fans to see and hear stories told for and by their community, making McDonald’s a place where you can enjoy your favorite meal while feeling seen, heard and respected.”
This announcement follows the launch of the Pod Digital Media app which saw a thirty-percent increase in downloads last summer. Pod Digital Media app users can browse hundreds of shows across the platform hosted by Black, Latino, Asian, and other podcasters of color in more than a dozen categories including sports, health & wellness, news, and more. The PDM app officially launched in the spring of 2021 to further the company’s mission to promote and drive revenue for multicultural podcasts and connect them to blue-chip advertisers and more listeners.
PDM’s growing network of shows includes “Behind the Mask” starring NFL legend Takeo Spikes, “C’mon Son” hosted by rapper and hip-hop personality Ed Lover, and “Black Girl Podcast.”
“My first job as a teenager was working in McDonald’s as a drive-thru cashier and to now work with the brand to amplify Black and other voices is a dream come true,” said Coichy, who was named a Marcom Weekly Powerful Black Leader in Marketing and Media. “We are thrilled to partner with McDonald’s especially in light of the company’s commitment to accelerate advertising investment in diverse-owned media companies that reflect its diverse customers, crew members, and communities.”
Based in New York City, PDM is the first multicultural podcast agency network and a certified minority-owned small business. PDM exclusively caters to podcasters with multicultural audiences and connects them with blue-chip advertisers for long-term, seasonal, and special investments. The agency includes more than 400 podcasts, reaching primarily Black & Hispanic American audience segments, placing ads on their shows and delivering tangible results to advertisers.
PDM previously welcomed Infiniti USA, Capital One, and Ulta Beauty as new clients this year, adding to an impressive portfolio and proven track record of coordinating media partnerships and title sponsors for multicultural podcasters.
