Pivot to Video—Vox Media Brings Its Podcast to Salesforce+

A partnership announced Wednesday morning is giving new meaning to the phrase pivot to video. Starting in early 2022, the Vox Media podcast Pivot will go on-camera and clips of the footage will air exclusively on the new streaming platform from Salesforce—called Salesforce+—for 72 hours. As part of the partnership, Salesforce will become the presenting sponsor of Pivot video throughout 2022, though specific financial details of the arrangement were not disclosed. The deal represents the first collaboration between a publisher and Salesforce+, which bills itself as the Netflix for business content. Launched in September, the streaming service logged over 1 million viewing sessions in its first month, according to president and CMO Sarah Franklin. It wouldn't share more specific audience metrics. The platform does not require a subscription, nor has it begun running advertisements. “We built Salesforce+ to be an informative, inspiring channel for the business and tech community and few shows reach that audience better than Pivot,” Franklin told Adweek. “We want to take advantage of that." The partnership is the latest effort from Vox Media to reach audiences on streaming services and turn the booming universe of video-streaming into a significant source of revenue. The media company has sold 50 projects in the last 18 months to streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple, according to The Information. Reaching prospective Salesforce customers Cohosted by veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher and New York University professor Scott Galloway, the twice weekly podcast Pivot explores issues at the intersection of technology and business. As part of the tie-up, conversations between Swisher and Galloway will now be filmed and four clips per week from the discussions will live exclusively on Salesforce+ for 72 hours. After that, Vox Media will be able to distribute the footage freely, such as on YouTube or its newly launched linear channel on Roku. Pivot reaches a consumer audience of business professionals, an attractive demographic of potential customers for Salesforce, said Vox Media CRO Ryan Pauley. The two groups have significant overlap, making the content-sharing agreement an effective way for both companies to expand their reach. “Pivot and Salesforce+ both over-index on business and tech professionals, so I couldn’t imagine a better match,” Pauley said. “Plus, we have wanted to expand Pivot to new formats for a while, and this partnership provided us that opportunity.” A changing distribution market Publishers need to reach audiences where they consume content, which increasingly happens on streaming platforms, said Eunice Shin, a partner at the digital growth consultancy Prophet. “If you are a publisher, you are looking at how you find distribution in a world that’s controlled by social media platforms and streaming platforms,” Shin said. “To figure out monetization, digital media companies have to reinvent themselves as production companies and produce content for the people who are distributing directly to consumers.” New York Times Audio Could Spur a Realignment of the Podcasting Landscape As a result, many publishers have begun reorienting to create content that streaming services––hungry for quality programming to meet rising demand for video––can then acquire and distribute. For publishers, these deals act as a source of much-needed revenue and potential new audience. In return, streaming services gain exposure to a built-in viewership and a fresh source of original content. The deal with Pivot, which entails minimal production costs because the content is already being created, also acts as a low-lift experiment that allows the company to gauge the value of striking similar agreements in the future. Salesforce+ acts as a content-marketing vehicle Salesforce+ more closely resembles a content marketing effort than an entertainment-based streaming service like Netflix or Hulu, Shin said. Its original programming, such as Connections, The Inflection Point and Boss Talks, serve to drive engagement and positive association for the software company, rather than convince viewers to continue paying a monthly subscription. Salesforce+ also serves as the homebase for Salesforce’s live-streamed events, such as Dreamforce NY, which runs Thursday, Dec. 9. Like other companies, Salesforce has adapted to the pandemic by making its events hybrid. With Salesforce+, the company will have a dedicated home for its live-stream content. Vox Media’s Jim Bankoff Touts Audio Investment as Key to the Company’s Evolution “Salesforce is not worrying about the things that other streamers are thinking about––customer acquisition, algorithmic recommendations––they’re just capitalizing on the fact that video content engages incredibly well,” Shin said. “They’re giving customers another reason to think positively about Salesforce, and they’re doing it with business content that has a built-in audience.”

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Pivot to Video—Vox Media Brings Its Podcast to Salesforce+

The tech podcast Pivot will share four exclusive clips weekly on the ‘Netflix for business content’

Mark Stenberg

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