Josef Jaffe puts it well when he describes podcasting as an opportunity to be daring; a way for marketers to plunge into the experimentation of emerging media. "The rawness of it, the humanity of it, and the ability to do something that’s never been done before," he says is very important for marketers. I was reminded of his comment when I saw the news of WB launching into an experiment called Studio 2.0, a short-film division where ad content would integrate with programming.

In one of Jaffee’s podcasts (#49), his guest Adam Curry discusses how agencies took a long time to recognize that there was a better way to deliver content. Curry and Ron Bloom were streaming content way back then before broadband, using CuSeeMe (does anyone remember that?) which was the genesis of their new media company today.

The point, to be taken from all this is that engaging in risky business should be integral to marketing, or else, we will be doing something other than marketing. It’s about getting out of our comfort zone. But i meet dozens of marketing or communications people whose main complaint is that their bosses or their clients are totally risk averse, and slap them on the wrists for even trying something outlandish. Others want to wait until ‘the idea has been fleshed out better’ for fear that it would get shot down. That perfect time never comes, and the opportunity vanishes –in the direction of the competition.

So it’s about time we began rooting for the things that focus groups don’t tell us, the ideas that 8 out of 10 people (often in the office) say will surely fail because it’s way too risky.

So let’s re-instate the discomfort zone. Let’s put all the old-media platitudes about branding and synergy on hold, and experiment with some ‘raw’ material. Making mistakes is a better indicator of creativity than scoring hits. I don’t believe Apple would have created the iPod if they had not also made the Newton, the PDA than bombed more than a decade ago. They made a few mistakes but never stuck to the comfort zone. That’s my spiel for this week!