Speedo’s enlisted Neville to produce the first in a series of podcasts featuring Olympic swimmers. As the father of two competitive swimmers, I can tell you they’ve nailed the format with this one. Interesting content, thumping bass-heavy intro music, it’s a podcast I’m loading onto my daughter’s iPod just in time for a meet this weekend.

My only suggestion for improvement may be the introduction of a second format: the current long-form traditional podcast for kids and adult swimmers with time and interest off the swim deck, and a more abrupt and motivational podcast for those moments between races on the deck.

This second format would break up the interview into shorter segments, interspersed with inspirational/deafening tunes. I’m thinking of something similar to the songs put together by Trek to build their Liquid brand of bikes.

It would serve as a motivational or “psych” podcast for swimmers killing time on the deck. Who knows, it could also be loaded with short video clips of important moments from the careers of Speedo’s Olympic swimmers.

The opportunity exists to reach out to a younger crowd - the ones I know drive purchasing behaviour at meets and throughout the season.