On ‘The Prodcast’ Pat Murphy Keeps His Passion for Radio and Advertising Alive

Pat Murphy, founder and CEO at MCA, is an avid podcast listener. Typically, he takes the time between dropping off his children at school and starting work to walk along the beach in Lisbon and listen to his favourites; to him, this is just one of the ways to keep learning about advertising’s rich and ever-evolving landscape. 

So, why did Pat decide to throw his hat into the podcasting ring at the start of this year? Many will not know that Pat has long been a double agent of sorts. Yes, he’s one of the leading industry figures on all things production, but he’s also an experienced radio presenter who has presented programmes for the BBC and on commercial radio for much of his career. “I’ve been a disc jockey at so many radio stations over the years. I’ve always had this parallel career going on and I’ve had a lot of fun with it. Radio was my biggest passion when I was growing up,” Pat reveals. “I was doing a number of weekly slots on a radio station up until a year and a half ago.”

The Prodcast is a way to continue to bring his two passions together, even if he does call the podcast - in a naturally self-deprecating fashion - a “vanity project”. The podcast’s tagline is ‘This is your fix for everything innovative in advertising production’ though the scope of the kind of conversations that Pat is having with his guests extends well beyond that. He’s covered sustainability (a huge focus for MCA), AI’s legal implications, personalisation, procurement, and tech innovation. To date, Rishad Tobaccowala, Sergio Lopez-Ferrero, Tanya Bogin, Jos van Oostrum, and LBB’s very own Matt Cooper. Pat tells us that he didn’t think anyone would be really listening when he first launched the podcast, now episodes are sometimes racking up to 20,000 listeners and growing.

"What is great is the feedback I am getting. I was at the ANA conference in Phoenix in April, and someone overheard my voice at the bar, and she came over and asked me whether I was Pat Murphy from the Prodcast. After confirming my identity, she revealed she was a competitor consultant but loved listening to what I had been doing.”

The one thing Pat was certain on before embarking on the podcasting journey is that whatever he made had to sound good. “I don’t listen to podcasts that haven’t been produced well, it's just a personal bugbear of mine,” he confirms. “I know how quickly I switch off when something doesn’t sound good and when it hasn’t been well edited. With my production background, I had to make sure that my podcast sounded good. I try to make mine sound as polished as possible because it really makes a difference.” Pat entrusts editor Michael Blades to give the podcast its professional finish and says that Michael “edits like I would edit so the trust is implicit.”

As with any production, the pre-production is vital to ensuring that every episode is as good as it can be. We ask whether Pat has encountered difficult guests or conversations that didn’t go to plan. Unsurprisingly, little is unplanned in Pat’s world, and he prepares meticulously before each episode. “I always prepare my guests before we record. I spend time on the questions which I often share with them beforehand if they might be a little nervous, so they’re relaxed when we actually start talking. I want them to think about what we’ll discuss. I want them to be relaxed. I tell them that if they screw up, it doesn’t matter. We’re recording, it’s not live radio.” Pat adds that his Chief of Staff, Caroline Sister, is likewise instrumental in making guests feel at ease before the recording. “She normally chats to every single guest beforehand, making sure they’ve got the correct set up, filling them in on what to expect so by the time we’re on, they’re not nervous at all. Its actually quite professional”

Pat is very discerning when it comes to selecting guests and he’s narrowed the criteria down to the essentials. “Now, I’m very particular about who I invite on the podcast and I look for a couple of things. One is someone who communicates well because there’s no point in speaking to someone if they can’t communicate well what they do, and all the people I’ve spoken to are confident in their area of expertise. Secondly, and most importantly they are very passionate and that comes across in each episode” Pat says. “Once I start them off and they are on a roll, before you know it, half an hour is up”

Creating the podcast has made Pat realise that he knows a lot less about advertising than he thought he did when he was much younger. “Once, I thought I knew most things about production. Now, when I chat to these incredibly talented people I suddenly realise how little I do; I’ve become much humbler about it”

For Pat, this moment in advertising and production is the most exciting one in his very long and extensive career across agencies, production, post production, radio and adtech, thanks to innovation and technology ushering in a new era. “Technology is changing everything, and being the total geek I am, I love learning about it and how it can help us deliver more sustainable content and be more effective."

The next few episodes of the Prodcast are in the bag and they are a fascinating listen. As mentioned, they are not always solely production specific but Pat says, “this started out as a production podcast but some of the other topics we have covered are still relevant and there are recurring themes like sustainability, and anyway, it’s my show so I can do what I like!” Pat says, laughing out loud. “Our sustainability agenda at MCA has clearly been a success, as the initiative we have driven for Reckitt also won out last week at the Ad Net Zero Awards for Best Practice Sustainable Production. Its something I am very proud of.”

Pat is excited by the momentum the podcast has gained in its relatively short lifespan. “It’s very rare now that potential guests say no to being interviewed. At the start, sometimes I didn’t even get a response. But now basically everyone says yes which I’m very happy about.”