Audio pioneers made in Hamburg

Podstars by OMR

As the media capital of Germany, Hamburg had one thing in particular to offer the pod stars: a creative breeding ground and connections with other creators.

The Podstars team poses for a group photo

7. Juli 2022

Text: nextMedia.Hamburg

Allow me: Germany's leading podcast company. Anyone working in the content industry knows that where marketing meets content, Europe's largest platform for digital marketing is not far away.

As part of the OMR family, the Podstars have established podcasts as a successful format on the German media market.

How did it all start?

In 2015, Phillip Westermeyer teamed up with Vincent Kittmann and Constantin Buer to bring podcasters and advertisers together. And they chose Germany's media capital - Hamburg - as the base for their business.

Phillip Westermeyer steht mit seinen Händen in den Hosentaschen vor einer vollgesprayten Wand. — Phillip Westermeyer, Founder and Managing Director OMR

Constantin Buer und Vincent Kittmann tragen beide weiße T-Shirts und sehen mit verschränkten Armen nebeneinander. — Constantin Buer and Vincent Kittmann, Managing Directors of Podstars

From hobby to profession

OMR has quickly become an institution in the German media landscape and Podstars, the leading address for the marketing and production of podcasts, has also been part of the OMR family since 2015. How did it all happen? With a love for good content - and the strong Hamburg content industry.

The podstars in numbers

70

Employees

80

Produced formats

100+

marketed formats

20mio.

Listeners per month

We are deliberately located right in the heart of Hamburg. From here, you can reach every corner of the city by bike.

Phillip Westermeyer, Founder and Managing Director OMR

The Podstars as part of Hamburg's media landscape

Hamburg is Germany's media capital. But not only because the established giants of the German media landscape are based here. In addition to ZEIT, Spiegel and Tagesschau, a number of funding initiatives and start-ups ensure that the future of the media industry can also benefit from the advantages of the Hamburg ecosystem. Just as Phillip Westermeyer did with the founding of OMR in 2011 and together with Vincent Kittmann and Constantin Buer with the founding of Podstars in 2015.

The diversity of Hamburg's media landscape has been the key to success for Podstars and OMR in particular. As a marketing platform for the content industry, they are the linchpin between creative professionals and advertising partners from very different business sectors.

Among the many high-profile companies with which Podstars has established advertising partnerships in its history are big names from the technology sector such as Lichtblick, Free Now, Meta and Google, all of which have their German headquarters in Hamburg.

Not to mention the many Hamburg-based creators and media professionals: The Podstars owe their success not least to the fact that they are able to interact directly with talents and personalities such as Laura Karasek and Tim Mälzer, who live in Hamburg, in the Hamburg ecosystem. Together with them, they have created successful formats such as the culinary podcast "Fiete Gastro" and the talk podcast "Künstliche Intelligenz".

Diversity as a business model

For the Podstars business model, the diversity of Hamburg's content industry is a key to success: there are countless journalists, creatives and celebrities here for exchange and collaboration and a strong ecosystem of start-ups and established media companies that attracts young professionals from all over Germany.

Media are part of Hamburg's DNA. You simply notice that throughout the city. That's why it's not difficult to convince people of the city in job interviews.

Vincent Kittmann, Managing Director Podstars

Passion for podcasts and audio

The Podstars team is united by their passion for podcasts and good audio content: In their office, in the heart of Hamburg in Lagerstraße, the enthusiasm and team spirit is palpable.

From the studios

The corridors of the Podstars office are adorned with countless memorabilia and unique pieces from over a decade of company history. OMR founder Philipp Westermeyer and Podstars managing directors Vincent Kittmann and Constantin Buer show you their favorite memorabilia and the most important places for their daily business.

What sets us apart as a team is our love for podcasts and on-demand audio and the curiosity with which we approach innovation and change in the industry.

Constantin Buer, Managing Director Podstars

Podcasts as a growth market

When Podstars was founded in 2015 to bring advertisers and podcasters together, they were ahead of their time.

In comparison: in 2016, only 14% of Germans said they occasionally listened to podcasts. By 2021, this figure had risen to 38% and is still rising.

Podcasts are particularly attractive for advertisers. In no other medium do users engage so consciously with advertising placements.

83 percent of podcast listeners are aware of advertising. Radio advertising is only noticed by 35 percent of listeners. And the potential of the format is far from exhausted.

Everyone has a podcast these days

A phrase that the podstars often hear, and yet they are certain that podcasts will continue to develop in the future. After all, the potential of podcasts as a medium is far from exhausted, both economically and creatively. The two heads of Podstars explain what the future holds for the podcast market.