ST. PAUL, Minn., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Provident Partners, a full-service marketing and public relations firm in St. Paul, today became the first marketing firm to join PodcastMN.com, "the sound of Minnesota."

Provident Partners' podcast, "Marketing Minute," is produced for business- to-business and business-to-consumer marketers. "Marketing Minute" is one of the 14 podcasts currently available from PodcastMN.com, a Web site that pulls Minnesota-based podcasts together into one location. Provident Partners' innovative approach to reaching marketers though podcasting in a crisp, short format is breaking ground in this new medium.

"For sponsors and producers, podcasting is the most compelling way to reach a highly targeted, deeply passionate listener," said Garrick Van Buren, producer of "The First Crack Podcast" and founding member of PodcastMN.com. "With every episode, the podcasters at PodcastMN.com are cultivating and fostering these niche audiences."

Podcasting uses special software that allows listeners to subscribe to and automatically download podcasts they are interested in, all for free.

"Podcasting gives small and mid-size companies a powerful way to leverage the medium of audio," said Albert Maruggi, president of Provident Partners. "This is an efficient way to reach and build an interested, dedicated audience with information they value and they have requested."

Provident Partners is a full service marketing firm specializing in podcasting, webcasting and video presentations. Albert Maruggi, president of Provident Partners, recently wrote an article that appeared in the May 2 issue of "BrandWeek" entitled, "Top of Mind: Podcasting Offers a Sound Technique."

About Provident Partners

Provident Partners is a full-service marketing and public relations firm based in St. Paul with clients in technology, manufacturing and consulting services. The firm has appeared on the pages of "Sales & Marketing Management," "BrandWeek" and "Upsize" magazines. Albert Maruggi, president of Provident Partners, is a regular contributor to "Upsize" magazine's E-business Tools newsletter, a how-to for growing businesses. ( http://www.providentpartners.net/ )

About PodcastMN.com

By pulling together all Minnesota podcasts into a single Web site, PodcastMN.com provides an easy way for Minnesota-based podcasters and current and potential listeners to find their voice. To automatically receive the latest shows from PodcastMN.com members, download the pre-loaded iPodder software for Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh from its Web site. ( http://www.podcastmn.com/ )

CONTACT: Mike Keliher, +1-651-695-0174 - office, +1-651-324-0213 - cell,
mkeliher@providentpartners.net

Web site: http://www.providentpartners.net/
http://www.podcastmn.com/