CASE STUDY
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RBC Disruptors featured prominent guests and a seasoned host in John Stackhouse, but it struggled to grow. Production quality lagged behind listener expectations, content lacked variety, and distribution was minimal. RBC needed a partner to help elevate the podcast to match its brand—and meet its strategic goals.
“We had a ‘cheap and cheerful’ podcast, but no concerted strategy, no paid marketing, and production values were fairly basic.”
— Jennifer Marron, Producer, Disruptors, RBC Thought Leadership
RBC wanted to expand Disruptors’ reach among policymakers, executives, and business leaders engaged in Canada’s climate and innovation sectors. The challenge: a compelling concept that wasn’t being heard. To solve this problem, the show’s producers turned to the JAR team, and for good reason:
“We were looking for a team of experienced audio storytellers that also had deep podcast marketing know-how. JAR brought both and have been great partners in developing and growing our podcast.”
- Jill Borra — Senior Director, Content Strategy, RBC Thought Leadership
Since partnering with RBC in August of 2020, we’ve had the privilege of leading strategy, production, and marketing of the show.
Here’s how we reimagined Disruptors for the RBC Thought Leadership team.
After taking a deep-dive into the original Disruptors podcast, we identified sound quality, story development, and marketing as main points of focus for improving their podcast. To improve audio, we conducted a complete overhaul of the podcast’s production process and setup, and provided extra training for its very capable host. And to reach a broader audience, we helped Disrupters ditch the single-interview format in favor of more effective options including panel discussions, sequential storytelling, and remote cut-ins that livened their content up and increased listen rates.
JAR took a holistic, financial brand-first approach — refining every element of the podcast to meet the standards of a high-value B2B audience.
We upgraded recording infrastructure, improved audio clarity, and coached host John Stackhouse to deliver with authority and accessibility. These changes aligned production with RBC’s reputation for quality and professionalism.
JAR revamped the show’s format — shifting from simple interviews to rich storytelling, expert panels, and data-informed narratives. We focused tightly on how innovation and climate intersect with business strategy, resonating with the priorities of senior financial professionals.
A six-pronged promotion plan delivered measurable results:
Every move was designed to engage the right audience — not just more listeners.
After refining RBC’s already high-value content, we introduced a six-part marketing plan that included a blend of publicity, paid media, and the thoughtful employment of the brand’s existing channels, all leveraged to foster their ongoing growth.
Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, we were able to deliver extraordinary results, and land this content in the ears of the Canadians who value it most.
Since partnering with JAR, Disruptors has transformed into one of Canada’s top business podcasts, earning over 1.5 million downloads, a 80% listen-through rate, and a 500% increase in audience growth.
The show now consistently charts at the top of Apple Podcasts Canada, landing #1 in Entrepreneurship and #2 in Business, and has been recognized as New & Noteworthy by Apple and nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award.
More than just metrics, the podcast also serves as a cornerstone of RBC’s thought leadership strategy. With elevated production values, sharper storytelling, and a strategic marketing approach, Disruptors reaches engaged Canadians looking for insight into innovation and the future of the economy.
“We 10x’ed our downloads in the early days of working with JAR. Elevating the show’s storytelling, improving the audio quality and executing a marketing strategy led us to see these results immediately. Since then we have achieved great success with steady audience growth, and are now considered a household name in terms of top Canadian business podcasts. I don’t believe this would have happened without JAR.”
