A fresh take on navigating today’s podcasting landscape with purpose and clarity.
There’s a video I can’t stop thinking about.
A horse has fallen into a water-filled trench — a deep, narrow hole with muddy walls too steep to climb. People are gathered around. They try ropes. They try coaxing. Nothing works. The horse is panicked. Exhausted. The energy is raw.
Then someone gets an idea.
They don’t try to pull the horse out.
They call in a backhoe.
Not to lift the horse — but to change the shape of the hole.
They dig. Widen the trench. Soften the slope. Within minutes, the horse simply walks out on its own.
No drama. No heroics. Just smart, gritty problem-solving.
And that, oddly enough, is exactly what it feels like to be a content marketer right now.
When Your Market Fluctuates, You Don’t Push Harder. You Reframe.
We’re living in an age of trade barriers, fractured trust, and fractured attention. Tariffs go up. Budgets tighten. Markets that once seemed easy to navigate suddenly seem… murky.
If you’re working in branded podcasts or content marketing, you know the feeling:
You’ve got the talent, the team, the concept — but now your core audience isn’t listening, or your go-to market is too hot to handle.
So what do you do?
You don’t yank harder on the rope.
You change the shape of the hole.
What That Looks Like in The Podcasting Landscape
Maybe you were building content for U.S. consumers — and suddenly tariffs or perception make that path less viable.
Go north.
Tell a Canadian story. Or a LATAM one. Or one that crosses cultures.
Maybe you were focused on growth metrics — reach, impressions, virality — and none of that’s clicking in your niche.
Shift the slope.
Create a loyalty podcast that builds long-term trust. Tell stories that matter to fewer people — more deeply.
Maybe the brand you’re working with is stuck in compliance, risk-averse, afraid to say anything bold.
Don’t try to force them out.
Dig them a ramp. Give them a format — like a podcast — where their customers or employees do the talking for them. Suddenly they’re moving again.
The Real Lesson? High Stakes Beat High Polish.
Watch that video again (link below).
There’s no slick music. No flashy edits. No branding.
And yet — it holds you. Because the stakes are real.
20 million views. 30.4K comments.
That’s your north star for branded content in tough times.
You don’t need better microphones. You need better reasons.
You don’t need another “What is AI?” explainer. You need a voice people care about.
You don’t need perfect. You need real.
Final Thoughts: Stop Pulling. Start Digging.
Today’s podcasting landscape is all about adaptive content.
If your audience is stuck — go meet them in the trench. Change the shape of the problem. Tell the story from a new angle, in a new voice, for a new market.
And then?
Get out of the way.
Let the horse walk itself out.
🖇️ Watch the horse video here. It’ll stay with you.
Want to talk about how this applies to your brand? Let’s chat.
Jen Moss is the Co-Founder and and Chief Creative Officer of JAR Audio. As JAR’s podcast “doula”, collaborating with enterprise brands to bring great podcasts into the world. With a background spanning CBC Radio, Canada’s National Film Board Digital Studio, Vancouver’s Roundhouse Radio and the University of British Columbia, she guides the creation of captivating podcasts at JAR.
