Elvis said it best:
“We’re caught in a trap / I can’t walk out / Because I love you too much, baby.”
As the head of Creative at JAR Audio, I sometimes have to fight the urge to burst into this song during client meetings. The “trap,” of course, is a podcast idea that is too tame, too close to the brand’s wheelhouse, too direct-sales-y, too on the nose, too “meh.”
When brainstorming podcast ideas, a lot of marketing teams think quite literally about selling whatever product or service they’re offering, without showing enough regard for the one thing every podcast relies on: the audience.
A podcast is not an ad.
I think that’s worth repeating. A podcast is not an ad – because who wants to subscribe to a series of 20-30 minute ads…let alone listen to 1 episode? Furthermore, an audience member is not necessarily a customer, though they could be, if you play your cards right.
I’ve sat in loads of meetings where this concept is not initially well understood. And yes, sometimes I feel like a broken record. But I persevere because “I love you too much, baby.” In other words, I care. I want to see my clients’ podcasts succeed and take their brand to new heights.
A branded podcast is – first and foremost — a story delivery mechanism.
It’s a way to spark deeper conversations, explore more nuanced topics, or tell imaginative stories that tap into the social, political, and environmental movements — the zeitgeist — all around us. Branded podcasts are an interesting way for brands to connect authentically and intelligently with an audience. And of course, there is great potential to eventually turn that audience into loyal customers, once you gain their trust. When branded podcasting is at its best, the brand takes a “story-first” approach. It then gets to sit back and enjoy the resulting “halo” effect.
But the way to get there is not by playing it safe.
With hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there competing for ear-time, it’s important to show courage when it comes to identifying what kind of stories your brand wants to tell through a podcast. Eg: You might make an excellent shoe. But it doesn’t necessarily follow that your podcast should be about shoes. Who wants to listen to a shoe discourse for half an hour, right? It’s time to branch out and tell a new story – one that people actually want to hear. Remember to ask yourself first – who are we talking to? It may not be your existing customers. In fact, if your goal is to build an audience and gain new ground for your brand, I encourage you to think more broadly. Podcast audiences are generally younger, well-educated people with a wide array of media choices at their fingertips. So, your brand’s podcast needs to offer something of value. It needs to be interesting, first and foremost, or people won’t listen. And if people won’t listen then, from a marketing perspective, your podcast will not be effective.
Story first. Always. It’s as simple as that.
The best case study for a creatively brave branded podcast is GE’s Sci-fi podcast, The Message and LifeAfter, which hit #1 on Apple Podcasts. It tells a fascinating story about decoding a mysterious (fictional) message from outer space. A tribute to Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast War of The Worlds, the podcast blends fact and fiction, telling an outlandish tale in a realistic style. To get lift-off on the story, GE hired New York playwright Mac Rogers to create a serialized drama. To be clear, there wasn’t a lightbulb or an electrical appliance in sight. GE took a risk, and it worked. People got hooked – and came back for more. In the process, GE, a 128-year-old company, showed itself to be incredibly innovative and young-at-heart, reaching a whole new generation of potential customers.
As Andy Goldberg, CCO at GE, told the Neiman Lab, “It’s a science fiction story to connect listeners with what the GE brand is about, without selling the GE brand.”
Branded podcasts are a way for your brand to get right in the middle of critical conversations, and gripping, well-told stories that celebrate the art form of audio storytelling. When planning your podcast, often the first step is to admit that you don’t quite know what it should be about. That’s ok. In fact – that’s better than ok. How exciting! Think of the possibilities! This is your chance to take a leap and reach far beyond the predictable “talking heads” that most people imagine when they think about podcasts. Be prepared to stand behind material that can surprise, delight, even frighten an audience. In the end, that’s what gets you noticed, and that’s what earns respect. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. And when you find it, trust the storytellers. After all, in the immortal words of Elvis, “we can’t go on together with suspicious minds.”
