If, as a marketer, the idea of using a podcast as part of your marketing mix is new to you, you might be asking yourself what the difference is between a Branded Podcast and an ad?
If you are a fan of podcasts, I’m sure you’ve heard an ad being played on your favourite show. Usually, about the halfway mark, the show takes an ad break. You could then be played a series of ads for MeUndies, Blue Apron, or Casper Mattresses. These ads (known as mid-roll) are typically read by the show’s host.
This is how a brand can advertise on a podcast. Just like television or programmatic, the ad is broadcast to its audience.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and there are many great options for having your brand appear in a podcast, this is not what we do at JAR AUDIO. We specialize in creating podcasts with and for brands.
Branded podcasts are not advertising.
A branded podcast is a form of content marketing. And in order for content marketing to be successful, it must deliver true value to the audience. The whole goal of doing a podcast as a brand is to create a really amazing, well-crafted show that delivers a tonne of authentic value to listeners. The show just happens to be brought to you by the brand. At no point during a branded podcast are we:
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overly mentioning the brand (in fact, you ideally do not mention the brand at all)
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promoting any of the products that the brand produces
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hyping the brand up or telling stories about the brand
That’s advertising.
Instead, we’re focused on delivering true value to the listener. This is what makes Branded Podcasts a compelling way for listeners to engage with brands.
Take for example: Well Now by Saje
Well Now, produced by JAR AUDIO, is all about integrated health. It’s all about exploring the world of health, first from the perspective of Western medicine, then looking at it from the angle of alternative medicine. It features the authentic stories of people with lived experience of various health-related issues and delivers an incredible amount of value to the listener. We’ve had some really great feedback from people who’ve appreciated the great storytelling and sound design, and who have walked away from an episode having learned something.
At the beginning and the end of each episode, the listener learns that the podcast is “brought to you by Saje.” And while the podcast is in accordance with the brand’s values, at no point does the host of Well Now talk about Saje’s famous line of aromatherapy, their lotions, diffusers, or their many different wellness products. Instead, she and her guests deliver true value to the listener on the broader topic of health and wellness. It deepens the listeners’ experience of the brand, making Saje look great simply by association.
So in the end, a traditional ad on a podcast is vastly different from a Branded Podcast.
