That podcasts are big business is hardly news but it’s the world beyond the pod that represents intriguing opportunities for brands.
“We are very much in a golden age of audio,” says Christiana Brenton, group business director at global podcast platform Acast. According to Brenton, almost one in five people in the UK listen to a podcast at least once a week, up by 59% since December 2019.
“But what I find culturally compelling is that people aren’t just listening to podcasts these days. They’re watching them on Tik Tok or YouTube and streaming them on Twitch. They’re actually wearing their merch, they're talking about them on Reddit and experiencing their favourite creators live. Our creators are now building out huge ecosystems from their core podcast content.”
Broadcaster Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, which launched in 2018, is the most listened to wellness podcast in the UK. Since partnering with Acast last year, Happy Place has enjoyed more than 4.3 million UK listens. The podcast’s popularity led to the creation of a broader Happy Place ecosystem that includes multiple books, merchandise, product collabs, live events, a meditation series, an album and a festival. “This creator network is a shift in thinking beyond the podcast to broader brand partnerships,” explains Brenton. “These are all new complementary ecosystems that welcome authentic brand collaborations.”
Klarna: the gamification of financial chat
Talking about money is never easy, especially for Brits. Acast’s partnership with fintech company Klarna aimed to spark conversation around spending and saving in a bid to improve people’s financial wellness.
A ‘Money Talks’ card game was created with a set of 50 questions ranging from fun and frivolous icebreakers to more probing questions around personal habits, relationships and mindset. The game was played on 30 to 50 minute long branded episodes of podcasts such as Two Pints with Will and Ralph, hosted by the actors Will Mellor and Ralph Little; White Wine Question Time with Kate Thornton; Vicky Pattison’s The Secret To; and The Luke and Pete Show, presented by Luke Moore and Pete Donaldson. While these creators played the game, listeners were pointed to a Klarna site where they could claim their own packs to play.
“By giving them a tool and something fun to play with, rather than a script, they opened up in ways we haven’t heard previously,” says Daniella Murphy, Acast’s creative director. “Some of the episodes outperformed the non-branded content and these conversations in turn kickstarted a conversation far beyond the podcast. These episodes and the game were catalysts for a bigger, wider reaching campaign from talent socials and user-generated content.”
Tens of thousands of people signed up to receive physical copies of the card game, which soon ran out. Klarna is the process of building the game into their apps so everyone can participate.
Virgin Media O2: chat s*** to save the planet
The catalyst for this campaign was research conducted by Virgin Media O2 and environmental charity, Global Action Plan, which found that nine out of 10 young people care about the climate crisis but don’t feel able to talk about it. “There’s a fear of being judged, cancelled and not having relatable role models to bring them into the fold,” explains Murphy. “With COP26 on the horizon, we used the opportunity to work with our culturally credible creators to amplify the right voices and make younger people feel included.”
Acast brought together Seapa and Hugo of Kurupt FM and hosts of the Chattin’ Shit podcast with Francisca Rockey, an environmental youth campaigner.
“This wasn’t about preaching or being self righteous but having down-to-earth chat to break down some of the barriers highlighted by the Virgin Media O2 research and answer some of the audience’s burning questions,” says Murphy. “They didn't shy away from the trickier parts of this subject and reflected on their own experiences. It’s as entertaining as it is educational. The benefit of using culturally relevant storytellers to talk about this meaty issue was catching the attention of other major media outlets.”
Sky News and others who picked up on the campaign, interviewing Hugo and Seapa. The podcast content spawned TikTok and Instagram assets while Virgin Media O2 brought it into their own channels. The creators documented their journey via their personal Instagram accounts.
“This much broader creator collaboration resulted in the highest performing Chattin’ Shit episode of all time even though it was released when the show was off season,” says Brenton. “We saw a completely new trend to consumption with sustained listener growth over a longer period of time. The episode itself also had an average dwell time of 38 minutes, which is testament to the quality of the content, and attracted 7% more Gen Z listeners than the show’s average.”
Best practice: how action and emotion combine
These are two very different case studies but they have both used podcasts to deliver relevant content that really appeals to the audience. “Sponsorships and ads should focus on what you want me as a consumer to do with product proof points and desired actions,'' says Brenton. “But the most effective branded content has to focus on how you want me to feel about your brand. This is a shift from key messages to the exploration of brand themes really bringing to life the central creative platform. We really want to encourage our partners to think beyond the podcast and consider tapping into the entire creators network.”
