Integrating Podcasts into Brand Strategies
Roger Nairn, Co-Founder & CEO, JAR Audio
Want weekly exclusive brand storytelling content like this direct to your inbox? Subscribe to the Brand Storytelling Newsletter.
I left a 22-year advertising career to start JAR Audio because I was fed up with the industry’s programmatic yelling. Many of you in brand storytelling and content marketing probably feel the same. Eight years ago, I co-founded JAR Audio, seeing podcasts as the perfect medium for authentic brand connections. Today, podcasts are powerhouses for storytelling and engagement, blending intimacy and accessibility. But exactly how do they fit into your marketing ecosystem? First, let’s talk about the job your podcast needs to do.
The Job Theory of Podcasts
Applying “Jobs Theory” to branded podcasts means defining your podcast's specific role. Whether driving brand awareness, brand trust, providing education, or establishing thought leadership, your podcast must deliver targeted value.
Here are a few of the common “jobs” a podcast can do for a brand:
Education: Deliver in-depth insights and practical knowledge that educates your audience and future or existing customers, paving the way for sales.
Entertainment: Give your audience a well-deserved entertaining experience that improves their outlook and brand awareness.
Connection: Create an empathetic connection with your target audience through moving, authentic sharing and storytelling, building trust with your brand.
Thought Leadership: Feature expert interviews and forward-thinking “big picture” discussions relevant to your industry and audience to establish your authority in a space.
And maybe – it’s a combination of a few of the above categories. Whatever your goal – be clear on your podcast’s job to ensure it aligns with your strategy and resonates with your audience.
Brand Integration into Podcast Content
Now that you know your podcast’s “job,” remember: your show shouldn’t blow the brand horn too much. Nobody wants a 30-minute ad. The way to avoid this is to adopt an audience-first approach. Consider what it is that your target audience really needs, and how the podcast can give it to them. Create engaging content that subtly weaves in your brand, focusing on storytelling rather than promotions, and emphasizing your values rather than your products or services. For a B2B tech client of ours we occasionally bring on a guest from their company to add to the conversation. It’s less about the brand, and more about adding valuable information to the conversation…it just happens to be that nobody else can talk more about their podcast’s topic than their specialists. And the audience appreciates that.
Successful Podcast Brand Integrations
Amazon
• Job: Engage and educate small business owners.
• Solution: Launched “This is Small Business” podcast.
• Outcome: 85% listen-through rate, increased brand favorability, and top chart rankings.
Cirque du Soleil
• Job: Re-engage loyal audiences and attract new fans post-pandemic.
• Solution: Launched “Cirque du Sound” podcast.
• Outcome: Enhanced brand awareness and loyalty across different verticals, attracting younger audiences.
Staffbase
• Job: Engage internal communications professionals.
• Solution: Launched “Infernal Communication” podcast.
• Outcome: 90% listen-through rate, award-winning, and featured on Apple’s New Shows for Business.
Integration Strategies
Use Podcasts as a Pillar Asset: Repurpose podcast content into videos, blog posts, white papers, social media assets, and e-books to extend reach.
Engage in Dialogue: Encourage feedback and interaction to stay attuned to your audience’s needs. Collect customer/audience details in the process.
Distribution Tactics
Reaching Target Audiences: Conduct audience research (eg: competitive podcast landscape analysis, demographic surveys) to identify their interests and preferred content formats. Tailor your podcast content to speak directly to these needs and distribute it through active channels your audience already frequents. In addition – reach your target audience through promotion on other podcasts they like.
Platform Comparison: Choose the right platform for optimal reach and engagement. Some audiences prefer the portability of audio. Others are 100% committed to watching their podcasts on YouTube. Not every show requires engagement with every platform. Choose your battles – and follow your audience’s habits.
Measuring Success
And when you’ve done all of the above, it’s important not to ‘mic-drop’ and walk away. At least hold off the celebration until you add up the results. Keeping track of your audience’s response to your show allows you to tweak and improve it as you go. A podcast is a living, breathing thing that can develop and improve over time, based on audience needs and business goals. The important thing is to be aware of the various measurement metrics – and be flexible enough to adjust your content if needed. Remember: just because you have a shoe company and you want to talk about shoes, doesn’t mean your audience wants to hear it. You need to meet them where they’re “at” – and engagement metrics are how you identify that.
The ROI Question: Measuring the ROI of your brand’s podcast involves tracking several key metrics. Start with listener engagement, including download numbers, listener retention rates, and episode completion rates. Monitor audience growth over time and analyze listener demographics to ensure alignment with your target audience. Evaluate social media interactions and feedback to gauge audience sentiment. Additionally, assess the impact on brand awareness and consider any increases in website traffic or leads generated from podcast listeners. We are also big fans of conducting brand lift studies to measure the impact your podcast has had on your audience. By analyzing these metrics, you can determine the podcast’s effectiveness in achieving your business goals.
To sum up, the key to integrating your podcast into your brand strategy is awareness; awareness of the job your show needs to do from a business perspective, of your target audience and their needs, and of the kind of impact your show is having. By focusing on high-quality content, strategic distribution, and consistent measurement, you can leverage podcasts for storytelling, engagement, and business success, effectively integrating them into your brand strategy to connect more deeply with your audience.
About Roger Nairn
Roger transitioned from a career in advertising account management to co-founding JAR, a podcast agency that uses podcast storytelling to captivate brand audiences. As CEO of JAR, he propels the company's growth by prioritizing audience engagement and podcast marketing. Under his guidance, JAR flourishes with a global clientele, aiming to broaden its reach across North America and revolutionize brand connections through immersive storytelling.
Carrie holds a Master in Business Administration degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Bachelor of Fine Art from the Maine College of Art.
Comments