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Branded podcasts have been ~a thing~ for many years. Though in a space crowded with celebrities, influencers, and creators of all kinds who have their own podcasts, it can be a challenge for brands to break through and make a hit. Nevertheless, there’s evidence that marketers are increasingly interested.
At PRX—the nonprofit public media company that distributes and develops podcasts like This American Life, The Moth, and Normal Gossip—inbound requests for branded pods started ramping up in the past two years or so, Jason Saldanha, its chief of business development and content, told Marketing Brew.
In order to meet that demand, PRX has teamed up with audio production company Sonic Union to create branded podcasts from here on out.
Symbiosis: PRX has worked on podcasts for brands including Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia. Sonic Union, which primarily works with ad agencies, also has experience with branded podcasts, including Expedia’s Out Travel the System in collaboration with PRX, according to ECD Halle Petro.
The two organizations decided to formalize their relationship for all branded podcast projects down the line because each has skills the other may not. For instance, Saldanha said Sonic Union has more experience working with agencies. The PRX team knows its way around podcast metrics and audience growth, Petro said, plus it has a dedicated distribution strategy, which is “like gold for our clients.”
“Entertainment as a form of marketing has seen a big push, especially this past year, so we think that we’re offering something collectively that doesn’t exist right now,” she noted.
Nitty-gritty: PRX and Sonic Union plan to leverage their collaboration during RFPs and other pitches for branded pods. Saldanha said that Sonic Union will help “bring legitimacy” to PRX’s brand work, considering the nonprofit mostly has a portfolio of non-branded podcasts.
For all inbound opportunities, PRX and Sonic Union will come together to discuss who from each team will take on what work depending on the specific request. The specific revenue splits will likely differ project to project, according to Saldanha, but they agreed that it would be “equitable.”
Saldanha said there are “some good examples” of branded podcasts, “there are many more bad examples” at the moment. “It is my goal that in this collaboration, we can produce some stuff that’s actually good, and that meets the client’s needs, and that tells a good story, and that attracts audiences.”