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Transcript

"Brand-Safe" Is a Podcast Genre (And It’s Boring) · Your Mic

• 0:00
  Most branded podcasts sound like a corporate town hall with SHRSM7B mics.
• 0:05
  Welcome to the official podcast of Blah Blah Blah Incorporated,
• 0:09
  where we explore innovation, leadership, and impact, and you can already hear the cacky.
• 0:14
  Brand Safe has become a genre, and it's boring.
• 0:21
  This is your mic.
• 0:22
  Today, it's for marketing teams, founders, and comms folks,
• 0:25
  quietly wondering why their strategic audio initiative isn't doing anything but burning budget.
• 0:32
  But before we continue, let's be clear.
• 0:34
  Branded podcasts can work.
• 0:37
  There are shows out there right now made by brands that build followings,
• 0:41
  nurture supporters, and move hearts, not just KPIs.
• 0:45
  Think of narrative series that tell true stories around a brand's mission,
• 0:49
  customer experiences, or industry stakes,
• 0:52
  like L'Oreal partnering with T Brand Studio,
• 0:55
  or take my company, speak podcasting, for example, in our clients, just two of them.
• 1:00
  The Rose's podcast, let's talk about your breasts,
• 1:03
  or Integrity Banks podcast, banking on integrity.
• 1:07
  The common threads when branded podcasts work,
• 1:10
  well, they tell real stories with emotional depth.
• 1:14
  They prioritize listener value, entertainment, education, or both, over brand chest thumping.
• 1:20
  They feel like shows that could exist on their own with the brand as a quiet architect.
• 1:26
  So where do branded shows go wrong?
• 1:29
  The short answer?
• 1:30
  Over branding.
• 1:31
  The signs?
• 1:32
  The logo is bigger than the episode idea.
• 1:35
  Every segment loops back to a product feature.
• 1:38
  The host sounds like they're reading the about page instead of having a pulse.
• 1:43
  A lot of branded podcasts advise straight up says,
• 1:46
  the best shows feel like they're from you, not about you.
• 1:50
  The brand's there in the choice of stories, the values, the POV,
• 1:54
  but it's not constantly clearing its throat.
• 1:58
  Instead, too many companies in nonprofits treat every single episode like a campaign asset
• 2:04
  instead of a relationship.
• 2:06
  They let brand's safe become frictionless, toothless, completely forgettable.
• 2:12
  Meanwhile, the branded shows that actually move the needle are not afraid to get real.
• 2:18
  Take, for example, integrity banks episodes where they talk about
• 2:21
  the big banks and how much money they actually keep in integrity's local area.
• 2:25
  Or the roses episode of, let's talk about your breasts in which they
• 2:29
  bust common breast cancer myths.
• 2:32
  These are anything but toothless shows.
• 2:34
  They point out real stakes, and in some cases,
• 2:38
  they're literally impacting a local economy or saving lives.
• 2:43
  Make no mistake. Your audience can smell misalignment.
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  They can smell it when you're not authentic.
• 2:48
  As much as I don't like the word authentic now, but really, they can smell it.
• 2:53
  And they will, bail, if they can smell it.
• 2:55
  Creators and strategists who work in this space talk about
• 2:59
  how the mic amplifies the gap between what a brand says and what its culture actually lives.
• 3:05
  And if you don't live it, don't theme a show around it.
• 3:08
  So how can you be safe enough without neutering the show?
• 3:13
  Think in terms of guardrails, not mussels.
• 3:17
  Guardrails are, we don't disclose certain proprietary info.
• 3:21
  We avoid slander and legal landmines.
• 3:24
  We don't trauma bait.
• 3:26
  Mussels are, we never admit we've made mistakes.
• 3:30
  We never talk about anything controversial, even if our audience lives in that reality every day.
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  We never let guests say anything that doesn't make us look perfect.
• 3:41
  Those are mussels.
• 3:42
  And mussels suck.
• 3:47
  Brand and agency roundups on what works in branded podcasts keep repeating the same boring advice.
• 3:56
  Give the show its own identity, choose a host with authority and authenticity,
• 4:02
  and focus relentlessly on content that genuinely serves the audience.
• 4:07
  What that actually means is, you gotta do episodes that explore problems your customers have.
• 4:13
  Even if that includes frustrations with companies like yours.
• 4:18
  You gotta have stories where your brand is sometimes in the background, not center stage.
• 4:22
  Remember, we're not chest thumping here.
• 4:24
  You gotta have episodes that also include moments where you say the quiet part out loud,
• 4:30
  because that is where trust lives.
• 4:33
  The best branded shows also understand something that many brands forget.
• 4:39
  You can sell more by selling less.
• 4:42
  There's a reason case studies highlight that when branded podcasts lean into storytelling
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  and audience first value.
• 4:50
  They see lifts in brand affinity loyalty and long listening times.
• 4:55
  Plus, repeat engagement and positive perception shifts.
• 5:00
  Look, at the end of the day, people are smart, way smarter than you give them credit for.
• 5:04
  If you make their day better, they look up who made the thing.
• 5:07
  So here's your uncomfortable exercise if you work on a branded show.
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  Or if your personal show has accidentally become a brand brochure.
• 5:16
  Step one, ask yourself what anyone care about this if they didn't care about us.
• 5:22
  Take your last three episode ideas and strip your brand name off them.
• 5:27
  Would that topic still be compelling?
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  Would the story still have stakes?
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  Would the guest even matter?
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  If the answer is no, then you do not have a show.
• 5:36
  You have long form, add copy.
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  Step two, identify your over branding ticks.
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  Look for force product mentions that break the flow
• 5:46
  and host that sound like corporate PR and not humans.
• 5:49
  Then pick one tick to kill in the next season.
• 5:54
  Better yet, pick one tick to kill at your next recording if you could do it.
• 5:59
  Step three, add one risky human move.
• 6:04
  This could be a mistake episode where you dissect a time your brand
• 6:07
  or you personally screwed up and what changed after.
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  A listener Q&A where questions can be unfiltered and you answer honestly.
• 6:16
  Even if the answer is we're not there yet.
• 6:19
  Inviting a guest to disagrees with you on something central
• 6:23
  and actually letting them talk.
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  You're not just trying to be edgy for the heck of it.
• 6:27
  You're trying to match the level of honesty your audience lives with on a daily basis.
• 6:32
  Step number four, give the show its own spine.
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  The strongest brand-backed shows have a clear premise
• 6:40
  and world that could theoretically survive without the logo.
• 6:44
  Example, behind the scenes of how XYZ industry really works,
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  not updates from insert vendor here.
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  Your brand funds and frames it.
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  It doesn't sit in every line like a shaperone.
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  Step number five, and this is very important.
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  Trust the host.
• 7:01
  Data on host red ads and branded content
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  keeps showing that when brands let hosts bring their own tone
• 7:08
  and storytelling into integrations, listeners are more engaged and less annoyed.
• 7:14
  That's why people have a higher tendency to buy from podcast ad reads.
• 7:18
  So if you've hired a host or if you are the host,
• 7:22
  stop strangling the voice of the show.
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  Give them, give yourself guardrails, key messages,
• 7:28
  and context.
• 7:29
  Allow yourself.
• 7:31
  Allow the host to be human, especially if that host is you.
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  Because brand safe is not evil.
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  It's just shallow when it's used as an excuse not to be honest,
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  specific or emotionally real.
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  Your job is not to sound like a brand.
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  Your job is to make a show.
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  People would listen to even if they never bought from you.
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  Everything else is just very expensive version of talking to yourself.
• 7:58
  Hey, if you found this episode useful,
• 7:59
  please pass it along to the colleagues in your life who are producing
• 8:02
  khaki colored podcasts and reach out.
• 8:05
  If you specifically or they would like to chat podcasting,
• 8:09
  Freddie with the Y Freddie at SpeakPodcasting.com.
• 8:13
  S-P-E-K-E podcasting.com.
• 8:17
  Thanks for listening.