Does your Brand tell Stories?

Does your brand tell stories? Absolutely! And podcasting is the most modern medium of the ancient form of storytelling. Welcome to the era of on-demand listening where people listen when they want to… and listen to what they want to.

In 2021, branded podcasts have become an important tool in any company’s marketing arsenal. Well-produced branded podcasts help to reach a new audience; they help build a relationship with the audience, and build trust and drive customer engagement. It’s about producing content which adds value for the audience, rather than shouting your company’s name or obsessing about banner clicks or impressions. It’s about engaging each one of those listeners to care about your brand. That’s what will bring the results.

Listeners of podcasts actively seek this content which means that the audience, no matter how big or small, is highly relevant to be interacting with your brand. Meaningful content promotes positive associations, so that brands are more memorable. Combined with a social media campaign to help distribute your podcasts, new opportunities are created for your brand to be visible, newsworthy and shareable.

What works best? We entered three completely different campaigns into the NewGen Awards, to demonstrate different ways podcasting can be used by brands – and we’re thrilled to congratulate all three of our clients, who are finalists!

Firstly, Collectomania is a weekly feature where we interview individuals about the interesting items they collect, how their hobby inspires them, as well as their idiosyncrasies and nuances that allow them to be called ‘collectors’. The South African Gold Coin Exchange has become synonymous with investment, and that of the lifestyle of the collector and hobbyist. The podcast series aligns with this strategy and creates a narrative that puts SA Gold Coin Exchange as a thought leader in the investment space. This is an ongoing series that has enjoyed high engagement and attracted publicity.

A completely different use of podcasting is a collaboration we did with Investec Focus Radio, called ‘Preparing for a Post-Pandemic Future’. This was a four-part podcast series featuring Investec subject experts and global industry leaders. The interviews were edited into bite-sized pieces, and threaded together with a narrator telling the story for each themed episode.

Last, but not least, is the first of its kind in South Africa – Blind History Interpreted Content. Podcasts (by the very nature of what they are) exclude the hard of hearing community. In order to make it more accessible and share entertaining, informative and compelling podcasts with as many people as possible, CliffCentral piloted a sign language interpreter video from the popular Blind History series with Thuli Zikalala (one of 12 SATI accredited interpreters in South Africa) and sponsored by Taylor Blinds & Shutters. The aim was to remove the barriers to information access, and ultimately introduce new audiences to the world of podcasts.

What would work best for your brand?
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