Why your brand should have its own podcast

From the “Upanishad” tradition to the bards of Bundelkhand, the culture of spreading knowledge orally has flourished in India since time immemorial. Today, there are countless ways to spread both knowledge and information. One of those forms of spreading information through the oral or audio route manifests itself through podcasts. In this article, we take a look at the content that constitutes Spotify Podcasts by brands such as FinShots, Bumble, BloombergQuint, etc.

Finshots Daily | Finshots

https://open.spotify.com/show/12jUp5Aa63c5BYx3wVZeMA

Ranging from four to eight minutes, daily podcasts by Finshots briefly discuss current economic happenings. Effects and causes of daily events are talked about with respect to inflation and stocks. Landmark events such as Nobel Prizes, IPO of famous start-ups or controversies like the Pandora Papers find a mention in this crisp but interesting podcast. The everyday topics of value such as fossil fuel pricing or food security are also often discussed in the podcast.

Started by Finshots, Finshots Daily aims to deliver the seminal financial news of the day in as few as five minutes. While the length of the podcast is quite short according to conventional standards, the format makes sense as many people prefer their news on the go. Furthermore, the short length might act as an incentive for those enthusiasts who are new to the consumption of financial news.

A well-rounded podcast such as Finshots Daily that divulges daily financial news accompanied by a historical background and future ramifications contributes to a culture enrooted in information. For brands like Finshots, the format of Podcast increases consumption value as those who cannot stop and read for five minutes can often listen for five minutes.

Let’s Do Shots | Mad Over Marketing

https://open.spotify.com/show/0sCsaIwKr9rZV0HL8nSN1A

MOM or Mad Over Marketing’s Let’s Do Shots is a podcast similar in length to Finshots Daily. In five-odd minutes, Siddhant More, the founder of Mad Over Marketing, weaves interesting tales around marketing and advertising trivia. With a reach of over a million on social media, Mad Over Marketing is well known already for bringing interesting brand stories and strategies to the fore.

Exploring stories of brands like Chupa Chups, Starbucks, Tesla, Procter & Gamble, Let’s Do Shots often highlights the relationship between advertising and culture. For instance, one episode talks about how ‘DeBeers convinced the entire world that an engagement ring must be a diamond ring.’ Another one talks about the influential role that P&G played in bringing the ‘diaper culture’ to China.

Let’s Do Shots often provides cultural commentary while being an infotainment programme about advertising strategies. Its USP lies in the distinctive narrative style that has listeners hanging on to each spoken word. The show is thus able to deliver information to consumers effectively while playing around with trivia.

All You Need To Know | BloombergQuint

https://open.spotify.com/show/7gR2ljZy9bnVzo7jNEJTHS

The aim of BloombergQuint’s podcast All You Need to Know is best summarised by its own tagline, a podcast “that prepares you for the day’s business.” The podcast plays out in the format of a fast-paced news show and delivers bits of information relevant to the economy. The podcast covers relevant global and national events and their effects on the market.

The podcast is yet another case in point for the dictum of head over heart. Facts trump emotions when it comes to branding in the financial or business sector. Informed decisions are considered better than one spurred by campaigns high on emotions.

BloombergQuint’s podcast then plays an enabling role by providing all the information in less than 10 minutes and takes the brand mandate further. It follows the category code of capitalising on the information.

Is Romance Dead? | Bumble

https://open.spotify.com/show/2lt3oGhO4VxDJ77WmE2LpQ

Hosted by comedian Kaneez Surkha, Is Romance Dead? by Bumble is a podcast of an exploratory nature. The podcast features musicians, actors, psychologists, etc., as they try to find the true meaning of romance.

Each episode of the podcast is approximately 40 minutes long and plays out with jokes, music, experiences, etc. The show tries to discover the meaning of romance through different perspectives like travel, food, wedding, films, TV, social media, etc.

Is Romance Dead? presents lived experiences as important constituents of information. The information so obtained works on two levels: at a smaller and primary level this information goes into answering the eponymous question. On a bigger level, this information becomes part of the dating culture in India. It both enlarges it and tries to make it better. The exercise of sharing experiences helps with psychological validation as most consumers in the field struggle to find assurance and familiarity.

Bumble as a brand attempting to define and expand the dating culture in India, can hence amplify its reach while delivering quality content.

Conclusion

Recently there has been a boom in podcasts by brands. Most of them deal with imparting information and thus fall under the category of infotainment. Some prefer to simply read out the facts, some base the exercise of sharing information on experiences while some indulge in quality narrative techniques.

The format significantly reduces the time demand and so it is well-suited to the increasingly fast pace of life. When it comes to branded content, the medium of audio is pivoted around the information. The interplay of emotions, for now, has been left to the audio-visual medium. Podcasts can be used by brands to work on their respective mandates while expanding the consumer base.