Why you don't necessarily need to create a podcast in 2024

Podcasting as a medium has been expanding rapidly over the years. While its presence in Asia ebbs and flows, more and more brands are investing in the space. 

In fact, recent insights from an Acast Study reveal a seismic shift in the mindset of global marketers where 49% of marketers expect increased spending on the medium over the next five years. 

Don't miss: The Asian podcasting revolution: What future prospects look like in the space

The anticipated surge in podcast ad spend over the next five years signifies a growing recognition of this medium's immense value. 

This begs the question as to whether or not brands should jump on the bandwagon and create their own podcast. 

Timi Siytangco, key account director at Acast Asia, said podcasts can create connection and community in a way no other media can. However, it is hard to achieve desired results if a brand does not have an existing audience. "Brands who succeed with their own podcasts are those who already have a developed content marketing engine," said Siytangco.

"They typically already have a long-running blog and established audiences on social media and they invest as much budget into podcast promotion as they do into podcast production." 

Don't create, sponsor.

One such way brands can participate and engage with the podcast channel, Siytangco suggests, is to sponsor instead. "For most brands, the most effective way to capitalise on podcast popularity is to sponsor a podcast, or advertise across a collection of relevant shows," said Siytangco. 

Budgets, according to Siytangco are flexible when sponsoring and can offer creative opportunities for a brand to cut-through. Rather than creating a podcast series, brands can collaborate with a podcaster who will script and deliver an effective brand message instead too, she added.

Alternatively, brands can get creative within a 30-second audio ad by using sound effects, 3D audio, and great scriptwriting.

Plus, podcast advertising is now highly measurable. While audio does not have clicks, the ecosystem is developing rapidly in terms of brand lift and measurement technologies. Innovations in targeting are also available which helps brands reach specific audiences regardless of what podcast they're listening to. 

"If you need to reach a new parent, you don't have to run just on parenting shows - which are few and far between. Parents are actually more likely to listen to news, comedy and entertainment shows," said Siytangco. 

Carl Javier, CEO of PumaPodcast agrees with Siytangco, adding that there are plenty of other factors to consider when creating a brand podcast. Some of these factors include whether a brand has time and focus on podcast efforts and what their short and long-term goals are.

"It takes a lot of time, effort and expertise to build a brand podcast, but it's relatively easy to find and support, partner or sponsor already existing podcasts that align with the brand and their goals," said Javier.

Ultimately, it all boils down to a brand's goal. Javier said:

If the goal is to reach listeners, align with already existing podcasts that have a listener bases, and find ways to partner with them.

However, if it's industry leadership or other organisational, B2B goals, added Javier, launching their own podcast might be strategic. 

Starting a podcast from scratch

However, if your organisation is determined on creating a podcast one brand to learn from is Standard Chartered. In Singapore, the bank has a few podcast series including Market Updates and Industries in Transition. 

According to Lisa Ortner-Ghouze, global head of marketing for financial markets at Standard Chartered, podcast is an important channel for the brand to communicate with its customers.  This is especially since complex topics can be approached in a conversational and engaging manner. 

Lisa Ortner-Ghouze, global head of marketing for financial markets at Standard Chartered, will be speaking at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's annual #Content360 conference on 24-25 April 2024. Check out her session here. 

"We are in the B2B space, it's B2B marketing, it's financial services, so it comes back to what do you want the podcasts to do? What provides insights to our clients?" said Ortner-Ghouze. 

"Podcasts are very digestible, they allow us to talk about complex themes in plain English - that's why they resonate with our target audience." 

It should feel like a dinner table conversation.

Echoing Siytangco and Javier, Ortner-Ghouze explained that Standard Chartered produce most, if not all of its podcasts in partnership with its clients. "We decide on a relevant topic, and basically flesh it out like a panel discussion," she said. "Tap into your client base, find a strong host - people you can groom internally - or consider partnering with a journalist." 

To create an impactful podcast, one must have a clear channel and editorial strategy, explained Ortner-Ghouze. This includes figuring out the right frequency of episodes and having a fleshed out editorial calendar. 

Brands also have to strategise how much money will be invested into the podcast - especially since alot of money is required to promote and create a listener base in the early stages of the podcast. As such, Ortner-Ghouze would only recommend brands to start their own podcast channel, if they have all the resources. 

Even so, Ortner-Ghouze emphasises that podcasts are just one of Standard Chartered's communication channel. "It is one important channel to communicate with our customer, but it's not the only one," said Ortner-Ghouze. "We also invest in short and long form articles, videos and infographics." 

Join us this coming 24 - 25 April for #Content360, a two-day extravaganza centered around four core thematic pillars: Explore with AI; Insight-powered strategies; Content as an experience; and embrace the future. Immerse yourself in learning to curate content with creativity, critical thinking, and confidence with us at Content360!

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