How to Start? Insights From France’s Best Podcast Agency

Outline of the article:

• Learn first, succeed later
• The basics of branded podcasts
• Struggles with starting a branded podcast
• Preparing to start the journey
• Summary

Learn first, succeed later

We often forget that successful brands didn’t start at the top of their industry. There’s usually a steep learning curve, especially in a young industry like the branded podcast business.

As the head of audio narrative at HRCLS, Chloé shared her struggles and lessons with Rumble Studio which any podcaster can benefit from. We’re talking about a combined experience of 21 years between HRCLS and Chloé in the podcast industry. It’s a lot of time to make mistakes, learn from them, and guide others to help them accelerate their path to a successful podcast. So what can we learn from the number one podcast agency in France?

The basics of branded podcasts

First, what does a branded podcast mean as opposed to a regular podcast? It’s not just a podcast produced by a brand, but also a communication strategy that defines the brand’s image to its customers. You would assume that brands would always use it to sell their products or services, but as Chloé mentions it’s not always the case. The brand wants to portray its vision and identity that customers can relate to.

It’s a channel that allows them to effectively reach and engage with their target audience.

If you’re thinking about starting a branded podcast, the following facts might inspire you to take that first step:

• The global podcasting market, valued at $11.5 billion in 2020, is expected to reach $94.9 billion in 2028 (CAGR of 31.1%).
• A study by the BBC found that due to the intimate nature of podcasts there’s an increase in several key brand metrics such as awareness (89%), brand favorability (24%), and purchase intent (14%).
• After surveying 151.000 listeners among 205 podcasts, a study by Midroll found that 60% have bought an advertised product after listening to a podcast.

The podcast industry is establishing itself as a form of content creation that listeners enjoy regularly. More producers and podcasts are entering the space and advertisers are actively considering it as part of their communication plan. 

It’s the right time to jump in!

Struggles with starting a branded podcast

Chloé remembers a bumpy ride during her first branded podcast 4 years ago.

Her journey started with nothing out of the ordinary, a mere “easy-peasy” fiction podcast for Orange. To put things into perspective, a simple interview would take you one or two weeks to produce, but for an ambitious project like this one, it would take months or even a year. However, Chloé only had a very short time to create a compelling story that had to feel like a TV show but with nothing more than audio to drive engagement.

Chloé was bombarded with challenges from all directions: finding writers with specific expertise for audio fiction, creating an engaging narrative with sound elements, preserving the brand’s identity without interfering with the story’s pace, and all of this while running out of time.   

From this experience, Chloé learned two valuable lessons:

1. Place audio at the center of your content creation process: this includes things like taking care of the sound design, writing a story that the audience can follow without the aid of visuals, and mixing all these elements into a coherent episode.
2. Always consider how the podcast will be distributed from its inception: don’t leave the communication strategy when the podcast is ready to be broadcasted. It’s already too late at that stage of the process.

Preparing to start the journey

Whenever you start working with a brand, always tackle the following questions at the very beginning:

• Purpose: What is your goal?
• Message: What do you want to say?
• Reason and intention of the communication strategy: Why do you want to say it through a podcast?
• Audience: Who do you want to talk to?

It’s important to dive deep before committing to this form of communication because of the high costs of time and money. Think of a timeframe of a couple of months to a year for more complex projects and if your budget doesn’t range from at least 2.000€ for a simple interview to 10.000€ for a fiction episode, then podcasting might not be the best approach to the brand’s needs.

If you see that this is way out of your budget, don't despair! We have a more affordable solution that takes advantage of the latest technology at Rumble Studio. We'll be happy to help you get on the right track.

Summary

In a time when branded podcasts are on the rise, the best podcast agency in France HRCLS has some valuable lessons to share with the podcast community. Their head of audio narrative, Chloé, emphasizes that podcasts should be part of the brand’s larger communication strategy and a plan to broadcast it should be in place from day one. It’s a time and cost-consuming endeavor, but the industry is growing at such a rapid pace that this is the perfect time to start your branded podcast.

There are a lot more useful tips you will find in the podcast interview with Chloé, check it out! You’ll listen to the importance of sound design, what HRCLS's next podcast adventure is, and much more. Anyone thinking of starting a branded podcast or already doing one will get practical insights into their own journey in this space. 

Useful Links

• HRCLS
• Chloé Tavitian linkedin
• Rumble Studio - Create your free account!