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It’s a trend we’re seeing more and more of. Businesses using podcasts to speak directly to their customers. The latest to jump on the branded podcast wagon is national grocery chain Kroger.
Kroger’s new podcast Noshtalgia is hosted by cookbook author and TV Personality Danielle Kartes. The goal of the show is to push out Kroger’s tagline “Fresh for Everyone.”
In episode #1 Kartes speaks to a Kroger customer about a comforting dish she had growing up, her grandfather’s Waldorf salad. She also speaks to a Kroger chef at the company’s culinary center about how to make a version of….the Waldorf salad.
PBJ reached out to several experts who focus a lot of their time on branded podcasts and asked them why more big brands are getting into podcasting.
Dave Beasing, CEO of Sound That Brands, says, “If you’re old enough, you remember when every brand was scrambling to put up a good website. That’s podcasts in 2020. Our motto at Sound That Brands is, “Be the content, not the interruption,” and that’s how companies view marketing now. People don’t like commercials unless they’re perceived as quality content.
Podcast Pontifications host Evo Terra says we’ve got it backward. “Customers are choosing to talk to big brands, and big brands are responding. It was customers posting to Twitter and Facebook a dozen years ago about their experiences with big brands that forced big brands, often kicking and screaming along the way, to be a part of the conversation, lest the lose all control. Today, they’ve taken notice that people are choosing to listen to podcasts on a variety of
Joelle Nole is managing Director at Larj Media. “Brands are increasingly being held to account for their values – what they stand for, how well they know their customer. A podcast offers brands a way to show rather than tell who they are by giving their customer the gift of entertainment, emotional sentiment, experience, knowledge and so on. It reveals the brand to their customer through this delightful 20 – 30 minutes weekly experience. If the brand in authentic and they get it right, it’s immensely powerful.”
Jam Street Media CEO Matty Staudt tells PBJ a podcast gives a brand the ability to really share their values and ideas directly with a consumer or potential customer. “In a world where ad skipping is increasing a podcast gives a brand the chance to really have folks engage with them in a personal one on one way. It’s also great content to feed their social and other digital channels.”