The Power of Independence: Why Brands Are Betting on Independent Creators

What do an e-commerce giant, an online therapy platform, and a shipping powerhouse all have in common? They all have the same secret weapon when it comes to podcast performance, and they’re spilling it on the new Media Roundtable: Special Edition.

This week, we’re going back to Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW, where Miranda Romano (SVP, Media, Oxford Road) moderated a performance-unlocking panel, “The Power of Independence: Why Brands Are Betting on Independent Creators.” Sharing their indie wisdom was an all-star panel of brand leaders:

• Brynn Greenelsh (Audio Marketing, Auctane–Stamps.com & ShipStation)

• Jessica Williams (Global Brand Marketing & Partnerships, Shopify)

• Brittany Clevenger (Senior Director of Growth Marketing, BetterHelp)

Join us as they cover: Becoming a Household Name, Unmatched Access, Ask An Expert, and more. Let’s dig in.

“Get on the small shows, and it’ll be so worth it.” – Brittany Clevenger (Senior Director of Growth Marketing, BetterHelp)

Household Names – Not every creator is a household name, but sponsoring them can turn your brand into one, and that just makes sense. The giant shows have countless sponsors, but for an indie show, you might be one of one.  That makes you the most important brand for the die-hard audiences that love the show. Our ORBIT data agrees: indie podcasts are 80% of our top 15 performing shows. When you show up for indie creators, the creators’ fans show up for you.

Your All-Access Pass – When you place an ad on a giant show, hosted on a giant network, you’re not talking to the host. When you partner with an independent creator, it’s easier to hop on a call with them. You can spitball, workshop the creative to fit their voice, make the ad work for them and your brand. You don’t just have a host on autopilot reading copy points; they’re eager to make the ad land for their audience. Our panelists agree, unmatched host access unlocks unmatched performance.

Here to Help – Independents offer amazing performance, but they might not have their processes buttoned up yet. To ensure success, Brittany recommends working with an agency (we swear we didn’t tell her to say it). Her point: there’s no need to do this work on your own. You can hit ROI heights with many brilliant indie shows, but to do it at scale, you need extra agency savvy and bandwidth.

For more insights from brand leaders who understand the power of independent creators, check out the full chat via the links below: