Sports Marketing Huddle Podcast Case Study

In a digital landscape where brands are constantly competing for the attention of their customers, there is a hidden gem that when executed correctly can be an effective and valuable way to increase attention and action while authentically telling your brand story. That gem is podcasting.

Before I delve into the results we’ve delivered for the Sports Marketing Huddle, I wanted to set the foundation for why podcasting is an opportunity that brands should be taking advantage of.

Podcasting has been called the Netflix of Radio, allowing listeners to consume audio content on demand. Brands can think of podcasting as marketing and communication channel where you have an opportunity to speak directly to your targeted audience and deliver something of value they’ll enjoy, connect with, and want to share.

There is a lack of noise with podcasting, as it is just you and the listener. This allows your message and the relationship you build with your audience to grow much stronger.

Best of all 100+ million people in the US are listening to podcasts every month, an increase of 25% year over year, so the growth potential is huge.

Tell help brands better understand why they should be podcasting we put together a podcast that gives even more insight.

Here is a look at the results we’ve delivered with the Sports Marketing Huddle, a podcast that takes a look at the hottest real time sports marketing topics.

Hosts:

Brian Cristiano, CEO of Bold Worldwide, an NYC based ad agency for sports & lifestyle brands (on right.)

Rob Cressy, Founder of Bacon Sports, a Chicago based sports content and social media marketing agency (on left.)

Format:

We post podcast episodes multiple days a week with each episode ranging from 10-20 minutes, with the occasional micro episode thrown in (3 – 7 minutes.)

We’ve found that creating shorter podcasts allows for the content to be more digestible. With this we are catering to the short attention span consumption habits that we are seeing in the market.

In addition, shorter podcasts also encourages binge listening. We’ve heard on numerous occasions from subscribers of them listening to 20+ episodes over a short period of time. Just like a Netflix show, when you like something you want to consume as much of it as possible quickly.

Execution:

Whether producing a daily or weekly podcast, the process is the same. Because of this the formula we’ve created for how to execute the Sports Marketing Huddle is repeatable.

The steps are:

• Writing the script/talking points (because the more prepared you are ahead of time the better the podcast will be.)
• Record the podcast
• Insert the pre-recorded show intro (in post production)
• Create the show notes
• Publish the podcast (which goes up on both SoundCloud and iTunes)
• Promote the podcast

We do little to no editing of our podcast other than adding in the intro. This allows us to save time while also keeping the podcast authentic.

Since we are publishing a podcast five days a week we batch record our podcasts, meaning we’ll record three or four episodes in a one hour span. We do this twice a week so the total time we spend recording is no more than 2 hours.

Content:

We’ve created a unique content mix that combines trending sports business and digital marketing topics with interviews from some of the top sports marketers and thought leaders from brands and professional sports teams.

Topics have included:

• How To Market Around The Cubs World Series Run
• Organic and Paid Social Strategies For Sports Brands & Teams
• Super Bowl Commercial Winners & Losers
• Jordan Brand’s Dominance
• Is Gatorade’s Sponsorship of the NBA D-League a Good Thing?

Guest interviews have included:

• Tracy Marek, CMO for the Cleveland Cavaliers
• Megan Ryan, Senior Director of Marketing Strategy for the Atlanta Hawks
• Dave Lang, Director of Digital Media for the Baltimore Ravens
• Pat Gallagher, EVP Marketing of Super Bowl 50 Host Committee
• Erika Nardini, CEO of Barstool Sports
• David Meltzer, CEO of Sports1Marketing
• Bill Rasmussen, Founder of ESPN

In each episode we aim to give insight, actionable tips, and takeaways so the audience can implement the lessons in their own business or marketing journey. This allows the Sports Marketing Huddle to be a trusted and valuable resource to sports business professionals.

We also will throw in the occasional OTR (off the record) where we keep the mics rolling after we are done recording (so they are impromptu.) In these shortened episodes we give rants, insights, or next level thoughts.

OTR topics have included:

• The future of Twitter and GoPro
• What it means to be a leader
• Our results from running Snapchat Geofilters
• What’s the fall out of Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live from the Steelers locker room
• Should you work for free?

Results:

We’ve published over 360 episodes, resulting in 200,000+ downloads of the podcast.

Integration with college sports marketing classes:

One thing that unexpectedly happened as a result of the podcast was the implementation of the Sports Marketing Huddle as part of the course curriculum of sports marketing classes at several universities. It started with a sports marketing professor at the University of Dubuque binge listening to our podcast while on a road trip. He noticed a void in the way that sports marketing is currently taught, as marketing books have become outdated and there hadn’t been a way for real time digital and sports marketing topics to be integrated.

That’s when we collaborated with him and he integrated the Sports Marketing Huddle as a valuable learning tool for his students. He would have them listen to the podcast as homework and then they’d discuss the topics and takeaways in class.

Right now we are proud to be working with sports marketing classes at:

• University of Dubuque
• University of Houston
• University of Massachusetts

We’ve created two podcasts pertaining to our relationship with the University of Dubuque:

The Beginning: How was the partnership formed plus expectations for the podcast on both sides.

The Results: What was their experience like using the podcast as part of their sports marketing course (from both the teacher and student side.)

Reviews:

Summary:

It’s time to start marketing not just with your eyes, but with your ears and your heart. Podcasting gives brands the ability to tell their story in a fun and engaging way that provides value while increasing attention and encouraging action.

Talk to us about how we can help grow your brand via podcasting. Contact Rob Cressy at rob@baconsports.com.