Beyond Retail: Reaching Adyen’s Core Audience Through a Dynamic Podcast Approach

Introduction

The pandemic completely upended the way we all do business - there’s no denying that. It accelerated the digital transformation already in progress. It’s now time for businesses to join in. Adyen believes they have the insight to help guide enterprise businesses through this evolving landscape. 

We all know that times are changing, and we know that trends change with them. Every year Adyen creates an insightful report to help enterprises be ready for change. But how can they be sure it will reach their target audience? How can they open up discussions and share their expertise in the industry? This Adyen case study shows just how they did it.

Key Highlights:

1. Adyen wanted to grow their presence as thought leaders in their industry, and reach more of their target audience. 

2. The team knew they wanted to explore a podcast medium, and they wanted to work with experts. They found Lower Street, and right away it was a perfect fit to reach their goals.

3. Taking a whole new approach to a branded podcast, Lower Street produced multiple seasons of Beyond Retail. Combining the expert voices of Adyen, as well as those of everyday end-users, we brought the retail report to life and helped position Adyen as thought leaders in the industry. 

4. To kick-start the podcast we launched paid promotion campaigns which saw great success. Beyond Retail gained over 16,000 loyal subscribers in a week. 

5.  Beyond Retail saw success with over 130,000 downloads so far. The podcast also brought new voices to Adyen’s work, creating a greater connection with their core audience. 

The Problem

Every year, Adyen publishes an extensive retail report, to share the market trends. The challenge was to get this expert information in front of Adyen’s target audience. Adyen looked for a new way to reach their audience and get this report in front of the right eyes - or rather, into the right ears.

Just as Adyen helps businesses achieve their ambitions - they sought out Lower Street to achieve their own. 

Adyen knew the information they had could inspire businesses to adapt to the digital transformation brought on by the pandemic. Even years out, we see a residual impact on the way business is done. Adyen saw the pandemic as an accelerator, pushing businesses to become more flexible and responsive with e-commerce transactions, evolving customer needs, and pivoting business models. They hoped to be leaders, guiding businesses through this transformation with expert insight. 

And that’s when Adyen found us at Lower Street. Together we looked at the themes of the retail report - and the wider discussions it could spark. A podcast was the perfect medium to bring the report to life. It allowed Adyen’s expert voice and insight to reach more of their target audience.

“Beyond Retail”  was created as a way to provide insightful content - educating and inspiring businesses at all levels to move with these new trends, and keep up with the changing industry. But how did we make it work?

The Solution: Creating A Fresh Podcast - Beyond Retail

• Engage decision makers to show Adyen as a leader in the industry and industry experts to engage in discussion

• Bring in the voices of end-users to include the core audience in the discussion

• Use targeted paid promotional campaigns to grow

From the beginning - teamwork was essential to Beyond Retail’s growth and success. It was clear Adyen believed in the power of this podcast as a way to establish their position as experts in the industry and inspire their audience. The project even garnered the participation of Adyen's CEO, who joined the first episode.

From there, we enlisted the help of other senior members, the VP of Unified Commerce and the VP of Platforms were present and ready to give insight on every episode. This brought a distinct brand voice and expertise to listeners. Thus, creating even more connection between them and their audience. 

Many podcasts broadcast the voices of experts, but with Beyond Retail we looked for something fresh. Our producers decided that to bring the retail report to life, it needed voices of the larger world, voices of the everyday end-users.

Vox pops of clients, industry employees at all levels, and niche experts were integrated into each episode. This kept listeners engaged with changing voices and changing perspectives.

Lower Street producers sought out the voices that would bring something more to the discussion for every episode. 

We took our time to research the right people and had a robust guest selection process. We looked into the Lower Street network and did an initial screening for potential guests. Before handing over a list to Adyen, we conducted extensive pre-interviews to ensure we found the best voices for every discussion. With this, our producer was able to grab the right mix of voices and opinions, as well as save Adyen time, by having guests prepped and ready for a clear direct interview. 

Beyond industry leaders, we looked for a creative angle to Beyond Retail. The team was able to engage the voice and insight of well-known community members such as Celebrity Chef Gizzi Erskine. Gizzi’s voice not only brought a whole new audience to listen in, but she also brought key insight into the Food and Beverage industry. This helped associate Adyen with the industry, as a reminder their vision goes beyond retail.

The next question was: how to get it to the widest audience possible?

How We Reached Adyen’s Key Audience

Marketing Beyond Retail was another step in teamwork, with moves taken by both Adyen and ourselves to reach the goal audience.

From the beginning, engaging the voices of top management and well-known industry members was essential to growth. They were able to share the episodes with their own audience. 

Adyen also created a landing page on their website dedicated to their podcast with a lead capture form at the bottom. This allowed listeners to take a step further and engage in a stronger connection with Adyen.

At the same time, we worked to bring growth through external campaigns. Marketing podcasts can be tough for a company unfamiliar with the medium. Adyen recognized this marketing would require expert assistance, and left it in our hands. 

We decided on running paid promotional campaigns on popular platforms like Apple Podcasts. These promotional campaigns brought over 16,000 subscribers in just over a week.

Outcome - Beyond “Beyond Retail”

“Beyond Retail” successfully brought the voices of individuals together to start conversations on market trends and practices. By sharing a holistic view, and insightful expertise, Lower Street was able to help Adyen connect with a greater audience and establish their position as thought leaders.

We helped Adyen reach their goal of transforming their retail report into engaging content that could inspire business owners at all levels, and establish themselves as thought leaders in their niche. 

Conclusion - Never Be Afraid of Change

As you can see in the Adyen case study -our strategy of including dynamic voices and targeted marketing campaigns continued to bring success through three seasons of Beyond Retail. 

With the launch of Season 3, Adyen decided to move away from the yearly report and focus on the niche of Food and Beverage. A niche that has changed so much in the past years, and one that continues to need adaptation. This season truly showcased Adyen’s expertise beyond retail, establishing them as leaders in industries they weren’t previously associated with.

This fresh approach to a branded podcast allowed Adyen to stand out, all while engaging their target audience. They were able to share their knowledge through multiple industries, and we were able to bring their message to new ears - sharing that expertise with a larger reach. 

Are you ready to grow your presence as a thought leader in your industry? Reach out to discover how we can help you turn your podcast into your success story.