Crafted Podcast: Sparking Conversations by Raising Brand Awareness
Contents
Our case study highlights Lower Street’s success in producing the Crafted podcast. By running paid promo campaigns and earning an honorary mention at the 2023 Webby Awards, Crafted has gained traction and attracted industry leaders on the show.
The quality has been great. I worked at the highest levels of public radio, and I can see the same quality of work, the same attention to detail here.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium | Host of Crafted, a Webby-honored top technology podcast
Key Highlights
Artium understood the need to bring in production experts who provide services resulting in high-quality shows that keep listeners engaged.
Artium knew that a great podcast requires countless hours of behind-the-scenes work and wanted to bring on a company they could trust. They chose Lower Street after seeing the company’s passion and creativity on the website and meeting with our CEO, Harry.
Lower Street helped with the editing process to create a top-quality show and ran paid promo campaigns to grow an engaged audience for the show.
With a solid launch and target audience campaigns, the Crafted podcast debuted at #4 on Apple Podcasts Technology Chart.
Lower Street and Artium’s collaboration resulted in the show being named at the 2023 Webby Awards as an Official Honoree for Tech shows.
Part 1: The Problem
Artium knew from the start that they wanted to bring on a company specializing in B2B branded podcasts to help grow and produce the show. They had two main objectives for the show: build Artium’s brand awareness and highlight the work of technology leaders who, like the “Artisans” at Artium, care deeply about the craft of software development.
We should work with audio professionals. We feature people who we admire and who are building great software and software companies and great products. Our objective was to position ourselves in that echelon of great builders.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
Artium wanted to interview leaders in the software industry to gain valuable insight into great products and foster potential client relationships.
The second objective is inviting folks on the show who we’ve worked with in the past and some we may work with in the future. If we’re sharing the episodes and they’re advancing the conversations that we’re having, that’s a win.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
With Dan’s background as a public radio producer and host for more than 10 years, he knew the hours of work it takes to produce a great podcast. He wanted to bring on experts to help with the backend, so he could focus his time on fostering relationships with each guest.
Utilizing their expertise, Lower Street condensed 60 minutes of recording into 20 minutes using narrative techniques, delivering the audience concise yet high-quality information.
Every episode is 20 minutes, and you get the value you might have gotten from a 45-minute show. I think the story you get in 20 minutes on a Crafted episode far outweighs the 45, 60, 90-minute episodes you might get from other shows.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
With so many podcast production companies available for hire, Artium did their research. Wanting more than just generic editing and removing filler conversation, they focused on finding an agency skilled at producing B2B branded podcasts. After speaking with Harry and seeing the passion and hard work that Lower Street could bring to the table, they decided it was a perfect fit.
A lot of the firms that we spoke to, they would just de-“um” the show and sort of rinse and repeat. I thought Lower Street did a really good job of understanding what we were going for and understanding the tenor and tone of the show. So that’s a lot of what led us to Lower Street.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
Part 2: The Solution: Editing and Listener Acquisition
The Crafted podcast was designed for a specific target audience: fellow software makers and company builders. With this in mind, Artium reached out to potential guests who could help them provide engaging and relevant topics in these areas.
From this perspective, the audience gained valuable insight from conversations ranging from the creation of new technology to aid in the world of construction to how a CEO increased employee performance and engagement.
I remind every guest before we start the interview that our target audience is software engineers, designers, product managers, data scientists, founders, and company builders. Our target audience is not general.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
Lower Street had a clear goal in mind when producing the Crafted podcast—to attract the attention of future guests and even possible clients for Artium. We achieved this by gaining recognition and approaching CEOs and CTOs of well-known software companies.
Step 1: Guest Selection and Pre-interview
A crucial step in producing the Crafted podcast was the guest selection process. First, Dan would conduct outreach, identifying a list of who would be the right voice to have on Crafted. After this initial step, Lower Street stepped in to perform deeper research and help decide who would step behind the mic. Pre-interviews were conducted, providing an opportunity to assess if the guest aligned with the show's ethos and could offer unique, compelling insights that would captivate listeners.
I will bring in a producer from Lower Street, and we’ll do a pre-interview. We’ll get to know the person and try to identify areas that we would focus on in the recorded interview. So, I think the pre-interview is really important.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
The host wanted to focus his energy on creating an engaging show by having genuine conversations with his guests. Handing over the editing process to Lower Street gave him the ability to do just that. He trusted that we could handle the backend while he spent his time and energy getting to know his guests.
Podcasters burn out because they don’t appreciate how much work it takes. And in particular, how much work it actually takes to create a really high-quality show.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
With a background in public radio, the host understood that poor-quality podcasts don’t generally keep listeners' attention. Because of this, he emphasized the importance of sound quality and audio equipment for recording each show.
Step 2: Raising Brand Awareness and Growing the Audience
With the specific editing needs established, Lower Street focused on increasing brand awareness for Artium and growing an audience for the podcast.
The first step was to help the podcast itself gain recognition. In June of 2023, Lower Street launched two paid listener acquisition campaigns in a bid to reach new listeners and gain traction on the charts.
The growing audience has since opened doors and sparked conversations with leaders in their industry. This led to conversations with C-suite executives of billion-dollar companies such as the CEO of Lattice, and the CEO of Monte Carlo. Having specific guests who not only bring thought-provoking conversations to the podcast but also offer potential partnership opportunities with Artium has helped increase brand awareness and business.
The podcast has helped us start a number of conversations, some of which have turned into business, some of which are in various stages. But it has definitely led to conversations that we probably would not be having otherwise.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
Producing a podcast that harnesses a story arc within each episode and focuses on high-caliber guests keeps listeners returning for more. The expert-quality audio and editing only add to the listening experience.
Each episode more or less follows the same structure and story arc of getting to know the guest and what is relevant, like background details and getting into a sort of case study of what they built.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
Part 3: The Outcome
Starting the podcast offered Artium a unique way to nurture their relationship with current clients. After only a year of podcasting, Crafted significantly increased brand awareness for Artium, helping the company become a thought leader in the software industry. Crafted also allowed the company to foster new relationships and partnerships.
Using popular platforms such as Apple Podcasts, the show gained over 24,000 new listeners. With such a large and sudden increase, the show scaled the charts, ranking at the top of the Tech charts on Apple Podcasts.
The increased rankings and sheer quality of the show made Crafted the proud honoree of a Webby award. This accomplishment helped them stand out from the crowd and attracted high-quality guests.
Between being honored at the Webby Awards and being on the Apple technology charts in our first month, and then being able to point to previous guests like large Silicon Valley multi-billion dollar companies, I can point to these proof points and cold reach out to almost anyone.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
The host’s dedication to creating a show that highlights innovative software and technology, combined with Lower Street’s technical know-how, resulted in 29 episodes shared across 10 platforms.
It’s been a pleasure working with everyone at Lower Street. I’m really proud of the show and working with folks like yourselves. That’s how the show is as high quality as it is.Dan Blumberg, Product & Growth Leader at Artium
Conclusion
This show is a great example of how starting a podcast for a business could lead to new clients and increased brand awareness. Lower Street’s editing and promotional campaigns created the perfect recipe for a show focusing on unique software developments.
Lower Street was able to expertly curate story arcs into each 20-minute episode. These stories, together with engaging narration, immersive sound experience, and expert guests brought forward comprehensive episodes. Crafted’s audience was able to enjoy insightful content in a digestible format. Listeners and guests alike can learn more about Artium from this expert-level podcast.
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Author
Steven Bonnard
Head of Marketing
Hi, I'm Steven. I'm a globe-trotter who loves running long distances and listening to podcasts, especially from the news, politics and fantasy categories.
