Podcast Discovery rebranded the long-running Media Podcast with a new look, a new focus on video and even a new name – welcome to The Media Club!
Running since 2006 and hosted by our very own Matt Deegan since 2021, The Media Podcast had begun taking video much more seriously and wanted to develop a high-quality visual offering to generate more engaging social video and provide those who prefer to watch the show with a great product.
While the show isn’t a Podcast Discovery production, with Matt at the helm we felt this was a fantastic opportunity to practice what we preach and reposition the show around its new visual identity, providing consitent and exciting branding whether audiences are engaging with the show on socials, YouTube or their favourite podcast app.
High-quality video requires thinking about the show from a video-first perspective, not just filming it as an afterthought. We moved the show to a dedicated video podcast studio and the results speak for themselves.
With a warmer look in the studio it was time to translate that into the podcast’s wider branding. Podcast Discovery designed new assets across the board, optimised for each platform the podcast has a presence on. The crucial asset from which all others would flow was the new podcast artwork. We arranged a photoshoot to provide us with hundreds of raw images to choose from when designing all of the assets, from the artwork to headers, thumbnails and more.
Our excellent creative team then developed numerous artwork, logo and colour palette concepts, narrowing down and improving on optionss before settling on a final design. The inclusion of the host’s face is crucial to selling the message of the new brand: The Media Club is all about providing an insider’s look at the media, so having a knowledgeable host present on the artwork grants a greater sense of both authenticity and personality. The media industry can feel like an exlusive club and with this artwork you’re being invited in by a trusted member.
It’s also bright and colourful, popping off the screen when you see it in your podcast app, with all of the key elements large enough to discern when squished in alongside numerous other shows on a small screen. It’s also much more memorable, which will be key when building out this brand on YouTube and socials.
The Media Podcast did exactly what it said on the tin. As a title it let anyone who came across it know exactly what they would be getting if they chose to listen. However, with the show and its accompanying assets now transmitting a welcoming warmth, we felt it was important that the name of the podcast matched that warmth, lest it undermine what we were aiming to achieve.
We settled on The Media Club with Matt Deegan as we believe it’s inviting and tells the audience this is a show that’s all about welcoming you into the latest conversations happening throughout the media industry as if you’re in the room. It warms up the previously functional title while keeping its clarity of message.
With a new name and look that sold the concept of the podcast, it was time to get that concept in front of potential listeners. First up was YouTube. A high quality videopodcast is nothing without high quality thumbnails to draw viewers in. These reflected the new brand and made use of some of those hundreds of host photos we took earlier in the process. Having used this opportunity to build a bank of reaction expressions, we now have a Matt for every occasion and can utilise these to create an engaging thumbnail every week. The new logo is also consistently prominent on all video content so people know what they’re watching and how to find it again in the future.
Now we were making a great video product, we wanted to put it in front of as many people who might want it as possible. This meant uploading the video edit to Spotify as well as YouTube. The show also plays as an audio or video podcast to YouTube Music users depending on their preference. This is a new frontier for the industry, becoming widely available to podcasters in 2024. Given this is a topic spoken about on the podcast itself, it would be a missed opportunity not to be there.
This focus on video saw measurable results. A third of those who consume the podcast now watch it. 20 percent of consumption hours now come from viewers. This shift happened almost immediately, demonstrating a clear demand for high quality video that was previously not being met.
We spread the new branding across the show’s social media presence and shared with industry press to complete the transformation from Media Show to Media Club. Final assets including social icons and episode artwork slotted into place.
Finally we rebuilt the show’s website, themediaclub.com, as a home for the podcast. Each episode becomes a blog post, with a summary of the topics under discussion and links to listen or watch. Combined with prompts to sign up to the show’s newsletter and further reading, the show’s new website makes sure each episode is utilised to its full potential.
Welcome to The Media Club. Come on in!