Orama Update #2 - Should you Build The Greatest Show on Earth?
"No one made a difference by building like anyone else"
Welcome to the second Orama Newsletter. I’m George, Founder/Producer at Orama, and this is a newsletter that I will send monthly mainly for clients and partners, with two goals:
Share thoughts & insights about the world of video and podcasting for brands
Keep you in the loop with the latest developments. This replaces the occasional end-of-month email but you can also contact me directly anytime: george@orama.tv, Tel: +44(0)7900033552
I promise to keep it short. Speaking of which, you're on the list (I know, it’s a cardinal sin of marketing - but I had to get started), but if you don’t want to receive it anymore, you can unsubscribe at the end of this email or click here. And if you want to share it with a colleague, they can subscribe here👇🏼
Movie purists will notice that I borrowed the title of this email from the 1952 movie The Greatest Show on Earth, about the Barnum circus, whereas the quote and clip below come from The Greatest Showman, a 2017 movie on the same topic.
This may sound like a distant subject from our everyday corporate business: podcasts, brand videos, testimonials, etc. But I’m here to explain how it is closely related.
According to Wikipedia Barnum’s show “was truly immense and combined all the elements of museum, menagerie, variety performance, concert hall, and circus.”
The playbook for brands as ‘showmen’
I’ve written about the benefits of episodic content for brands (Netflix yourself). Podcasts have become the medium of choice, but it could be videos, articles, keynotes or social content.
Here is a simplified playbook in three parts:
Producing
Positioning
Re-purposing
Producing
It starts by having the proper set-up to record high-quality audio.
Then publishing consistently on a regular schedule.
Then, it’s about developing your style, building consistency, getting “better” guests, and tweaking the show.
Positioning
By creating a well-produced show in a niche regularly, you are bound to achieve some success. Positioning is a critical factor that needs to be pushed further as the ecosystem develops.
My original podcast evolved along this path. It went from
Fintech to
B2B Fintech to
B2B Fintech Marketing
Re-Purposing
Creating clips and articles, transforming video into audio and vice-versa. Something we covered last month (Make it like George Lucas).
This playbook works. And it strives towards “greatness”: better production, more episodes, split into more clips: create the biggest show in your niche.
We see clients growing their audience and having meaningful conversations - that have a measurable impact on their bottom lines.
Brands should leverage the playbook as much as possible and as long as it lasts. However, it should also be clear that the playbook does not create an unassailable moat. It’s a medium-term play, not a long-term one.
The Challenges of Greatness
Ultimately, we’re competing with the infinite amount of people who want a slice of the finite attention of viewers and listeners.
It’s a number game. The challenges are apparent.
Production: Having a well-produced show is becoming the starting point. Improvements are marginal.
Positioning: As more podcasters enter your niche, your share of the audience is bound to decrease.
Re-purposing: Is aslo a number’s game, but since it’s not just clipping segments - re-purposing has the potential to create new formats, new content that supersedes the original one. For those who play it well, it’s potentially a longer game, but this is for a different conversation.
Here are two recent Nielsen stats that paint a picture of the podcasting world:
Greatest vs Favourite
57% of people listen to less than five episodes per podcast
This Nielsen stat indicates a way out of the greatness game. What if we could get listeners to eagerly wait for our next podcast, newsletter, or video just like they wait for the next episode of their favourite show?
This means shifting from Greatest to Favourite. Becoming their Favourite is a great way to build a moat around your content and grow it. Get more downloads because your core audience will listen to most of your episodes. Ultimately, get more ROI. However, it’s probably a pursuit that makes brands less comfortable.
What to do then?
If you have a brand podcast, use the playbook, and keep playing it. But keep in mind it’s a number game that will not last forever. Becoming your audience’s favourite can be easier than becoming the greatest podcast in your niche.
In the next newsletter, I want to introduce how I intend to create, in all modesty, the “favourite” show for my audience. Stay tuned!
By the way, what’s the greatest movie? It depends on your taste but also the context. Maybe even your mood.
The latest film I watched at a movie theatre was: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”, TMNT for short. I got to watch it reluctantly on a rainy day, but it’s surprisingly good.
Is TMNT the greatest movie? I’m not sure. But as an outing, on a rainy day, with boys at this particular age, it could be my favourite movie to watch with my kids.