ABOUT

The Client

Founded in Sweden, Acast is the world’s largest podcast monetisation and distribution platform. Since 2014, Acast has been the engine powering podcasting for creators, advertisers and listeners everywhere through the most innovative tools and services. It makes available and monetises some of the most popular podcast shows as well as those from established publishers such as VICE, The Guardian, and Scientific American. Acast has sales teams on the ground in 13 international markets and counts more than 180 million total listens per month across its network

The Brief

With a Reuters report in 2019 finding 57% of Mexicans listen to podcasts each month, Acast wanted to enter the market with the intention of turning the country into a major global player in podcasting. Starting work in February, our brief thus was to raise awareness and help publishers, advertisers and anyone who has a story to tell to understand the range of products and services on offer through high-impact news and feature coverage in target media, as well as promote the consumer-facing platform (and star podcasts) to Mexican listeners.

Acast also wanted to establish key relationships to reinforce the values of the company and raise the profile of its local experts, positioning them as genuine thought-leaders in the sector. Lastly, it wanted to localise international content and develop Mexican specific material.

Strategy

As Acast was new to Mexico, we were ultimately launching the brand from scratch. As the client had zero profile and there were no similar platforms on the market, many media initially struggled to understand the products and services Acast offers.

We needed a way to explain the company’s offering in an easy to grasp yet attractive way. Being new to Mexico also meant Acast could provide neither local data nor regional perspectives on consumption habits.

Immediately after we launched Acast in Mexico, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Mexico, forcing the country into lockdown and prompting a complete rethink of our strategy.

Firstly, we researched the podcast landscape in Mexico, noting a considerable increase in interest during the past two years, both from a listener and a publisher/advertiser viewpoint. To compensate for the lack of local data, we organised a survey of more than 500 consumers in Mexico, to learn more about their podcast consumption habits, as well as what type of podcasts they prefer.

We perceived that podcasts were more popular in the northern region of the country due to the proximity to the United States, where the market is more developed. Many of these podcasts would be in English, so with that knowledge we asked about favourite topics and other desirable subjects that could help us better understand the kind of content we should be looking to localise and produce in Spanish for the rest of the country.

There was already a host of Mexican podcasts so we also looked at these and how they address different topics of interest that we could then push towards the general public through the media. Given that, we were allowed to create information to the public in a general criterion and we could determine this 'likeness' of Acast content. With these, we could encourage Mexicans to listen to podcasts on a more regular basis, which in turn would make it easier to attract the attention of podcasters and advertisers. Making people more aware and knowledgeable about the company would take them a step closer to getting on the platform.

The Execution

Launching Acast in Mexico, we wanted to grab people’s attention while also ensuring the brand appears fun, exciting, and modern. We decided then, rather than organising a traditional press conference with presentations, monologues, and formal questions, we would throw a podcast networking party and invite Tier One media outlets from the world of business, tech, entertainment, and general news, as well as podcast enthusiasts, investors, and potential customers.

Held at the “La Única Patio Bar”, the event involved Sergio Domínguez, Acast’s country manager for Mexico, saying a few words before music, networking, and plenty of tequila took centre stage. The result was an informal occasion where Acast staff built relationships with key media in a relaxed setting, while influencers, journalists and other guests posted on social media helping raise brand awareness.

One issue we faced was that Advertising Week was also occurring at the same time in Mexico City (which Acast was also attending). So our strategy was to not only expand the guestlist to ensure full attendance at both events, but we also provided tickets for AdWeek and shuttled journalists between events.

The connection established that night between Acast and the media would prove crucial in the coming months as the global pandemic forced a lockdown within days of the event and we had to run the campaign remotely, relying at times on the media already knowing the client.

With the media now more familiar with Acast, we created a series of listicles recommending various types of podcasts to help the general public during the global lockdown. Some general listicles included the best journalistic investigations, horror stories, geek culture, and sports.
But we also pitched more pandemic-specific lists, such as how to use meditation podcasts to relax during these scary times, and the best podcasts to help keep your personal finances healthy during the economic shutdown.

During the Black Lives Matters protests and growing transgender debates in June, we also promoted podcasts that help listeners understand and promote tolerance, equality, non-discrimination and dignity of LGBT people.

And recognising that people were stuck indoors, we shared materials with technology media providing tips on how to record podcasts from home, encouraging the public to turn publisher. We organised an Instagram Live with an Acast host and technology specialists Paréntesis to share advice and recommendations on how to structure a podcast, as well as a Facebook Live video alongside popular site Geekzilla to explain how to upload podcasts to Acast.

The Results

Solely from the launch event, we organised 13 briefings with relevant Mexican media, such as Reforma, El Financiero, Forbes, Milenio TV Imagen Empresarial, Expansión, Merca2.0 and El CEO. By the end of June, four months working together, we had generated 169 pieces of coverage, reaching more than a billion online readers and in excess of a million coverage views and social media shares. Our coverage positioned Acast in print media with a combined readership of close to 11 million, appearing in the likes of Forbes, Expansión, Entrepreneur, El Universal, El Financiero, Revista NEO, Luis GyG, Vía Podcast, NotiPod Hoy, 15a20, Dinero en Imagen, Publimetro, among others.

The interest generated through articles and influencers also led to media creating their own podcasts on Acast. For example, Erick Contreras, a tech editor, launched Geekzilla’s own show in April; tech journalists Salvador Martí and Adrián Campos migrated WikiLinks to the platform, as well as Aura Al Futuro podcast of Aura López, tech journalist; and Fernando Santillaánes, a tech editor at Milenio, is in the process of launching his Milenio TV & Pixels Podcast. Similarly, major companies such as OEM & Alazraki Entertainment and a recognized Televisa producer, Damián Pedro, chose Acast to be the platform to host their podcasts. The Acast app was also downloaded more than expected in the country

"The campaign has been instrumental in gaining brand presence of Acast in Mexico,” said Amy Townley, Global PR Director at Acast. “Sherlock Communications has secured widespread media placement to share our brand story as the world's leading podcast company, as well as detailing our capabilities as the home for podcast creators and podcast buying globally. Sherlock has connected Acast with creators interested in our services and bridged the gap between global and local teams with ease.”