EP 9: Branding

NARRATOR: When it comes to making a podcast or a video series, you're not just making a show, you're making a whole new sub-brand for your business. And just like building any other brand, you need consistency and a unique look and feel. COLIN ROSENBLUM: It's important to brand your show so that it sticks out from everything else that you're putting out there. NARRATOR: Award-winning content producers Colin and Samir. COLIN ROSENBLUM: If you have a logo for your show, a hook, or certain fonts that you use, these are all touch points that your audience can use to talk to each other about the show, as well as share it to other people. KIBI ANDERSON: If I'm thinking about branding my show, the first thing I'm thinking about, what's the T-shirt? NARRATOR: Welcome back, digital content strategist Kibi Anderson. KIBI ANDERSON: It's me again. Hey everyone. What's the vibe, you know, what's the energy, what's the thing that's going to make it instantly recognizable when you walk into the room? Whenever anybody comes in contact with it, they immediately know what the show stands for. What the energy, what the ethos is. And that is magic. SAMIR CHAUDRY: And branding isn't just restricted to graphic design. Branding can be something that just happens on a recurring basis in your program. So that could be your location. It could be a sound effect. It could be a catchphrase that you say every time. We film our show in our car, and that's a part of our brand. Oh, that's fun. COLIN ROSENBLUM: Sounds nice Can you make it-- SAMIR CHAUDRY: Yeah, OK. All right. COLIN ROSENBLUM: The end of the video. SAMIR CHAUDRY: That's the end of the video. All right, peace. So if you're in the club, then you know that we shoot our videos in a car. If you're new here, you're going to have to get up to speed with the rest of the community. NARRATOR: Your company might already have brand guidelines in place. Things like your company colors, fonts, logos, and design language. But when you make a show, you get the chance to think outside the box. BRENDAN SCHWARTZ: Brand affinity marketing gives you the opportunity to talk to your audience and your fans in a new way, start new conversations. NARRATOR: Here's Wistia co-founder Brendan Schwartz to tell us more. BRENDAN SCHWARTZ: So when you're thinking about branding your show, it's important to figure out how to use or explore and move past your existing brand guidelines. And try new things. NARRATOR: It also makes your show feel like a show. BRENDAN SCHWARTZ: Exactly. Without branding, your series could feel like you're selling a product. But with branding, it's like, OK, OK, I'm watching a show here. NARRATOR: Check it out. Without branding, this is just another run-of-the-mill corporate video. But add a set, consistent wardrobe, affable host, a logo, add some theme music and get some lower thirds in there, and now you've got a show. The same is true for podcasts. Here's podcast expert Michelle Khouri to talk about how to brand your podcast. MICHELLE KHOURI: Branding a podcast is a lot like branding a product or a service. You want to look at it as a holistic exercise. It's not just the cover art. It's also the website, the theme music, the social graphics. When somebody looks at your podcast, wherever they find it, whether it's on a website, on a social platform, or anywhere in between, they should be able to tell that it is your show that they're looking at. And you also want to think about-- with the cover art-- extending your current brand, and making sure that it flows with the podcast brand. But also, and this is a little trick I have for you, you want to look at the other podcasts in the genre and make sure that your cover art stands out and looks nothing like any other show in its genre. DAVE MIZZONI: Branding is how when we see your content, when we see the name of what you're doing, how do we feel? Gayme Show is a brand that it came almost brand first. I mean, I thought, game show, spell it G-A-Y, and there it is. NARRATOR: But as a marketer, hearing things like "build a brand," well, it can be pretty daunting, especially when you've already got a lot on your plate. The good thing is that you don't need to go from 0 to 60 all at once. Here's Danielle Bushrow, a designer at Wistia, to share how a few branding elements can go a long way. DANIELLE BUSHROW: Branding your show doesn't take much. You just want to give your audience a few things to connect with each and every episode. NARRATOR: OK, what's that like? DANIELLE BUSHROW: So if you do only one thing to brand your series, make a logo or a title sequence that pops up at the beginning and end of each episode. The way you design this and put this together can communicate a lot about your show. So if the tone of your show is more bold and loud, you want to capture that in the branding. If it's more refined or more playful or more funny, you want that to come across. Branding your series with a title sequence will anchor your viewer in the show, even if your content changes a lot from episode to episode. NARRATOR: A few other simple ways to brand your show are an ear-grabbing, easy-to-remember title, consistent music and sound effects, consistent fonts and graphics, some cool lower-third stylings, a set you use every episode, and a great host or cast. BRENDAN SCHWARTZ: If you're feeling stuck or don't know where to start, make a mood board. So fire up Pinterest, put up a cork board in your office, and start to gather things that inspire you. Photography, fashion, cool locations, color, art, it could be anything as long as it gets you going. The idea with a mood board is that it helps you and your team get these ideas down, and takes the pressure off actually having to design anything. DANIELLE BUSHROW: Once you have some general ideas down, it's time to bring in an in-house designer or creative team if you haven't already. And if you don't have an in-house designer or creative team, well, you're pretty much out of luck. NARRATOR: Wait, really? DANIELLE BUSHROW: No, there is a ton of creative talent out there that would love to work on stuff like this. Check out Instagram, Dribble, Behance, your professional networks, ask your friends if they have friends who are designers. And then start to look through these portfolios, look through the work, and look for something that matches the aesthetic of your brand and strikes the tone that you're trying to create with the brand of your show. And just reach out to them. CREW: Thank you, Danielle. Come through. DANIELLE BUSHROW: Thanks. DAVE MIZZONI: You can brand your show in tiny ways. Like if you think about the show Friends, each one of their episodes was titled, like, "The One Where They--" And that's the format for every single Friends episode. It's letting you know that they're self-aware and know that you might not latch on to the episode title, but you know it's the one where-- it's folded into their brand in a way that is clever. BRENDAN SCHWARTZ: You don't need to do a top to bottom branding exercise for your series. Just start small and focus on creating a consistent experience. DAVID CANCEL: It's not just the episode that you create or the video that you create, but it's everything that goes around that. How do you share it? How do you talk about it? What's the title? What's the experience for that first-time person that's going to see that thing? Because remember, for most of those people, that's going to be the totality of your brand. So you have to sweat everything that goes around that. Those are your brand. NARRATOR: Branding your series won't just help your show feel like a show, it'll give your marketing team a ton of new assets to help promote it. And it will give your audience something to fall in love with. Make sure to check out the next section of Show Business, where we start setting up cameras, placing microphones, and making shows. It's time to move into production.