This podcast is an attempt for the company to kick-off conversations we don’t think people have enough: about money. Money is changing—the way we use it, the way we earn it, even the way we handle it. The problem is that the way we think about money today doesn’t seem to be changing in step with the times. We created the podcast for four reasons: 1) to explore and expose the “rules” we all take for granted; 2) to look at how some people and companies are “breaking the rules” and being “bold” enough to look beyond them and imagine new paradigms; 3) to show how new thinking is trying to open pathways of opportunity and equality; and 4) to associate the company with trust and self-empowerment through branded content, albeit with a light footprint.

Audio is a powerful way for us to create an emotional and culturally-relevant connection with an audience. Money is often a taboo subject that many people don’t feel comfortable or educated enough to talk about. The way we think about money—about its role in our lives and what it can do for us—is shifting. That’s where Fortune Favors the Bold comes in. It’s all about the unique and changing role money plays in our lives—and about what happens when we take risks, take control, and redefine our relationship with it. We didn’t want to create the kind of advice show most would expect from a financial services company. We were more interested in sharing stories about the people and organizations who took one look at the ever-growing list of conflicting “shoulds” and decided to take a sharp turn to the left—then started writing their own rules.

Recognizing that audiences tend to distrust stories about a single company and paid for by them, we used the company’s own stance as an “enabler of connections” to define its role in the podcast as well. The company defined the topics it felt it could authentically speak to, but relegated itself to the midrolls. Instead, it let the ideas they promote and partners they work with take the center stage. The overarching business strategy was to plant the seeds for financial empowerment through stories, in the belief that awareness of constraints can lead to self-actualization, that self-actualization often also has spill-over effects and that together, we might just help pave a path to inclusive growth. Empowered people are powerful people. And being a corporation that enables empowerment is powerful, too. All the podcast needed to do was connect the dots.

Each episode uses 1) a personal story to frame the issue, 2) an expert to provide insight, 3) a couple of examples of businesses or individuals who are approaching the issue from new and unexpected angles, 4) a host who serves as the audience’s confederate and shares personal stories to help make the issues even more relatable, and 5) a midroll demonstrating why the company cares about this issue. Season One consisted of six 20-30 minute episodes and was deployed weekly between January 2018 and March 2018. It culminated with a show taped in front of a live audience. Season Two consisted of six 20-30 minute episodes and was deployed weekly between November 2018 and February 2019. We released a bonus episode taped live at OnAir Fest in March 2019. Both seasons were distributed through Megaphone to multiple podcast apps.

Audience download rates for Season One grew more than 55% from the release of Episode One to the release of Episode Six. In the period of time between the end of Season One and the launch of Season Two, total audience downloads increased by 35%. On average, audiences listened to 85% of every episode. Season Two immediately doubled the download rates for each episode in the first week after an episode was released. Season Two also increased total season downloads another 50% over Season One’s totals and the average amount of each episode audiences listened to increased to 87%. A brand lift survey polling audiences from before the release of Season One to after the release of Season Two show a 31% increase in associating the company with “a brand I trust” and a 243% increase in associating the company with “supports causes and initiatives I care about.”