In Telco, consumers are inundated with complicated contracts and hidden fees that condition them to deal-hop. AT&T Fiber’s challenge was to stand out amongst its competitors by highlighting its guaranteed Straightforward Pricing in an unexpected and entertaining way.

So, we created Straightforward with JB Smoove, a 12-episode podcast series that delivers straightforward answers in about half a minute, disrupting the traditional podcast model and giving consumers clarity in a category known for confusion and complexity.

The podcast set out to deliver clarity in a world of complexity, doubling down on being straightforward and leaning into disruption in traditional audio with the first-ever podcast within a podcast via 30-second streaming audio ads to promote the series. By the end of the flight, the podcast will have reached 1.9 million people.

Podcasts have become needlessly long and complicated. The average podcast episode has ballooned to 40 minutes, while the most popular podcast requires on average a 2-hour, 38-minute listening commitment. It’s why people listen to them to fall asleep.

Telco brands are also known for their long and complicated monthly bills and contracts. But AT&T Fiber simplifies them all with its guaranteed Straightforward Pricing.

We wanted to extend the brand’s straightforward approach to the podcast space. So, we created the world’s shortest podcast. A series that gave listeners straightforward and entertaining answers and advice in episodes that ran only about half a minute long.

We targeted heavy podcast listeners by partnering with iHeartMedia’s podcast network. We promoted the series by disguising our episodes as 30-second streaming pre-roll and mid-roll podcast audio ads that we aired on the most popular shows of the iHeartMedia network: creating the first-ever podcast within a podcast. Within the iHeartMedia network, we strategically targeted the Curiosity Network, which includes some of the most renowned and lengthy podcasts in the informational space, including: Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class, Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know, Ridiculous History, and more. Within the context of these lengthy podcasts, Straightforward with JB Smoove stands out as a no-nonsense podcast, delivering just the facts, without the fluff.

To highlight AT&T Fiber’s guaranteed Straightforward Pricing, we wanted to develop entertaining and engaging creative that embodied a “Straightforward” ethos. In considering talent, no one embodied the straightforward tone better than JB Smoove. Fresh off the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, his distinct voice and ability to cut to the chase were a perfect match. During production, we were rigorous in keeping episodes around half a minute; because just like Straightforward Pricing, we want consumers to get the gist quickly. For our media strategy, rather than driving listeners away from their chosen content, we took a direct approach by disguising our episodes as streaming audio ads. Partnering with the #1 podcast network company, we aired them on shows that are famously not straightforward, giving consumers straightforward facts in an environment where brevity is not the norm.

Because we deliver entire episodes of our podcast within audio ad placements, by the end of its 60-day media flight (concluding June 2024), we will have reached 1.9 million podcast listeners on the iHeartMedia network. Within its first week, the podcast has already reached over 600K listeners. And, as for organic podcast listenership, Straightforward with JB Smoove placed among the top 5% of podcasts by number of downloads (listens) in the first week according to Buzzsprout.