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What's Behind the Branded Podcasts That Don't Sound Like Ads Companies looking for branded podcasts go to Pacific Content.

By Entrepreneur Staff

This story appears in the June 2016 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

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Podcasts will attract 98 million sets of ears this year -- double the number from 2009. But their ads are supereasy to skip. Four ex-radio producers formed Pacific Content to fix that problem: They create branded podcasts for companies such as Slack and Shopify, which are so good that listeners won't treat them like ads. Its founders explain how:

Steve Pratt: "The future of the media business is teaching brands to act more like media companies. When Serial came out in 2014 and podcasting rose, we realized there's a massive market void in branded content."

Jennifer Ouano: "We needed brands that were willing to take a risk and that wouldn't expect people to sign up for their service the minute they heard the podcast. It would be a first touch of the brand and would be about telling compelling stories."

Chris Boyce: "It takes time for people to wrap their heads around it. But what we're producing is every bit as good as the stuff I used to produce at CBC Radio. We're expanding the types of business models that can create high-quality content -- and the audience will follow."

Rob Leadley: "We use Seth Godin as inspiration. He wrote Permission Marketing back in 1999. It's not a new concept, but the challenge is how to tackle it. Part of it is looking for the imaginative companies, the ones that are innovating and driving our world forward."

Pratt: "I feel like we're part of helping define the future of media. The rules aren't written yet, and we've created our dream jobs. I don't want to gloat, but we're having an awesome time."

Check out more companies on the 2016 Brilliant 100 list.

Entrepreneur Staff

Entrepreneur Staff

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