Podcasts: How I was touched by the hand of pod - Barry Fearn

Back in 2006 I started to listen to podcasts. Ricky Gervais was in the zeitgeist, after the success of The Office. His radio show, The Ricky Gervais Show, launched as a podcast and it flew to the top of the global podcast charts. That year, I also listened to several daily football podcasts covering the World Cup.
Barry Fearn, Managing Director, Lane Media and Member of The Marketing Society.Barry Fearn, Managing Director, Lane Media and Member of The Marketing Society.
Barry Fearn, Managing Director, Lane Media and Member of The Marketing Society.

I wasn’t the only one tuning in. Each year since, podcast listenership has grown, as the breadth and variety of genres has snowballed. Now, around 19 million adults in the UK listen to podcasts and industry experts forecast that this will increase to 28 million over the next five years.

Podcast listening is a unique, immersive experience, an ‘appointment to listen’, compared to other forms of media consumption. Often consumed wearing earphones or headphones, the experience naturally allows listeners to switch off from the outside world, creating a welcome distraction, whether tuning in in the car, walking the dog – or even listening from the bath.

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My own podcast consumption increased during the early stages of the pandemic. The great spring weather, the increased leisure time created by the reality that there was only so much productivity I could genuinely achieve in running my business meant I discovered several new podcasts – from the expertly produced Business Wars, covering business competitors from Ben & Jerry’s vs. Haagen-Dazs and Amazon vs. Walmart to the polar opposite, the lively, laid back, but entertaining The Lovejoy Hour, hosted by Tim Lovejoy.

Putting together another episode of Leading ConversationsPutting together another episode of Leading Conversations
Putting together another episode of Leading Conversations

As a podcast fan and regular consumer, I often wondered what it would be like to host my own series. But which genre would I choose? Football, my first love, is a saturated sector. How would I stand out and who would listen?

That’s when it clicked. The gap and the opportunity would be to create a podcast that combines my personal passions of marketing, people and storytelling in an engaging, but educational style.

Having been a member of the Marketing Society for several years, the collaboration was somewhat of a no-brainer for all involved. The Marketing Society’s member base is full of intelligent and engaging people from a wide variety of marketing and business backgrounds.

Recently, we launched the first episode of the Leading Conversations podcast, focused on how two inspirational ladies launched successful marketing agencies and how they’ve built these successful businesses whilst juggling the realities of being full-time working mums.

Subsequent episodes have tackled the intricacies of brain and mental health, brought to life the stories of how some atypical marketing types began their fledging careers in advertising, a lively discussion around the challenges and opportunities that the drinks industry currently faces and our latest episode focuses on arguably the most important subject of all, sustainability.

I’ve been fortunate enough recently to indulge in my passion for podcasts, meet some fascinating people and bring their stories to life via such an immersive medium.

If this intrigues you to tune in and hear more, please head over to Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon or search “Leading Conversations” wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

Barry Fearn, Managing Director, Lane Media and Member of The Marketing Society.

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