On Sunday night, at around 7:30, I sat down after a long week and found myself switching over to Channel 4 to catch the Formula One Grand Prix. Doesn’t sound particularly weird does it? Except for the fact that the last time I had watched anything Formula One was when I was 12, taking me back about 30 years into my childhood. Over that time I completely lost interest. All I saw were cars going around a track. I had a very surface level understanding of what was happening. And I just wasn’t engaged.
My husband is a massive rugby fan, and has spent his whole life saying “I don’t want to watch Formula One. It’s boring. All I see is a bunch of cars. I don’t know what’s happening and I don’t understand it. It’s not even really a sport.”. Then, one night I discovered him watching the Netflix documentary, Formula One: Drive To Survive. I was intrigued so I started to watch with him and something completely unexpected happened – we became interested in Formula One!
It astonishes me that this documentary has provided so much joy and generated so much interest within us that we’ve found ourselves sitting down to watch Formula One and finding that same joy and interest. I even caught myself getting a hit carried away at one point and screaming at the television. “No Verstappen, No!”. Here are three reasons why this documentary and in a similar way, your podcast, generates interest and engagement in their audiences.
Go Behind the Scenes
When watching the documentary you are presented with an extremely in depth view of what goes down behind the scenes. I always say that podcasting is a behind the scenes medium. Providing this view of things allows your audience to get to know you and better understand what you’re about. This is exactly what we saw in the documentary, from how grumpy some of the drivers get when things aren’t going their way to race managers having to strategise and problem solve when the cars aren’t working in the way they need them to. You get up close and personal with the human emotion involved in the product you are consuming, you see the darkest moments stripped bare and presented as they happen without any fine tuning or polishing. All this helps you understand and form a deeper connection to the story and you take that with you when you go back out the front. You bring the compassion. You bring the understanding. And you enjoy the product more.
Shape your Story
Formula One has allowed Netflix into their world to tell their story but they have the ultimate control over what goes into the documentary, therefore, they are able to shape the narrative they share with the audience. They are the masters of their own destiny. They have used the documentary as a massive advertising opportunity and, as it has with me, the story they have told will generate interest in new customers and expand their reach.
Meet the People Behind the Brand
It can sometimes seem like the obvious best option when naming your podcast is to use the company name and put the brand at the forefront but it can be beneficial to break down this barrier and give your audience an opportunity to get to know the people behind the brand. Watching the documentary we met the people behind each of these brands that make Formula One what it is. We meet Toto Wolff, the head of the Mercedes team. I can now pick out Max Verstappen, I know what he looks like and I understand how he fits into the bigger picture. I understand that Daniel Ricardo is the funny guy. I have formed a more human, personal connection with the brand through ‘meeting’ the people behind them. By knowing these people and seeing them as more than the brands of the cars that they drive I have developed a vested interest in them and because of that, in Formula One. Through your podcast you will be able to let your audience get to know you better and develop a vested interest in your brand, a much more meaningful connection than a company name or a logo.