If you’re in PR or a brand marketer, there’s a high chance someone in your world has brought up the idea of a branded podcast recently. And with good reason: the UK podcast market is growing fast — and brand-funded content is quickly becoming one of the smartest, most engaging ways to connect with your audience.
So where do you start? And how do you win at it?
In our opinion, there is actually no such thing as ‘branded’ content. In the ears (and eyes) of consumers, there’s just good content… and bad content. So it’s critical you end up on the right side.
Let’s break down what makes ‘good’ content, what to avoid, and why now is exactly the right moment to jump in.
Why Now?
The UK podcast sector is booming Here’s a stat-fest to whet your appetite:
• UK podcast ad spend hit £83 million in 2023, up 23% year-on-year, and more than tripled since 2020.
• The market is forecast to grow at a 26.3% CAGR, reaching $7.4 billion by 2030.
• Branded podcasts are performing on par with editorial content — in one BBC study, brand mentions drove 16% higher engagement and 12% more memory encoding than the surrounding non-branded content.
• 75% of branded podcast listeners listen through the full episode, and 81% take action after hearing podcast content.
• Branded podcasts can drive 89% higher brand awareness, 57% higher consideration, and 24% higher favourability.
The key takeaway? This isn’t niche anymore — branded podcasts are now a serious channel for brands who want real engagement, long-form attention and cultural credibility.
What the Smartest Brands Are Doing
The best branded podcasts aren’t ads. They’re stories. They’re editorially led. And they sound like something you’d actually choose to listen to.
A great example is Dish by Waitrose, a guest-driven weekly food show hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartley. It doesn’t feel remotely like promotional fluff; it’s prestige content with great guests that delivers value that made you want to lean in. It’s just good content.
Other brands are embedding themselves in top podcasts (like Oatly’s partnership with Reasons to Be Cheerful) or creating niche B2B shows (like Barclays and Allianz) that feel more like useful industry journalism than marketing.
And then there’s Viral Tribe’s very own Paula Radcliffe’s Marathon Run Club — a 16-week training podcast for runners of all levels, co-hosted with Olympic marathoner Chris Thompson. It’s a perfect example of branded content that offers real value: expert guidance, community-building, and inspiration, all wrapped in a credible, high-quality format.
The Trends Driving Growth
Branded podcasts are growing for a reason:
• Screen fatigue means listeners want audio they can enjoy while doing other things — and 94% of listeners multitask while listening.
• Host trust is high — 50% of listeners trust a brand more when it’s endorsed by a podcast host.
• Social amplification is built in — podcasts give you video clips, audiograms, quotes, and longer-form stories that can fuel your content calendar.
• Owned content beats rented attention — a branded podcast is yours. No algorithms. No skipping. Just full-focus engagement.
What Winning Sounds Like
Winning in this space means:
• Smart editorial choices — what’s the idea, what’s the story, and who’s the right voice to tell it?
• A distribution mindset — at Viral Tribe we know that a great creative idea requires a great distribution strategy. We don’t just make it, we broadcast it (via our own radio station), release it on all podcast and video platforms, and amplify it across social.
• Creative with outcomes — branded content should be engaging and effective. Whether it’s awareness, new customers or cultural positioning, you need to define what success looks like.
Final thought
If you’re exploring how to connect with culture, earn attention and create something significant that lasts longer than a campaign, branded podcast content could be your most powerful move in 2025.
And if you want a highly experienced team that knows how to make it happen — from creative to casting to broadcast to social — you know where to find us.