Final Management Project

Final Management Project:

Exploring Podcasts as a Marketing Medium for a B2B company in the Luxury industry Course: MSc Fashion, Design and Luxury Management, Grenoble Graduate School of Management (2017 - 2019)

Student Name:

School Tutor:

Ananya Bhandari

Paul Gaffney

To fill in for Internship only: Company Name: Luxurynsight Location: Paris, France Position occupied: Business Development and Communication Associate

Summary: Podcasting is quickly becoming the latest trend that the brands are adapting to their marketing strategies. Even though podcasting is not a new medium for communication, its growth in popularity is attracting many marketers to test out the opportunities the medium presents. Marketers’ constant need for a new and niche medium to grow their brand and share their expert knowledge has made the podcast a coveted medium for many brands. Through this project, the researcher will study the implications and effectiveness of podcasts as a marketing tool, the factors behind the reason for the resurgence of the medium and the opportunities it may present to a business-to-business (B2B) company who wants to integrate podcasts as part of their marketing mix.

Table of Contents CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Importance of the Study ...................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Aid Business Development at Luxurynsight ............................................................................................ 5 1.2.2 Develop New Skills .......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Contribute to the Academic Literature ..................................................................................................... 5

1.3 Statement of Purpose ........................................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research Questions................................................................................................................................................ 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................... 7

2.1 Definitions of Key Terms ...................................................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Podcast ................................................................................................................................................................ 7

2.2 Understanding the rise of podcasting as a phenomenon ..................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Tracing origins of podcasting and addressing the Radio vs Podcasts argument ....................... 8 2.2.2 Rise in popularity of podcasts ...................................................................................................................... 9 2.2.2 Technology is fuelling the podcast growth ........................................................................................... 10 2.2.3 Appeal of podcasts for marketers............................................................................................................. 11 2.2.4 Appeal of podcasts in France ..................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.5 Appeal of podcasts in the fashion and luxury industries .................................................................. 13 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 15

3.1 Research Questions & Objectives .................................................................................................................. 15 3.2 Exploratory Qualitative Research: Case Study .......................................................................................... 15 3.2 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................................................ 17 3.3 Data Collection Methods ................................................................................................................................... 17 3.3.1 Unobtrusive methods ................................................................................................................................... 18 3.3.2 Internet-aided Questionnaire ..................................................................................................................... 20

3.4 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................................... 22 3.4.1 Scope ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 3.4.2 Time constraints ................................................................................................................................................................ 23 3.4.3 Restricted access to information ............................................................................................................................. 23

3.5 Reliability and Threats......................................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................. 25

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4.1 Case Studies ............................................................................................................................................................ 25 4.1.1 The Faubourg of Dreams by Hermès .................................................................................................................... 25 4.1.2 ‘3.55’ by Chanel ................................................................................................................................................................. 27 4.1.3 ‘Gucci Podcast’ by Gucci ............................................................................................................................................... 31 4.1.4 ‘The Memory of…with John Galliano’ by Maison Margiela ....................................................................... 33 4.1.5 ‘Chloé Radio’ by Chloé .................................................................................................................................................. 35

4.2 Internet-aided Questionnaire .......................................................................................................................... 37 4.2.1 Summarizing the collected data .............................................................................................................................. 38 4.4.2 Interpreting the collected data ................................................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS .......................................................................................................................... 45

5.1 Theory Development........................................................................................................................................... 45 5.2 Developing and Applying the Implementation Model ......................................................................... 46 5.2.1 Understanding the brand’s identity, positioning and target audience .............................................. 46 5.2.2 Defining the content strategy for the podcast ................................................................................................ 48 5.2.3 Exploring the possibility of collaborations ......................................................................................................... 50 5.2.4 Producing the podcast .................................................................................................................................................. 51 5.2.5 Launching, Maintaining and Promoting the podcast ................................................................................... 51

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 53 6.1 Theoretical and Managerial Implications .................................................................................................... 53 6.2 Reflections on the study .................................................................................................................................... 53 6.3 Impact of the Study ............................................................................................................................................. 54

CHAPTER 7: BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 55 7.1 List of References .................................................................................................................................................. 55 7.2 Appendices .............................................................................................................................................................. 63

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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION This chapter is a brief overview of the study undertaken for this Final Management Project, and it introduces the readers to the topic of the project and its relevance, research questions, the scope and significance of the research.

1.1 Background Podcasting is quickly becoming the latest trend that the brands are adapting to their marketing strategies. Even though podcasting is not a new medium for communication, its growth in popularity is attracting many marketers to test out the opportunities the medium presents. Marketers’ constant need for a new and niche medium to grow their brand and share their expert knowledge has made the podcast a coveted medium for many brands. Through this project, the researcher will study the implications and effectiveness of podcasts as a marketing tool, the factors behind the reason for the resurgence of the medium and the opportunities it may present to a business-to-business (B2B) company who wants to integrate podcasts as part of their marketing mix.

Over the last two years, top luxury brands like Chanel, Gucci and Hermés have launched their in-house podcast productions and have started exploring the opportunity the medium presents for their brands. They have turned to the medium to share the extensive knowledge and heritage they have culminated over the years – which is not possible through other conventional media such as text, image and videos. The brands are sharing the knowledge previously limited to people who are highly passionate or work in the industry. The brands are adapting to the radical shift in the way the new audiences are consuming digital content to make this "insider information" freely available, and even actively promote it to the "outside" world.

This change in perception attracted the researcher to study the viability of the medium and the opportunities it presents in the industry.

This study was conducted as part of the researcher’s internship at Luxurynsight, a B2B company that works at providing data-based solutions to the luxury companies.

The researcher worked there as a ‘Business Development and Communication Associate’, which enable her to apply her learnings from this study to develop a model to launch a podcast show for the company. The researcher was actively

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involved in this project and led the charge of managing, planning, pre-production, production, post-production and promotion of the podcast for the company.

1.2 Importance of the Study 1.2.1 Aid Business Development at Luxurynsight Since this study is undertaken as part of an internship at Luxurynsight, it is crucial not to lose sight of the company's objectives and tie them together with the objectives of this study. The key objective of Luxurynsight is to build a strong brand through credible content and thought-leadership ideas, which will, in turn, lead to business development. Therefore, through this study, the researcher aims to study the effectiveness of podcast as a new medium for communication, identify the type of content that can be produced in order to attract potential clients and build an engaged online community of luxury-industry enthusiasts, within the scope and limitations of the company. Additionally, the researcher will also record various stages that are part of a podcast production process and ultimately use the proposed model to launch a podcast for the company successfully.

1.2.2 Develop New Skills Podcasting is a new and upcoming medium of communication in the luxury and fashion industries. Studying it in detail will help the researcher develop new skills and gain expert-level knowledge on the subject. The researcher can also learn different stages of podcast production; devising an effective content strategy; and other critical factors involved in launching a successful podcast.

1.2.3 Contribute to the Academic Literature After a preliminary review of the literature, the researcher realised the evident gap in the academic literature relating to the understanding of podcasts as a viable medium of communication in the fashion and luxury industries. The researcher understood the importance of conductive a detailed study in order to understand the effectiveness, perceptions and impact this medium presents, as well as the impact it has on the business, its clients and the audience in general and whether or not it can be used as an effective marketing tool to grow a business in the fashion and luxury industry.

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1.3 Statement of Purpose One of the key responsibilities of the researcher during her internship was to explore different ideas and mediums to expand the market reach and get access to more prospects. The researcher needed to look at the current communication strategy at Luxurynsight and identify as well as build new strategies in order to modify and upgrade them. This new communication strategy will allow the company to be more efficient with their efforts relating to business development and reach a wider audience, thereby increasing brand awareness, and generating new leads. The current marketing efforts are restricted to social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube) and the objective is to expand into content marketing and introduce podcasts and blogs into the integrated marketing mix.

1.4 Research Questions The researcher's role in her internship, as well as interest in understanding the opportunity podcasting, presents led her to choose to study the phenomenon of podcasts. Through a preliminary literature review, the researcher was able to identify the gaps in the existing literature as well as devise the questions for this study. The predominant question this study aims to answer is: “Can podcast be an effective form of media for a business-to-business (B2B) company in the luxury industry?”

This study will be supported by answering additional questions, such as "Why is there a sudden increase in popularity for podcasts?” ; “How to decide the content for a podcast?” ; and “How do brands promote their brand’s products and identity through this medium?” in order to understand the phenomenon in detail as well as enable the researcher to propose an implementation model to fulfil her responsibilities as a ‘Business Development and Communication Associate’ at Luxurynsight.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW After deciding to better understand the rise of podcasting in the fashion and luxury industries as a phenomenon, it was essential to look at existing literature to find out the state of art of the research on the subject matter. After doing a preliminary review of the literature, it became evident that there does not exist a lot of theoretical or academic research in the context of fashion and luxury industries alone. The researcher decided to look at existing concepts of the podcasting in general and assess if they can be applied in regard to the fashion and luxury industries. The literature heavily relies on secondary sources such as books, journals, digital publications and news articles to derive the concepts, in order to account for the absence of primary sources such as reports and theses (Saunders et al., 2009).

2.1 Definitions of Key Terms 2.1.1 Podcast Before we start the discussion, it is important to understand what the term ‘podcast’ means. Miller, in his book, The Ultimate Web Marketing Guide defines podcasts as “short audio broadcasts that can be streamed or downloaded” (Miller, 2011) whereas Podcast Solutions goes on to provide a more of a technical definition as “An audio program available for download from the Internet via subscription by way of an RSS feed with MP3 audio enclosures.” (Geoghegan and Klass, 2005) Geoghegan and Klass further describe the medium as “exciting” since it is easy to get involved, express and exchange ideas. The medium can also be regarded as “disruptive” since there are no defined boundaries – for either the creator’s message; or its accessibility to production (as it does not involve any fancy equipment, training or high budgets). All it requires is the creator’s need to communicate with an audience.

Sullivan, on the other hand, compares podcast to a “radio or television show” that that can be downloaded from the internet or made available to and accessed from various mobile devices. (Sullivan, 2018) This definition opens up a lot of creative opportunities for the brands to experiment and generate new and original ideas for marketing.

2.2 Understanding the rise of podcasting as a phenomenon

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The study aims at critically evaluating various approaches to the different factors and understands the appeal of podcasting as an effective medium for marketing and communication.

2.2.1 Tracing origins of podcasting and addressing the Radio vs Podcasts argument Before we dive into understanding what led to the rise of podcasting as a phenomenon, it is essential to trace-back and finds out how, when and where it all started.

In 2001, when Apple announced its first ever iPod, it gave people the convenience to carry their entire music collections in their pockets. Soon, there was a new genre of narrative audio that targeted these iPod owners, called "podcasting", and became a thriving mini-industry. (Roose, 2014) He also notes that the people started losing interest in podcasts around 2010, and they moved on to online video and other music streaming services.

The first ever podcast was published in 2004, but even more, than a decade later, there exists some uneasiness around defining its capacity as a new medium and is often compared to the radio. In the book, ‘Podcasting: New aural Cultures and Digital Media’, Berry et al. (2018), note that even though podcasting shares many auditory codes and production practices with the radio – the origins of the medium comes from a desire to break away from the complicated practices of broadcasting and deliver content directly to the listeners – and insists that though some podcasts are modelled after radio-like content, not all podcasts can sufficiently be defined as ‘radiogenic’.

Berry (2016) also mentions that there is a distinct difference in the listeners’ approach to radios and podcasts. While radio listeners are restricted to listening to whatever programme is broadcasting at the moment, podcast listeners are not constrained by this “fixed-point linearity”. He also notes that radio’s format inherently does not require listeners to be highly engaged; and they are often noticed to be distracted, letting the radio play in the background; whereas podcast listeners are highly engaged with the podcast content from beginning till the end, and give podcasts their full attention, all the while curating lists of their favourite podcasts.

This high level of engagement is the key differentiating factor between listeners of radio and podcasts. According to Lashinsky (2019) podcast is “an old medium

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reborn”, that is allowing brands and entrepreneurs to take advantage of this highlyengaged demographic. According to the research done by Rodero (2010), audio can be one of the most intimate forms of media as it allows the listener to imagine their own versions of the content being narrated, which is impossible to do with other conventional mediums such as images and video.

2.2.2 Rise in popularity of podcasts Frary (2017) associates the popularity of podcasts with the podcast ‘Serial’. Released in October 2014, ‘Serial’ is a podcast which uncovers true-crime stories in detail. The podcast was an immediate success and was downloaded more than 80 million times.

He considers it as a defining moment for the podcast medium. He suggests that inspired by the success of the series, many companies suddenly became very interested in podcasting and the medium became a bandwagon for everyone to jump on.

According to Roose (2014), there are a few possible reasons for the resurgence: (a) He states one of the reasons could be that the podcasts produced today are better than the ones that were initially released. Most podcasts these days are backed by production companies, better budgets and industry expertise. (b) Another reason according to Roose, why companies may be attracted to the medium could be the low cost of production compared to other mediums such as TV or radio. (c) He argues that while the other two reasons are compelling, connected cars is the main reason why we see such a rapid growth of this industry. He compares podcasts to other on-demand streaming services such as Netflix and describes it as the on-demand equivalent of radio.

According to the annual research done by Edison Research and Infinite Dial, an estimated 144 million Americans (51 per cent) listen to podcasts in 2019, up by 15.9 per cent from last year. (Figure 2.1)

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Figure 2.1 Growth in podcast listening (2019)

2.2.2 Technology is fuelling the podcast growth Podcasts have been growing rapidly, and technology seems to be a significant contributing factor behind this growth.

According to Weissman (2019), 2018 was the year podcasting went mainstream. He says podcasts have become so popular that “if you are not listening to a podcast these days, there are high chances that the person next to you is listening to one”.

He goes on to note that the medium has become lucrative to such extent that podcasts are often seen hosting spin-off live events and offering its listeners custom merchandise.

The popularity of podcasts is rampant in the US; more than 50% of the US population listened to a podcast in 2018. (Napoli and Owen, 2019) To capitalise on this rapidly growing industry, technology-led companies are seen developing new strategies. Spotify has already set its plan into action to secure its position as the market leader in the audio industry and has recently acquired two podcasting companies – ‘Gimlet Media’ (a company that leads in the production of narrative podcasts); and ‘Anchor’ (a service that helps the podcast listeners to produce their own podcasts). According to reports, Spotify is planning to spend an additional $4 to $5 million US dollars on acquisitions in 2019.

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Other technology companies, such as Google recently launched its own podcast app for Android and started an incubator to train new podcast hosts; Pandora is working on a “podcast recommendation engine” to help drive podcast discovery; Apple introduced more sophisticated analytics for podcast producers at the end of 2017.

(Pressman, 2018) According to Edison Research (2018), the massive adoption of smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo, Google Home and Cortana, as well as connected vehicles and mobile devices are major factors driving the growth of podcasts.

2.2.3 Appeal of podcasts for marketers To further understand the appeal of podcasts, it is important to address what attracts the marketers to invest money and time to devise a strategy for podcasts.

According to the report published by IAB and PwC (2018), Podcasts have a higher audience engagement than all forms of video and music content – ads that were incorporated in the podcasts were 1.5x more effective than the ads published on social media – suggesting that podcasting is an extremely attractive option for brands seeking to advertise via podcasts.

According to WGSN’s special report ‘Podvertising: A New Medium for Marketers’ (2017), podcast users are highly engaged with the podcast content and do not mind “baked-in commercials” or listening to products being endorsed by the host of the podcast; they go on to suggest further that not only do the listeners of the podcast not mind hearing them but are also more likely to act on these endorsements by either researching about the product to learn about it or make a purchase decision.

The report also notes that the factor of “audience's engagement value is more important than the revenue”.

Commenting on the subject of what sets the podcast listeners apart from other types of audiences, Gaudette (2019) says that the people who enjoy podcasts are “part of a passionate culture that encourages brand affinity”. She describes the audio medium as “intimate”, and that listening to the same person talk about different topics allows the listeners to feel more connected to the host, and also feel like they have a personal relationship with the host.

Chiquoine (2018) describes podcasts as an opportunity for niche brands that want to reach out to their fanbase and want to build deep connections with them. She uses

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Maison Margiela’s ‘The Memory of…’ podcast to illustrate his theory with an example.

According to him, creative director of Maison Margiela, John Galliano, talks about the brand’s latest collections, using it as a means of “soft advertising”. She also suggests that podcasts can help a brand enhance their credibility in the field they operate in and reach audiences that are already invested in the topic. Continuing on the subject of branded content in podcasts, Williens (2017) suggests that brands that “steer away from the obvious commercial tie and create content that is highly useful for the subject matter are making the most headway”.

Shapiro (2018) argues that podcasting is “the slow food movement of the media world”. He suggests that in a world suffering from media fatigue, podcasts can be the "healthy ecosystem" option, allowing publishers to build a direct relationship with the listeners while giving voice to new talents and communities. According to Shapiro, the restricting factors associated with podcasting, such as difficulty in scanning, sharing and commenting on the podcast episodes, are its primary features – allowing people to take a break from the never-ending stream of other media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

2.2.4 Appeal of podcasts in France Since one of the primary missions of this study is to aid the launch of the podcast for Luxurynsight, which is based in Paris, it is essential that we study the appeal of podcasts in France and evaluate the factors that are attracting marketers to adopt podcasting as a medium.

According to a study done by Médiamétrie (2018), 8,5 per cent of all internet users in France listens to radio podcasts each month, on average, accounting to 4 million listeners, out of which 25 per cent of the listeners are new to the medium. Yann Thébault, Managing Director of Acast France (Acast, 2019), commenting on Acast’s launch in France, notes that France has been known historically for its high radio consumption, but the rapidly growing podcast market presents an excellent opportunity for the expansion of Acast, a company that connects the podcast creators with advertisers.

According to Toporoff (2019), when she moved to France in 2012, most podcasts available in France were direct adaptations of radio broadcast shows that were made available to download as podcasts and were not created with the podcast listener in mind – the shows were often live recordings of the broadcast, with panellists talking

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over each other. She goes on to note that it was not until 2016 that both new and legacy production studios started producing “podcast natif” [native podcasts in French] shows. She suggests that given the "nascent stage" of podcasting in France, there is lack of data to understand the podcast consumer in France fully; and that one should not solely rely on the American podcasting model to estimate and devise the future of the format in the French market.

Gaîté Lyrique (2018), defines “podcast natif” as the audio content designed and produced exclusively to be shared online via an application, allowing the listener to tune in whenever they want to. They want to introduce and promote this “new culture of listening” in France with their event “The Paris Podcast Festival”. [translated from French] Toporoff (2019) refers to “The Paris Podcast Festival 2018” by Gaîté Lyrique as the moment of “French podcasting coming into its own” – “The Paris Podcast Festival” is the first event of its kind, aimed directly at podcast creators and listeners of France.

She suggests that public culture subsidies and other funding models will allow the podcasting medium to grow in the country, enabling more people to experiment with the format.

Martinez (2019), suggests that women are behind the growing podcast industry in France, with 86 per cent podcast studios founded in France in the past three years are owned by women, or has at least one female founding member. She suggests that the liberating format of the podcast medium is allowing women to take charge and express their opinions on various topics. She also reports that out of the top 200 podcasts on France's Apple podcasts, 35 per cent of them are either produced or hosted by a woman, compared to only 10 per cent in the U.S. 2.2.5 Appeal of podcasts in the fashion and luxury industries The central theme of the study is to understand the phenomenon of podcasting in the fashion and luxury industries, by analysing how different brands are using the podcast as a medium to innovate and reimagine their marketing strategies.

Ahmed (2017) notes even though the number of podcast listeners is on the rise, it remains a niche medium of communication in the fashion and luxury industries, representing a huge opportunity for first-movers to capture the market. According to him, podcasts are presenting brands “a new way to create innovative branded content”, serving as an “antidote to the image-saturated media” of the fashion and

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luxury industries. He suggests that low production time and budgets associated with the format can allow podcasts to be a more “cost-effective alternative to video”.

According to Jones (2019), luxury brand building centralises around the idea of storytelling, and today, marketers within the industry are “thinking beyond text and video to share their perspectives” and are looking at podcasts as the means of connecting with consumers over audio. She suggests that podcasts can be a medium through which luxury brands can share their story in a “creative and very personalised manner”. According to her, the reason luxury brands are embracing the podcast medium due to the quality of listeners it attracts; further suggesting that podcast listeners, along with being extremely loyal to the shows that they follow, are also “affluent, well-educated and early adopters of products”. (Heather Osgood, Owner, True Native Media) According to Odell (2019), podcasts listeners present an excellent opportunity for luxury advertisers, as "they earn 51 per cent more than the general population, and spend more on entertainment, travel and tech products than the average person".

(Acast, 2018) He links the growing popularity of podcasts with "snackable" news content – a short-form content type.

According to Schiffer (2019), podcasts gives brands a platform to share longer, intimate and more in-depth stories of their brands with the audience, allowing them to connect with them on a personal level. Most luxury brands are seeing it as the “modern expansion” of their brand’s legacy. (Jason Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer, Publicis) Goldberg also suggests that luxury brands have always been “rich storytellers and content creators”, referring to the historical efforts that brands have put into producing house magazines and editorial-rich catalogues; and that podcasts are built in the reflection of the same values and traditions.

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This chapter outlines the objectives of the research questions; the approach used for research design; research philosophy; different data collection methods; as well as reliability of those data collection methods. It concludes by stating the challenges and limitations faced by the researcher while organising this study.

3.1 Research Questions & Objectives The predominant question this study aims to answer is: “Can podcast be an effective form of media for a business-to-business (B2B) company in the luxury industry?”

The objective of this question is to build a theory containing best practices and propose a model for preparing the launch strategy for the podcast at Luxurynsight, where the researcher did her internship. The approach to the research design is to ensure that the study is in-depth and is able to present the reader with various cases and their unique approaches for designing their podcast content and promotional strategies.

The study is supported by answering supplementary questions, such as “Why is there a sudden increase in popularity for podcasts?”, “How to decide the content for a podcast?” and “How do brands promote their brand’s products and identity through this medium?”

3.2 Exploratory Qualitative Research: Case Study Since the phenomenon of podcasts in the fashion and luxury industries is relatively new and in its introductory phase, the availability of scientific data and access to information is extremely restricted. In order to enable the most amount of learning, this study is designed to be exploratory and uses qualitative methods to induct conclusions.

According to Saunders et al. (2009), a researcher should opt for an exploratory study if he/she seeks to find out "what is happening" in order to gain new perspectives and insights; as well as to explore different ideas by asking questions and assessing the

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phenomenon in a new light. One of the main advantages of this approach is that it offers the researcher flexibility to adapt the study as the research progresses. This advantage is essential for this study as the amount of available literature is mostly restricted to secondary sources, and there is a severe lack of focussed studies on the subject.

A ‘Case Study’ is defined as “a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context using multiple sources of evidence” in the book, Research methods for business students (Saunders et al., 2003) and is often used in qualitative studies.

Yin (2003) states that ‘a case study design should be considered when: (a) the focus of the study is to answer “how” and why” questions; (b) you cannot manipulate the behaviour of those involved in the study; (c) you want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study; or (d) the boundaries are not clear between the phenomenon and context.

Since the focus of the study is to find out whether podcasting can be an effective form of media for a B2B company in the luxury industry, along with understanding the underlying questions such as, “Why is there a sudden increase in popularity for podcasts?”, “How to decide the content for a podcast?” and “What goes into planning, scripting and producing a podcast?”, it perfectly fits the first criteria stated

by Yin. It also follows the second criteria, as the researcher has no authority or access to manipulate the behaviour of external sources during this study. As for the last criteria, the phenomenon we are studying is that of podcasting in the luxury industry, the underlying contextual condition is to analyse and observe its effectiveness as a marketing medium. Therefore, the case study approach is the best fit for advancing this study.

This study uses a multiple case study approach, which allows the study to be enriched by exploring the different types of podcasts and drawing a comparison between each of them. (Yin, 2003) It is also important for this study to be crosssectional, as we study ‘a particular phenomenon at a particular time. (Saunders et al., 2009)

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3.2 Research Philosophy The researcher adopts a pragmatic research philosophy in order to answer the research questions of the study. According to Saunders et al. (2009), this approach allows the researcher to stay on the outside and have multiple-views on the subject, enabling them to select the ones that best fit the nature of their study. Acceptable knowledge includes both the phenomenon observed by the researcher, as well as, subjective meanings derived. The epistemology of a pragmatic approach ties in with the exploratory nature of the research, allowing the researcher to focus on practical implications of the study and integrating various perspectives to interpret the data.

3.3 Data Collection Methods This study makes use of unobtrusive methods and internet-aided questionnaire to collect data. Unobtrusive methods will allow the researcher to use multimedia sources such as podcasts, images and videos to construct case studies and understand what type of content do existing podcasts feature, and how they use different digital marketing platforms to promote these podcasts. The internet-aided questionnaire will allow the researcher to understand the appeal of fashion and luxury podcasts for a B2B target audience.

Analysis of the data collected via these two individual methods will ensure that the theory has a multi-dimensional perspective. This study will make use of triangulation for analysing the collected data. Saunders et al. (2009) define triangulation as: The use of two or more independent sources of data or data-collection methods within one study in order to help ensure that the data are telling you what you think they are telling you.

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3.3.1 Unobtrusive methods Marshall & Rossman (2016) define ‘unobtrusive methods' as a way of collecting data such that it does not interfere with the continuous flow of everyday events. Easy access to the internet provides researchers across disciplines access to a broad array of media that can serve as a data resource. This study uses podcasts, images and videos as primary data resources. These resources are free to access and publicly available. The data collected will then be used to construct case studies.

The researcher looked at all available podcasts related to fashion and luxury businesses and was able to shortlist 20 podcasts based on ratings, reviews and global appeal for further inspection. Table 3.1 lists the details of podcasts inspected.

By inspecting 20 different podcasts, the researcher was quickly able to identify two major content types: First, the branded podcasts that focussed on building the brands' storytelling, culture, heritage and savoir-faire; and second, the ones hosted by popular media publications or influential personalities in the industry. These types of podcasts build their content by covering the latest topics and hosting interviews with experts from different fields.

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Table 3.1 Preliminary review of shortlisted podcasts Podcast

Company

Launched

Epis

Lang

Avg.

odes

uage

Length

120

EN

Frequency

Rating

Content

Media Publications & Influencers The BOF

Business of

Podcast

Fashion

Fash-ON FashOFF

Vice/i-D

HighSnobiety

High

Podcasts

Snobiety

The Glossy Podcast

Glossy

Fashion: No Filter

Sam Fry Limited

Fashion Is Your

MouthMed

Business

ia Network

Vogue Podcast

Vogue

05-Oct-17 14-Feb-18 22-Feb-16 30-Aug-17

44 95 98

EN EN EN

02-Dec-16

15

EN

04-Feb-15

300

EN

10-Sep-15

73

EN

22-May-18

21

EN

45-50

Weekly/

4.4

Interviews, Business Analysis, Op-eds,

mins

Friday

(200)

Fashion week insights, discussions

30 mins

Weekly/ Thursday

4.5 (29)

30-35

Weekly/

mins

Thursday

30-35

Weekly/

mins

Tuesday

45-50 mins

Seasonal

45-50

Weekly/

mins

Tuesday

25-30

Weekly/

3.7

mins

Thursday

(142)

1 hr

Seasonal

4.5 (48) 4.3 (90) 4.1 (91) 4.9 (72)

OMONDI Presents: The

Recho

Cutting Room

Omondi

4.9 (176)

Floor Monocycle with Leandra Medine

Man Repeller

EN

10-15

Weekly/

4.9

mins

Friday

(610)

23-Oct-15

66

15-Sep-18

12

22-Jun-18

6

EN

12 mins

02-May-18

5

EN

25 mins

EN,

10-15

Campaign

FR

mins

based

EN,

20-25

Seasonal

FR

mins

(9)

FR

20-25 mins

Campaign based

N/A

EN,

15-20

FR

mins

Seasonal

5.0 (3)

Fashion, Style and ideas for the editorial team of i-D Covering the best in sneakers, street culture, and men's fashion.

Impact of technology of the fashion and luxury industries Behind the scenes look of how the fashion industry operates The intersection of fashion business and technology Editorial take on current events A fashion podcast hosted by designer Recho Omondi discussing current events and interviews with industry insiders.

Leandra Medine shares her opinions

Brands Chloé Radio The Memory of…with John Galliano Gucci Podcast The Faubourg of Dreams 3.55

Olfaplay Confidences particuliéres True Tales of Luxury

Chloé Maison Margiela

Gucci

Hermes

12-Feb-19

17

Chanel

30-Oct-17

93

Guerlain

18-Nov-18

25

LVMH

08-Oct-18

24

Harrods

EN, FR

28-Feb-19

7

EN

11-Apr-18

7

EN

02-May-18

17

EN

20 mins

30-35 mins

Sephora/Gi #LipStories

rlBoss

17 mins

Media The Barneys Podcast

Barneys

Liberty

Liberty

Discovers

London

12-May-17

35

EN

20-25 mins

Campaign based Seasonal

Campaign based

5.0 (7)

4.8 (71)

Themes of femininity, empowering women leaders and freedom of expression Inspirations and memories behind the launch of new collections Covers different collaborations as well as

4.6 (50)

inspirations and ideas behind these collaborations

5.0 (7)

Brand heritage and culture; centralises around Hermes flagship store in Paris Brand heritage and culture; different

4.9 (22)

themes; conversations with celebrities, artists, and more.

Associating fragrances with music; user-generated content Artists and craftsmen from different LVMH brands talk about their work and inspirations

Seasonal Campaign based

Seasonal

45-50

Weekly/

mins

Sunday

5.0 (52)

4.3 (41)

4.9 (198) 4.6 (26)

Explores what luxury means to different people Stories by female entrepreneurs from their everyday lives Conversations with influential people from different industries, who share their experiences and journeys Conversation with designers, and other affluent people from the industry

For the purpose of this study, branded podcasts were selected for an in-depth, multiple-case study approach. Selecting branded podcasts makes sense for this study

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as the key research objectives is to study the effectiveness of the podcast as a medium of communication for a B2B company and build a model for producing the podcast. By studying the approach each brand takes for its podcast, the researcher can assess best practices and propose a model for the application of the theory proposed.

Each case study addresses one podcast and studies it in detail by analysing data such as podcast ratings; release dates; the number of episodes; frequency; average length; content; topics of discussion; hosts; guests; tonality; pace; aesthetics; and promotional strategies. The data was collected by repeated listening of the podcasts studied; assessing podcast-listing apps such as Apple podcasts; and closely following the brand’s website and social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

3.3.2 Internet-aided Questionnaire A questionnaire was used to collect the sample size‘s opinions, behaviours and attributes focused on analysing the appeal of podcasts in general; the appeal of fashion and luxury podcasts; and podcast listening habits. The questionnaire is designed in a way that enables the researcher to find out the level of appeal of podcasts in this sample; and whether the podcast is an effective medium to communicate with this audience.

By default, since this study is qualitative in nature, the researcher focuses on smaller, more specialised samples instead of considering all possible cases. This data collection method makes use of ‘typical case sampling’. According to Saunders et al.

(2009), typical case sampling enables the researcher to provide an illustrative profile to interpret the data using a representative case and is not intended to be definitive.

The sample size, in this case, is 35. This sample size illustrates the characteristics of what would be the opinions, behaviours and attributes of a typical person working in the fashion and luxury industries. Presence of these characteristics enables us to assume that this sample is the ideal target audience for a B2B company working within the industry.

The questionnaire was explicitly aimed at people working in the fashion and luxury industries, such that it directly addresses and brings us closer to answering the main research question of the study: “Can podcast be an effective form of media for a business-to-business (B2B) company in the luxury industry?” The participation of the

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respondents was essential as it can enrich the study by telling us how aware people who actually work in these industries are about podcasts in general and in context of understanding the reach and effectiveness of existing podcasts.

The questionnaire was sent to around 50 people, out of which, 35 responded. The participants were contacted via emails, direct messages on LinkedIn, and other social media channels. Before administering the questionnaire, the participants were explained the purpose of the study. Since there was no direct involvement with the participant, we can assume that the likelihood of bias and distortion in the participant's answer is low, therefore improving the reliability of the data collected.

(Saunders et al., 2009) According to Dillman (2007), there are three types of data variables that can be collected through a questionnaire: (a) Opinion variables that record participant's feelings, thoughts and beliefs regarding a subject (b) Behaviour variables that record what participants experiences pertaining to things they did in the past, are doing currently, or will do in the future; and, (c) Attribute variables that record the characteristics the participant possesses.

The questions are investigative in nature and are designed after careful consideration of literature review and associated research. The questions are worded to ensure that the essential data required for the study is collected optimally and the correct variable is identified. Table 3.2 explains the data variables required for each question and the level of detail required from each variable.

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Table 3.2 Data variable requirements Research question: Can podcast be an effective form of media for a business-to-business (B2B) company in the luxury industry?

Type of research: Descriptive; aims to examine the level of awareness and interest of the respondent regarding fashion and luxury podcasts Question

Variable required

The detail in which data is measured

1. How old are you? (attribute)

Age

Actual number

2. Do you listen to podcasts?

Percentage of podcast listeners and

Yes, regularly (weekly); Yes, at least once a month; Yes, have

(behaviour)

frequency

listened to at least one podcast; No, but is aware of podcasts;

3. How many podcasts do you follow?

The average number of podcasts per

(behaviour)

listener

4. What device do you use most often

The most preferred channel of

Smartphone, tablet or portable device; Laptop or computer;

to listen to a podcast? (opinion)

choice to listen to the podcast

Smart Speakers

5. Which location do you most prefer

Most preferred location to listen to

At home; at work; driving or in a car; public transportation;

to listen to a podcast? (opinion)

the podcast

while walking; at a gym or while exercising

6. What genre of podcasts do you

Most preferred podcast genre

Society & Culture; News & Politics; TV & Film; Sports &

No, does not know any podcasts

most listen to? (opinion)

0-5; or more than 5

Recreation; Technology; Business; Fashion/Style; Arts; Comedy; Health, Religion, Spirituality; Music

7. How do you discover new podcasts?

Which marketing channel has the

Searching on the internet; Social media posts;

(behaviour)

most reach in terms of convincing

Recommendations from friends/family; Email Newsletters;

the respondent to try or become

'Similar podcasts' suggestions on the app you use; Reading

aware of a new podcast

articles on digital publications you follow

8. Have you ever listened to a podcast

Percentage of interest in fashion and

Yes; No; Not sure

related to fashion, style, beauty?

luxury podcasts

(opinion) 9. Are you aware of any of the

Which existing fashion and luxury

podcasts listed below? (opinion)

podcast has the largest audience

Full list of shortlisted podcasts in Table 3.1

reach 10. What is your favourite

Reasons for listening to the podcast

Open question

fashion/luxury podcast? Why? (opinion)

3.4 Limitations It is important to note that the study is cross-sectional in nature, and only features data collected and analysed till April 15, 2019. The study is also restricted by other limitations such as availability of time to collect and analyse the data and access to information.

3.4.1 Scope The study focuses solely on the phenomenon of podcasting in the fashion and luxury industry and is further restricted in the context of its viability for a B2B company. The podcasts selected for this study are the ones with global appeal and primarily recorded in English.

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3.4.2 Time constraints This study is hugely dependant on the work done during the researcher's internship at Luxurynsight, and afterwards as an employee. Due to challenges posed to startups such as tight schedules and budget constraints, the Luxurynsight podcast was launched in March 2019, and currently, only two episodes are live (as of April 2019).

For this reason, the amount of data collected for its effectiveness, reach and the impact it has on the organisation is limited.

3.4.3 Restricted access to information Due to the topic of the study, it was imperative to interview different companies involved in the process of producing a podcast, to find out if the launch of podcasts has had any impact on their businesses; and what that impact is. The researcher contacted ten different companies, but either got no response or responses such as they do not have time or resources to help. Hence, the study largely relies on public information; use of unobtrusive methods of analysing podcast content; and data collected via the internet-aided questionnaire.

3.5 Reliability and Threats According to Saunders et al. (2009), “reliability refers to the extent to which your data collection techniques or analysis procedures will yield consistent findings.” The methods employed by the researcher takes into account various threats to reliability and are designed in a way that it reduces the risks of this study’s integrity. The use of triangulation to analyse the collected data ensures that the analysis is multidimensional as it does not solely rely on one source to inform the study. As stated by Saunders at al. (2009), there can be four main threats to reliability: (a) Subject or Participant Error: The research did an in-depth analysis of the available literature by using various sources for each topic, in order to avoid this threat. (b) Subject or Participant Bias: In order to determine the sample size and audience for the internet-aided questionnaire, the researcher only contacted the subject via the internet, and there was no direct contact or relationship between the participants and the researcher, therefore minimising the error or bias towards answering the questions honestly.

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(c) Observer Error: The questionnaire was constructed with a high degree of structure in order to eliminate the risk of error. (d) Observer Bias: Even though the researcher takes a pragmatic approach to the study, there is still a possibility for bias based on researcher's personal interests, sensibilities, level of knowledge and approach to aesthetics, since the data collected for constructing the case studies are of a subjective nature.

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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS This chapter gives an in-depth analysis of the data collected using unobtrusive methods for constructing case studies as well as analysis of data collected through a self-administered, internet-aided questionnaire.

4.1 Case Studies These case studies are constructed by analysing data from sources such as podcasts, online publications, images and video campaigns on various social media platforms.

This data was collected using unobtrusive methods, the importance of which is described in detail in Chapter 3. The data is structured using ‘narrative structuring’.

Narrative analysis is broadly defined as "an account of an experience that is told in a sequenced manner", and usually has a beginning, middle and end. (Saunders et al., 2009) 4.1.1 The Faubourg of Dreams by Hermès A. Content Hermès launched its podcast on February 12, 2019, titled ‘The Faubourg of Dreams’, after its flagship store in Paris, 24 rue de Faubourg Saint-Honore. The podcast currently features 17 episodes recorded in English and French, and each episode has an average length of 15 minutes. Each episode features interviews with different employees of the store, uncovering different aspects of the store. The official description of the show on Apple podcasts describes the podcast as: From its window displays to the hanging garden, from its silk counters to the leather workshops, the Faubourg store harbours the Hermès dream. Those who work daily in this oh-so-Parisian vessel share anecdotes and memories. Prick up your ears and learn what is happening at 24, Faubourg. (Hermès, 2019) The listener is inducted into this dream-world of Hermès from the get-go. The hustle-bustle of the city and the store in the background adds to the aesthetic and gives off an ethereal feeling of being inside the store with these people – no two episodes are the same. The podcast does a brilliant job of expanding on brand's appreciation for its heritage and focus on craftsmanship. Each employee is given a

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romanticized character, describing their role in building this “epicentre of the Hermès dream” – for example, Pierre Alexis Dumas, the artistic director of Hermès, is the "The Dream Master"; Antoine Platteau, chief decorator of the window displays is “The Man Behind the Windows”; and Ménéhould de Bazelaire, director of the cultural patrimony, is "The Memory Keeper".

All podcast episodes are recorded inside the store, as employees describe their dayto-day activities, uncovering different elements of the store they are responsible for, and share their experiences about working at Hermès. The earnest stories by these people are intriguing and give the listener a chance to understand the foundations of a brand that has been so elusive in catering only to people who are ‘in-the-know'.

Through this format, Hermès introduces the listener to its years of tradition, heritage and savoir-faire. The brand might be able to attract the attention of people who mostly associate the brand with expensive leather goods and invite them to explore and experience the brand beyond its product offerings.

B. Promotion Strategies Hermès’ has primarily been using a standard format of animated transcription of the podcast content combined with the audio for each episode in the show. There is a section dedicated to podcasts on the main page of the brand's website, as well as a standalone page that lists all the episodes of the show. The video contains a simple animation of the design featured on the podcast's logo. The brand shares one episode after approximately ten days to promote the podcast across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube with a simple text caption introducing the guest on the podcast and the topic they cover. Figure 4.1.1 gives an overview of promotional activities carried out by the brand.

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Figure 4.1.1 Promotional activities overview: Hermès

4.1.2 ‘3.55’ by Chanel A. Content Chanel launched its podcast on October 30, 2017, titled ‘3.55’ after its iconic bag by the same name. Chanel was one of the first luxury brands to launch its own podcast and explore different concepts with each series they produced. The podcast currently features 93 episodes spread over nine different series, in various languages – expanding their reach to different markets. Each series has a completely different theme and set of guests carefully selected to fit the theme. The official description of the show on Apple podcasts keeps changing according to each series, and describes the latest series of podcast ‘Métier Class by CHANEL’, as: The ‘Métier Class by CHANEL’ podcast series is an invitation to discover behindthe-scenes of CHANEL’s creation through conversations of Karl Lagerfeld, Bruno Pavlovsky, CHANEL president of Fashion activities and friends of the House Pharrell Williams and Amanda Harlech. (Chanel, 2019) The first series of the podcast titled ‘CHANEL at Colette’, was released on October 30, 2019, as part of the brand’s promotional activities for their exclusive collection for Collete, a month before the store shut its door for business – the show itself was recorded at the venue. This series features five episodes and is hosted by Daphné Hézard, editor-in-chief of L’Officiel magazine. Each episode of the podcast begins with custom intro music and the hosts introducing themselves and the guest. This

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series features conversations with artists, musicians, writers, and dancers, as they discuss their journeys, current projects, processes and their relationship with creativity. The series features guests such as Clémence Poésy, French actress and model; Aurélie Dupont, ballet director at Opéra Garnier, Paris; and Pharell William, an American musician. All episodes in this series are recorded in French, with the exception of one in English, with Pharrell Williams.

The second series of the podcast titled ‘Mademoiselle Privé HK’, was released on January 11, 2019, and was recorded at PMQ, Hong Kong, as part of brand’s promotional activities for the brand’s exhibition by the same name at the venue. This series features five episodes and is hosted by Tiffany Godoy, a freelance journalist who works with various publications all over the world. Godoy talks to her guests about the growing importance of the Asian market and discusses their journeys, concepts of creation and what creativity means to them. The series features guests such as Kevin Ma, founder of Hypebeast; Alma Jodorowsky, French actress and musician; and Hilary Tsui, Hong Kong-based actress and founder of the concept store Liger.

The third series of the podcast titled ‘Handbag Stories’, was released on March 25, 2018, and was recorded at Coco Chanel’s apartment at 31 rue Cambon, Paris. This series features ten episodes, and is hosted by Amanda Harlech, who Karl Lagerfeld, former creative director of Chanel, referred to as his “outside pair of eyes”. In the spotlight are the influential women in the fashion industry, who talk about Gabrielle Chanel, her apartment, her legacy, their relationship with the brand and the stories behind their Chanel bags. They share with the listeners what is inside their bags and how they came to possess it. The series features guests such as Susie Lau, fashion writer and influencer; Anne Berest, French author; and Soo Joo Park, global influencer and DJ. The fourth series of the podcast titled ‘CHANEL in Hyères’, was released on April 27, 2018, and was recorded at Villa Noailles during the 33rd edition of Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography. This series features eight episodes and is hosted by Audrey Marney, a French model and actress. The theme of this podcast revolves around the idea of creativity, as Marney questions her guests if people are born creative; and digs deeper into understanding what their creative processes are, what inspires them and how they reinvent to adapt themselves to the ever-changing world of creativity. The series features guests such as Malik Djoudi,

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French singer-songwriter; India Mahdavi, architect and designer; and Jean-Pierre Blanc, founder of Festival d’Hyères.

The fifth series of the podcast titled ‘CHANEL in Cannes’, was released on May 15, 2018, and was recorded at the Majestic Hotel, Cannes during the 71st edition of Cannes Film Festival. This series features six episodes and is hosted by Anna Mouglalis, a French actress. In this series, Mouglalis aims to understand the relationship and similarities that worlds of fashion and cinema share; and mentions how both industries focus on creating imaginary, fantastical visions for their audiences. She talks to her guests about themes of creativity, boldness, freedom, gender bias and modernity. The series features guests such as Kristen Stewart, American actress; Charles Gillibert, French producer; and Rebecca Zlotowski, French screenwriter and director.

The sixth series of the podcast titled ‘CHANEL’s Métiers d’Art’, was released on June 18, 2018, and was recorded at different workshops Chanel collaborates with, to produce its collections. This series features six episodes, in 4 languages – English, French, Korean and Russian; and is hosted by Joanna Preiss, a French actress and director. The workshops featured in this series are Maison Lemarié (feathers, flowers and pleats); Maison Lesage (embroidery); Maison Massaro (footwear); Maison Michel (hats); and Maison Montex (embroidery). This series gives the listener an exclusive behind-the-scenes access to these traditional artisanal workshops that are deeply rooted in traditional knowledge, French ‘savoir-faire’ and heritage. Each episode explores the history of the Maison – what they do, their creative process and how they realise new collections with Karl Lagerfeld. Preiss talks to the creative directors of each Maison to understand how they find a balance between tradition and innovation, and what steps they are taking to reinvent creativity within their roles.

The seventh series of the podcast titled ‘CHANEL in á l’Opéra’, was released on September 27, 2018, and was recorded at the Opéra Garnier, Paris. This series features six episodes and is hosted by Anne Berest, a French author. Berest interviews her guests to understand their relationship with dance, and how it has impacted their lives and their approach towards their professions. Together, they explore how they use dance as a medium to express their concepts of modernity and freedom. The series features a mix of dancers, choreographers and actresses, such as Kiera Knightley, American actress; Ohad Naharin, contemporary dancer and choreographer; and Aurelié Dupont, ballet director at Opéra Garnier.

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The eighth series of the podcast titled ‘CHANEL, Les Premières Fois’, was released on February 21, 2019, and all episodes were recorded in French. This series features six episodes and is hosted by Audrey Diwan, a French author. The series features various French actors and actresses, such as Lily Rose Depp; Diane Rouxel; and Dylan Robert.

The actors are accompanied on the episodes with their friends, co-stars, directors or role-models, as they share the stories behind their first roles as actors/actresses; personal experiences; inspirations; and what they look for in a role before they accept them.

The ninth, and the latest series of the podcast titled ‘CHANEL, Métier Class’, was released on March 2, 2019, and was recorded at Mercer Hotel before the brand’s Métiers d’Art show in New York. This series features four episodes and is hosted by Tyler Brûlé, editor-in-chief of Monocle. Brûlé discusses their roles and relationships with Chanel; the importance of innovation; changing markets; and role of modern concepts and craftsmanship in the brand with his guests. Together they discuss the future of luxury, and where the industry is heading in the coming years. The series features conversations with Karl Lagerfeld, former creative director of Chanel; Amanda Harlech, Karl Lagerfeld’s muse and “outside pair of eyes”; Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel fashion; and Pharrell Williams, American musician.

Overall, Chanel has taken an innovative approach with its podcast, using it as a medium to comment on various aspects of society and culture. They also use it effectively to share the brand’s value, traditions and heritage, by making it a seamless part of their integrated marketing strategy.

B. Promotion Strategies As stated before, Chanel uses podcasts as part of their integrated marketing campaigns, building on the overarching theme of the campaign, and giving more detailed accounts and opinions. Therefore, there are no exclusive promotional campaigns for the podcast in itself, and the brand does not seem to have any definite patterns in place to promote them. Some podcasts have artistically-shot trailers, and photography campaigns following the release of the podcast series, that is promoted on all social media channels. Chanel's brand website usually makes use of ‘Chanel News' to announce new episodes and series of the podcast and does not have a dedicated space to feature or stream all episodes of the show. Figure 4.1.2 gives an overview of promotional activities carried out by the brand.

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Figure 4.1.2 Promotional activities overview: Chanel

4.1.3 ‘Gucci Podcast’ by Gucci A. Content Gucci launched its podcast on May 2, 2018, titled ‘Gucci Podcast’ to talk about the various collaborations the brand is doing under the direction of creative director, Alessandro Michele. The podcast currently features 15 episodes recorded in English and has an average length of 30 minutes. The official description of the show on Apple podcasts describes the podcast as: Each episode of the series features the voices who are collaborating with creative director Alessandro Michele and an insight into the eclectic narrative, inspiration and vision of the Florentine fashion House founded in 1921. (Gucci, 2018) Every episode starts with mellow music and insects chirping in the background, perhaps as a homage to ‘Gucci Garden’, a museum-cum-concept store reimagined

by Alessandro Michele in 2018. The episodes open with a narrator introducing the topics, hosts and guests of each episode. The introduction is followed by the host overtaking and diving into a candid conversation with the guests by exchanging ideas and discussing the topics formerly introduced by the narrator. The guests featured in the show are usually artists, musicians, illustrators, directors, and photographers, who talk about their inspirations, and share stories behind the concepts featured in the collaboration and explain their creative processes. Episodes

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are hosted by editors from various publications, such as Man Repeller, Vogue, Frieze Magazine, Dazed Beauty, and more. The podcast currently features guests such as Sir Elton John, English singer-songwriter; Dapper Dan, American fashion designer; and Wu Tsang, contemporary artist.

The podcast is part of the brand’s expansive digital content strategy and acts as a fresh medium to connect and inspire its base of super-fans, artists, as well as curious fashion students and enthusiasts – who want to dig deeper and follow along with the brand’s recent revolution under its creative director, Alessandro Michele.

B. Promotion Strategies Gucci primarily uses podcasts to promote the launch of their new collaborations, which makes sense as the podcast itself focuses on exploring the creative process and inspirations behind each collaboration. They make trailers to promote each collaboration/episode and consecutively post them on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. However, they have a more interactive approach for Instagram, as do small snippets from the episode as audio combined with the transcribed text as well as static visuals with an exclusive graphic art for each collaborator, quotes and key takeaways. They also have a featured ‘story' collection on their Instagram channel to highlight updates previously posted regarding their communication on podcasts.

Gucci's brand website does not have a section dedicated separately for collaborations or podcasts, but they communicate about them in their ‘Stories' link.

Figure 4.1.3 gives an overview of promotional activities carried out by the brand.

Figure 4.1.3 Promotional activities overview: Gucci

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4.1.4 ‘The Memory of…with John Galliano’ by Maison Margiela A. Content Maison Margiela launched its podcast on June 22, 2018, titled ‘The Memory of… with John Galliano’. The podcast currently features six episodes recorded in English, and each episode is approximately 12 minutes long. The official description of the show on Apple podcasts describes the podcast as: Maison Margiela launches a new first of a kind fashion podcast series: ‘THE MEMORY OF… With John Galliano.’ The podcast tells a story usually only heard by select fashion insiders. (Maison Margiela, 2018) The podcast was launched a few days before the brand’s first Artisanal men’s collection show in Paris. (Bonacic, 2019) Each episode of the podcast focuses on the launch of a new season collection, as John Galliano shares his inspirations, design processes and reasons behind his decisions for each collection. He describes in detail the different silhouettes, fabrics, the processes of reimaging the vision of the atelier in his style while remaining within the constriction of the image the atelier has built over the years.

Petrarca (2018) describes the podcast as “artisanal fashion ASMR”. The phrase ‘The memory of’ refers to John Galliano’s reflection on his personal memories, influences

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and experiences from his life. Each episode has a carefully selected theme and music that emphasises and evokes the underlying emotions related to the collection. John Galliano has a unique style of enacting his inspirations in a dramatic, fantasyinducing high and low undertones, that he combines with powerful story-telling. He repeats certain ‘catch-phrases' associated with the collection so that the listener is left revering in the reverberance of words like “decadence”, “degeneration”, “lush” and “glamour” – which can be an impactful way of ensuring what the listener takes away from each episode.

The way John Galliano encapsulates the essence of the brand and matches it with his eclectic personality, lends a unique experience to the listener – and is a great creative outlet for the brand to connect with its niche audience, and presents a new medium to increase brand awareness and attract new customers.

B. Promotion Strategies Maison Margiela uses its podcasts to give behind-the-scenes access to the audience who wants to learn more about the designer, John Galliano's inspirations and explanations of what went into creating the new collection and is promoted similarly.

Each episode is promoted during the ongoing campaign to promote the new collection. The brand does not exclusively create promotional graphics or videos to promote the podcast but announces the release of a new podcast in a subtle, minimal and discreet way to create a more holistic communication around the campaign. Following the same strategy, it does not mention the podcast anywhere on their brand website. The communication could be easy to miss if you’re not paying attention – and this could be an intentional strategy, as the brand caters to a niche audience, and assumes the followers of the brand to be genuine enthusiasts of the brand/designer and the aesthetic it represents; and would probably not appreciate the in-your-face marketing of the podcast. Figure 4.1.4 gives an overview of promotional activities carried out by the brand.

Figure 4.1.4 Promotional activities overview: Maison Margiela

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4.1.5 ‘Chloé Radio’ by Chloé A. Content Chloé launched its podcast on September 15, 2018, titled ‘Chloé Radio’. The podcast currently features 12 episodes, six original recordings in French and six translations of the original audio in English. The podcast series was recorded at Maison de la Radio in Paris, ahead of the brand’s 2019 spring-summer collection, showcased at the same venue. Each episode is approximately 22 minutes in length. The official description of the show on Apple podcasts describes the podcast as: The Paris edition of Chloé Radio marks the first series of a podcast program in which women who inspire Chloé are invited to voice their views, whether personal insights or towards the wider world. Hosted by journalist Augustin Trapenard, the sessions are being recorded at the Maison de La Radio, a landmark of French radio culture, where Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s runway shows now take place. (Chloé, 2018) Radio has been a massive part in Chloé’s creative director, Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s life since her childhood, and she admits in the first episode of the podcast that she still depends on the radio to stay updated with news and social issues. The show is her way of paying homage to the radio culture in France and invite the listeners to immerse themselves into this integral part of the French culture.

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Each episode begins with a piece of intro music designed to sound like static and frequency tuning to harness the nostalgia of radio and allow the listeners to feel like they have just tuned into a radio show. The English version of the podcast is a direct translation of the original French version. In the English version, the original French audio plays loudly in the background, as the translator speaks over it. While this makes the podcast quite distracting, it can be seen as a feature that adds to the raw radiogenic format of the show. The show aims to be “a channel for self-expression and thoughtful discussion” (Chloé, 2018) for women to share their stories and experiences with the audience.

The podcast features guests such as Natacha Ramsay-Levi, creator director of Chloé; Leila Slimani, Franco-Moroccan writer and journalist; Isabelle Huppert, French actress – who discuss their ideas of femininity, what it means to be a women leader in their respective industries and share their personal stories and inspirations in life.

The show encapsulates the spirit of the brand Chloé, who often expresses and channels the concepts of elegance, femininity and freedom of expression in its collections – and this podcast can be a great way to build community and inspire women to reflect and associate themselves with the brand on a personal level.

B. Promotion Strategies Chloé recorded trailers as well as short snippets for each episode of the show, that are showcased on brand’s blog ‘#ChloéGirls’. The collection of full-length videos is available on YouTube, but only makes use of trailers for promoting the show on Instagram and Facebook. The format of the videos focused extensively on the concept of radio shows and was also recorded at Maison de la Radio in Paris. Figure 4.1.5 gives an overview of promotional activities carried out by the brand.

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Figure 4.1.5 Promotional activities overview: Chloé

4.2 Internet-aided Questionnaire The questionnaire was explicitly aimed at people working in the fashion and luxury industries, such that it directly addresses and brings us closer to answering the main research question of the study: “Can podcast be an effective form of media for a business-to-business (B2B) company in the luxury industry?” Typical case sampling was used to determine the size of the sample for this study. Details of questionnaire design and sampling can be found in Chapter 3. The full questionnaire can be found in Appendix A. The researcher uses ‘data display and analysis' approach to analysing the collected data. According to Saunders et al. (2009), this approach involves three sub-processes: (a) data reduction: to summarise and simplify the data collected; (b) data display: to organise the data into diagrammatic or visual displays; and (c) drawing and verifying conclusions: to compare different elements and identify any relationships and patterns that may be evident for further analysis.

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4.2.1 Summarizing the collected data The questionnaire is inspired by the topics discussed in the literature review and will allow the researcher to better understand the phenomenon of podcasts in the context of the fashion and luxury industries.

Question 1: How old are you?

The questionnaire begins by asking the respondents their age, which is vital to establish the age group of the participating demographic. Most of the respondents were between the ages of 25 and 40. This allows the researcher to relate further elements of this questionnaire with regards to this demographic.

Question 2: Do you listen to podcasts?

The participant was presented with five options, out which they could select one. This allowed the researcher to assess if the participant listened to podcasts, and with what frequency. Most of the participants responded by saying that they have listened to at least one podcast (34 per cent), followed by participants who listen to a podcast at least once a month (32 per cent). Only 14 per cent of the participants had never listened to a podcast before. Figure 4.2.1 presents the full breakdown for each option.

Figure 4.2.1 Podcast listeners and frequency of listening

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Question 3: How many podcasts do you follow?

The objective of this question was to find out how many podcasts the participant listens to. The participant was allowed to pick a number from 1-5, and an option if they listened to more than five podcasts. Majority of the participants only follow one podcast (45.7 per cent), although a considerate amount follows more than 5 (20 per cent). Figure 4.2.2 presents the full breakdown for each option.

Figure 4.2.2 Number of podcasts the participant listens to

Question 4: What device do you use most often to listen to a podcast?

The objective of this question was to identify which technological medium they most frequently use to listen to their selected podcasts. They could choose between devices such as smartphones, laptops and smart speakers. Most of them were inclined towards more portable mediums such as smartphones, tablet or similar portable devices. (83 per cent). Figure 4.2.3 presents the full breakdown for each option.

Figure 4.2.3 Preferred device to listen to a podcast

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Question 5: Which location do you most prefer to listen to a podcast?

The researcher referred to the annual ‘The Podcast Consumer’ report published by Edison Research to select the options for this question. The participants were then presented these options of locations and activities to select from as their most preferred location to listen to a podcast. Participants were allowed to select more than one option if they listened to podcasts at more than one of these locations or activities. Majority of the participants preferred to listen to podcasts at home (22 out of 35 participants), followed by participants who listen to podcasts while travelling via public transportation (17 out of 35 participants). Figure 4.2.4 presents the full breakdown for each option.

Figure 4.2.4 Preferred location to listen to a podcast

Question 6: What genre of podcasts do you most listen to?

The researcher looked at various genres of podcasts available on podcast streaming services such as Apple podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher, in order to select options for this question. The participants were allowed to select more than one option based on their preferences, allowing the researcher to find out if one genre was preferred a specific genre more than the other. Majority of participants chose ‘Fashion/Style' as their most preferred genre (17 out of 35 participants), followed by ‘Music’ (16 out of 35 participants). Figure 4.2.5 presents the full breakdown for each option.

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Figure 4.2.5 Preferred podcast genre to listen

Question 7: How do you discover new podcasts?

During the process of the study, the researcher found out different marketing channels through which podcast publishers promote their podcasts, and other discovery mediums such as search engines and peer review were included as options.

The patterns evolving from this data can enable the researcher to assess which marketing medium has the most reach and appeal. Most participants responded saying that they found out about new podcasts via posts they saw on social media (23 out of 35 respondents). Figure 4.2.6 presents the full breakdown for each option.

Figure 4.2.6 Marketing channels that aid podcast discovery

Question 8: Have you ever listened to a podcast related to fashion, style, beauty?

It was finally time to ask the main objective of this questionnaire – if they actually listen to podcasts related to fashion and luxury industries. The participants could answer with a simple yes or no response or select ‘not sure' if they did not remember

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listening to this genre of the podcast. Most participants had previously listened to a podcast (80 per cent). Figure 4.2.7 presents the full breakdown for each option.

Figure 4.2.7 Participants aware of existing fashion and luxury podcasts

Question 9: Are you aware of any of the podcasts listed below? (Select all that apply) The participants were presented the podcasts researcher shortlisted for her preliminary inspection to select podcasts to analyse for her case studies, detailed in Chapter 3. The objective of this question was to find out if the participants were aware of these podcasts, and which podcast they were most aware of. ‘The BOF Podcast’ and ‘Gucci Podcast’ were tied in the first position, with 26 out of 35 participants being aware of these podcasts. Figure 4.2.8 presents the full breakdown for each option.

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Figure 4.2.8 Participants’ awareness of existing fashion and luxury podcasts

Question 10: What is your favourite fashion/luxury podcast? Why? As a closing question, the researcher wanted to find out which podcast the participant’s favourite was and what they liked about that podcast. As this question was optional, it got only ten responses. The podcast that stood out the most was ‘The Memory of… with John Galliano' and ‘The BOF Podcast'. The reasons for listening to these podcasts were varied: some liked the original format of the Maison Margiela podcast, while others simply liked being informed on the most trending topics in the industry through ‘The BOF Podcast’.

4.4.2 Interpreting the collected data Through the data collected and summarised above, we can assume that most of the people in this sample size are aware of podcasting as a medium as well as the existing podcasts in the fashion and luxury genre. The popularity of ‘The BOF Podcast' can be related to the fact that most of these people are professionals in this industry, and often turn to the online publication, ‘Business of Fashion' to stay updated with the latest news and trends in the industry, as it is often considered a reliable source to do so.

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While the participants might have shown interests outside of the fashion and luxury genre, we can assume that they might have discovered the world of podcasts having listened to a fashion or luxury podcast, as a lot of them responded by stating that they have listened to only one podcast.

The popularity of social media posts as a medium to find out about new podcasts indicates that they might already be following the brands or other online media publications that talk about fashion and luxury brands via their personal social media profiles. Suggesting that these people existing interest in the brands and industry, in general, is one of the biggest reasons they listen to these podcasts. The suggestion of this theory can be also beneficial for the brands as they might be able to count on their existing audience base in case they want to test out the podcast medium or add it to their integrated marketing mix to cross-promote their other activities.

As most participants prefer to listen to the podcast they follow at home, we can assume that they prefer to tune in to the medium when they are most relaxed, as a means to unwind, as an alternative to other entertainment media or while doing other household activities. As podcasting is considered to be a highly engaging medium, we can also assume that listening to podcasts at home allows the listeners to avoid additional distractions.

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CHAPTER 5: RESULTS In this chapter, the researcher develops a theory by using an inductive approach and cross-analysing case studies to identify patterns and best practices. The researcher goes on to develop an implementation model using the theory and applying the model to her work during her internship at Luxurynsight.

5.1 Theory Development After analysing content and promotional strategies of different branded podcasts, the researcher realised the importance of having a well-defined brand identity and using the podcasts as a means of an organic integration into their existing content strategy. The brands build on the brand aesthetics, culture and heritage to immerse their audiences into the brand ideologies while subliminally make the listener more aware of brand activities, events and products.

All podcasts, except ‘The Memory of… with John Galliano’ make use of interview-style format to have in-depth discussions and build a unique ‘voice’ or ‘personality’ for their brands, making it easier for the listener to identify themselves with the brand, either by relating to societal and cultural aspects of the topics discussed or by identifying with the personal experiences of the guest or the host.

By adopting a triangulation method for data analysis, the researcher was able to develop the following best practices: (a) Identify the brand perception and build a consistent brand identity. Make this identity the core of the podcast’s content. (b) Ensure that the podcast is in-sync with rest of the brand’s marketing initiatives and find ways of integrating them as a part of unique marketing campaigns – by providing detailed information about the product/event the campaign addresses. (c) Target your existing brand audience and collaborate with other brands and influencers to increase the reach of your content, consecutively increasing your brand reach. The best channel to reach this audience is through social media. (d) Make the content of your podcast entertaining and informative, such that it enables the listener to increase their knowledge and understanding of the industry. Since most of the listeners prefer to listen to podcasts at home or while on the move, it presents the brands a unique opportunity to capitalise on the

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undivided attention of the listener, which is rare with conventional mediums such as images and video. (e) Ensure that the content of the podcast is concise and does not stray off-topic while ensuring that it flows naturally, is conversational and does not feel too structured.

5.2 Developing and Applying the Implementation Model After assessing the best practices presented in theory development, the researcher developed an implementation model to apply the theory to her work during her internship. The last three steps in this model are iterative and cyclical to ensure maximum reach and consistency of content and its promotional activities. Figure 5.1 displays the various steps brands should consider when designing a launch strategy for a podcast.

Figure 5.1 Implementation model for branded podcasts

The researcher was able to apply the above model to her work during the internship.

5.2.1 Understanding the brand’s identity, positioning and target audience It was crucial for the researcher to understand what the brand values are, how it positions itself in the market and what kind of audience to target before building a strategy for the podcast.

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A. Brand identity and positioning Luxurynsight is a Paris based, data research agency specialising in the luxury goods Industry. Together with sophisticated technology, research expertise and a board of industry leaders, Luxurynsight has developed a state-of-the-art ‘Luxury Data Ecosystem’. The company combines data science with luxury expertise to provide data-driven solutions in order to boost their clients’ growth. The brand does this by giving its customers access to strategic data and insights to discover market opportunities, reduce time-to-market and increase agility. Luxurynsight offers different products and services to provide its customers with an all-rounded experience and meet their data needs. The products and services include: (a) SaaS (Software as a Service) platform that provides customers access to industry news, reports, company data and activities, along with features to bookmark and compare different companies of their choice; (b) ‘Brandwatch’ and ‘Businesswatch’, that provides customers custom reports to monitor various competitor activities; and (c) Other customised and data-backed services, such as custom data research, workshops, training, ‘DxD’, and ‘China Boost’.

B. The target audience for the podcast Since Luxurynsight operates in a B2B environment, it is essential to determine what kind of appeal launching an informative podcast could present to different audience types. Doing this will allow the researcher to be more mindful of the podcast content and how to promote it. Table 5.1 lists different audience types identified based on the company's scope and proposition.

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Table 5.1 Target Audience for the podcast Target Audience Students Teachers

Why would they subscribe or listen to the podcast?

To use as a source of information for projects To stay updated about the industry To prepare study material and case studies To stay updated about the industry

C-Executives, such as

Overview and Highlights

CEOs, COOs, CFOs

Too busy to read the news, can stay updated on the go

People who work in the

To stay in the know with the latest industry trends, opinions and

industry

knowledge shared People who subscribe because they are interested in the industry or

Interest-based Audience

the celebrity guest featured in the episode, but do not conform to other audience types

5.2.2 Defining the content strategy for the podcast In order to determine the content and structure of the podcast, the researcher initially had to work on developing guidelines to establish the approach to communicate its proposition with the audience, and what it is trying to achieve through this communication.

A. Luxurynsight’s tone of voice Luxurynsight is a start-up that offers a unique offering to luxury businesses, backed by amazing technology and research. It is a growing company that is passionate about what it does – this idea needs to be reflected in the communication in the most professional way possible.

These guidelines give the idea of the direction the brand wants to head in, but they are not absolute. We need to deliver an impactful message and make sure that the message is understood and acted upon. Luxurynsight speaks to customers with a voice that is authoritative, conversational, and informative, in order to position itself as an industry leader and assert its expertise. (a) Inspire and Engage: All content should be simple, catchy, easy to read, understand & remember. All content should be generally followed by a ‘Call-toAction’ or a question aimed at the audience for maximum interaction. Avoid the use of industry-specific jargon, “fancy” words and phrases that are hard to

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understand. This is essential since most of the audience we target is bilingual, and English is not necessarily their first language. The copy should feel like it is coming from a trusted friend, someone they can respect and believe in. Use natural, conversational language that speaks directly to the audience. The quality, feeling and attitude of the copy should inspire, educate and engage the audience. (b) Be concise: Whenever possible, use short words and brief, direct phrases. The brand’s objective is to be informative, but not at the risk of losing the audience’s attention. There is an overload of content on the internet – most people just scan the content, taking in the information that leaps out at them.

B. Structure of the podcast Inspired by the guidelines set for the ‘tone of voice’ and theory developed by comparing the case studies, a structure for the podcast was devised. The breakdown of the structure is covered in detail in Table 5.2. This format will allow capturing the maximum attention of the listener, as it slowly builds up towards the topic and unfolds it bit-by-bit.

Table 5.2 Breakdown of the podcast episode structure Breakdown of the Structure Intro with background music Host takes over Background of the guest Opening the topic for discussion

Details for Execution Build podcast familiarity by repeating the same or similar intro for each episode Welcome the listeners, introduce the topic and the guest The guest talks about their experiences so far in their field of work The host circles back to the topic in focus

Length: 25-30 mins 30-60 sec 1-2 Mins 3-4 mins 3-4 mins

The host aggregates the conversation with Deep dive into the topic

the help of follow up questions and exploring

10-15 mins

the topic in detail Closing remarks

Wrap up the conversation, thank the listeners and the guest

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C. Podcast Content The researcher considered brand's vision, positioning, tone of voice, ideal target audience, access to contacts, and budget constraints to propose different formats for the podcast to the sales and marketing team at Luxurynsight. After a lot of internal discussions and iterations to the initial strategy, the company decided to proceed with the interview-style format for the podcast series.

This was made possible mainly due to the company's extensive contacts within the industry and an impressive advisory board. The next step was to identify, shortlist and contact these people to verify their availability and invite them to feature as guests in the podcast.

It was essential to creatively tie in the proposition of the company, importance of data and high level of industry expertise in order to capitalise the full potential of the podcast medium. The medium presented an opportunity for the company to share its knowledge and expertise by informing the listeners of the latest industry trends.

Each episodes' theme will centralise around experts sharing their opinions on how to adapt to the changing customer preferences and emerging new markets – which is perfectly aligned with the company’s offerings.

5.2.3 Exploring the possibility of collaborations During the course of the study, the researcher came across many different types of collaborations that the existing podcasts implement for their shows. Gucci collaborates with influencers from publications such as Vogue, and podcasts such as Monocycle with Leandra Medine to host the episodes; whereas Sephora collaborated with GirlBoss Media to produce their podcast show. This is an interesting strategy to cross-promote within the collaborating brands as well as combine two different expertise to create something creative.

After an initial structure of the podcast strategy was in place, the sales and marketing team along with the CEO of the company, identified existing partners and other valuable contacts that the company could send a proposition for a possible podcast collaboration. Finally, after negotiating the details of the collaboration, Luxurynsight signed a contract with FashionNetwork.com, a leading digital publication covering industry news and events.

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It was decided that Luxurynsight will handle the podcast’s entire production process, including audio recording, editing, uploading and listing to podcast hosting services; as well as invite guests and provide background, research of guests’ expertise and suggestions for what type of questions can be covered during the episode.

FashionNetwork.com will lend its journalistic expertise to engage the listener and promote Luxurynsight via all their social media channels, including article features on their website for each episode.

5.2.4 Producing the podcast The podcast production process began by identifying the right creative production agency. Eventually, the project was handed over to ‘Bird Tree Productions’. The podcast was recorded at the Luxurynsight office, by constructing a temporary set up in a closed room to reduce the amount of background noise and distractions. After recording the audio, the production agency also recorded 7 to 8 minutes of video for each episode as promotional material.

The production agency provides Luxurynsight with the edit audio and video files, which the company later releases bi-weekly. The production process is predominantly technical and requires minimal input from Luxurynsight.

5.2.5 Launching, Maintaining and Promoting the podcast The podcast was released on March 11, 2019, and currently features three episodes, and is titled ‘Luxurynsight x FashionNetwork'. The episodes are recorded alternately in French and English. The show features guests such as Stanislas de Quercize, former President of Richemont France, Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels; Michael Jais, CEO of Launchmetrics; and Catherine Aymard-Yu, former Chinese Clientele Director of Van Cleef and Arpels. These guests share their journeys and discuss the new trends and challenges in the industry and how to adapt to these changes.

New episodes are released every two weeks and requires the internal team to upload the podcast online and write a concise description of the episode.

The podcast is promoted on the company’s website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A detailed communication plan is made for promoting each episode across two weeks. Example of communication plans can be found in Appendix B. The

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promotional content includes audio trailers, video snippets, quotes from guests.

Figure 5.2 presents an overview of Luxurynsight’s promotional activities across channels.

As suggested by the model developed by the researcher (Figure 5.1), it is crucial for the company to make the process of launching new episodes, maintaining its frequency and carrying out promotional activities of the podcast in a cyclical, iterative manner to ensure consistency and avoid the risk of audience losing interest in the content being produced.

Figure 5.2 Promotional activities overview: Luxurynsight x FashionNetwork

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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION In this final chapter, the researcher reflects on the study, and discusses its theoretical and managerial implications. The researcher also shares the impact this study has had so far.

6.1 Theoretical and Managerial Implications By exploring the appeal of podcasts in context of factors such as marketing, fashion and luxury industries and France, as well as by doing an in-depth analysis of different case studies, the study aims at contributing to the limited literature available of the podcasting phenomenon.

Future researchers can use this study as a starting point for understanding the richness and variety of podcast content and its viability as a marketing medium for businesses in the fashion and luxury sectors. The study’s inclusion of analysing podcast listeners’ behaviours and preferences can provide insights for understanding and devising models for varied implementations.

Managers and business teams can derive insights from this study to inform their existing content strategies and upgrade them to be include new content types and develop a more integrated approach. The study also presents them with the best practices that were developed as a result of this study. The implementation model can be used as an easy to use, step-by-step guide to help them successfully launch a podcast for their business.

6.2 Reflections on the study The motivation for this study started with a simple need to identify new and innovative ideas to expand Luxurynsight’s content strategy. The researcher’s interest in staying updated with new marketing mediums and trends, as well as, spending large amounts of time to fully understand their opportunities served as a perfect fuel required to conduct this study and stay motivated throughout the process.

It was crucial for the researcher to take a multi-dimensional approach in order to understand all aspects of the podcasting medium and deconstruct the learnings to develop a new approach for creating original content using this medium. Awareness

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of the existing content, budget and bandwidth restrictions at Luxurynsight was also a significant consideration factor for the researcher. It was important to tie-in the content requirements and restrictions with the opportunities presented by using podcasts as part of the marketing mix.

6.3 Impact of the Study Since the study began from the need to develop original content for Luxurynsight, it was essential to adopt the learnings to day-to-day-activities from the start and do a systematic deep-dive into the structure in order to unveil its potential and develop an implementation strategy. The process spanned over eight months, surpassing the initial constrictions of studying the impact within the constraints of the internship duration.

The researcher was also able to apply learnings and analyse best practices from other brands to upgrade the existing marketing strategies at Luxurynsight. The study enabled the researcher to be more observant and inquisitive of the emotional and subliminal messaging prevalent in marketing practices in the digital age. The knowledge gained in the process of conducting this study has been immense and has better equipped the researcher not only to adapt but innovate by using a fresh perspective to approach problem-solving.

The initial response to the ‘Luxurynsight x FashionNetwork’ podcast has been positive, with various partners reaching out to congratulate and appreciate the content of the podcast. The company also saw an upsurge in the number of demos and sales proposals being requested. The podcast allowed the company to offer new and original content for its customers, offering a different medium to consume insightful information on the luxury sector.

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Gucci (n.d.) Ad Campaigns. [Online]. Available from: https://www.gucci.com/fr/en_gb/st/stories [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Gucci (n.d.) Gucci | Facebook. [Online]. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/GUCCI/ [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Gucci (n.d.) Gucci | YouTube. [Online]. YouTube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo6fjlKg6GuCmEMeqYbGJng [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Gucci (n.d.) Gucci (@gucci) | Instagram. [Online]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/gucci/ [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Gucci (2018) Gucci Podcast on Apple Podcasts. [Online] Available from: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gucci-podcast/id1378974511 [Accessed: 22 April 2019].

Guyot, F. com, Olivier (n.d.) FashionNetwork.com and Luxurynsight launch podcast series.

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https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/FashionNetwork-com-and-Luxurynsightlaunch-podcast-series,1078841.html [Accessed: 1 April 2019].

Halliday, S. (2019) Farfetch and Harrods dive deep into editorial as content becomes bigger sales tool. [Online] Available from: https://www-wgsn-com.proxy.grenobleem.com/news/farfetch-and-harrods-dive-deep-into-editorial-as-content-becomesbigger-sales-tool/ [Accessed: 12 April 2019].

Hermès (n.d.) Hermès | Facebook. [Online]. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/hermes/ [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Hermès (n.d.) Hermès | YouTube. [Online]. YouTube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFOnqrNg-YHLXfdB3GexBg [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Hermès (n.d.) Hermès (@hermes) | Instagram. [Online]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/hermes/ [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Hermés (2019) The Faubourg of Dreams | Hermes. [Online]. Hermès. Available from: https://www.hermes.com/us/en/story/podcasts [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

Hermés (2019) The Faubourg of Dreams - Hermès on Apple Podcasts. [Online] Available from: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-faubourg-of-dreamsherm%C3%A8s/id1451081460 [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

IAB and PwC (2018) Full Year 2017 Podcast Ad Revenue Study: An Analysis of the US Podcast Advertising Industry. [Online]. p.20. Available from: https://www.iab.com/insights/the-second-annual-podcast-revenue-study-by-iaband-pwc-an-analysis-of-the-largest-players-in-the-podcasting-industry/ [Accessed: 12 April 2019].

Issad, T. (2018) Are podcasts the new blogs? FashionNetwork.com. [Online]. Available from: https://se.fashionnetwork.com/news/Are-podcasts-the-new-blogs,955714.html [Accessed: 1 April 2019].

Jaekel, B. (2018) Guerlain leverages the past to look into the future. Luxury Daily. [Online] Available from: https://www.luxurydaily.com/guerlain-leverages-the-past-to-lookinto-the-future/ [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

Jones, S. (2018) Luxury tunes into podcasts to reach affluent early adopters. Luxury Daily.

[Online] Available from: https://www.luxurydaily.com/luxury-tunes-into-podcasts-toreach-affluent-early-adopter-audience/ [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

Khamil, E. (2018) Tune In To Chanel’s 3.55 Podcast with Amanda Harlech and Veronika Heilbrunner. Harper’s Bazaar Malaysia. [Online]. Available from: http://harpersbazaar.my/fashion/chanel-3-55-podcast-amanda-harlech-veronikaheilbrunner/ [Accessed: 12 April 2019].

Lashinsky, A. (2019) How Podcasts Are Filling a Real Need. Fortune.com. N.PAG-N.PAG.

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Loritz, M. (2018) French startup Majelan raises €4 million to become the “Netflix of podcasts” | EU-Startups. [Online] Available from: https://www.eustartups.com/2018/12/majelan-raises-funds/ [Accessed: 17 April 2019].

Luxury Daily (2018) Barneys modernizes content marketing through podcasting. Luxury Daily. [Online] Available from: https://www.luxurydaily.com/barneys-modernizescontent-marketing-through-podcasting/ [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

Luxury Daily (2019) Hermès paints picture of global flagship in podcast. Luxury Daily.

[Online] Available from: https://www.luxurydaily.com/hermes-paints-picture-ofglobal-flagship-in-podcast/ [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

Luxurynsight (n.d.) Luxurynsight | Facebook. [Online]. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/luxurynsight/ [Accessed: 30 April 2019a].

Luxurynsight (n.d.) Luxurynsight | LinkedIn. [Online]. Available from: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2880425/admin/ [Accessed: 30 April 2019b].

Luxurynsight (n.d.) Luxurynsight (@luxurynsight) | Instagram. [Online]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/luxurynsight/ [Accessed: 30 April 2019c].

Luxurynsight & FashionNetwork (2019) Luxurynsight X FashionNetwork on Apple Podcasts. [Online] Available from: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/luxurynsight-xfashionnetwork/id1455870686 [Accessed: 30 April 2019].

Maison Margiela (n.d.) Maison Margiela | Facebook. [Online]. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/maisonmargiela/ [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Maison Margiela (n.d.) Maison Margiela | YouTube. [Online]. YouTube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOKkerman2d_SmGj8P4_JEw [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Maison Margiela (n.d.) Maison Margiela (@maisonmargiela) | Instagram. [Online].

Available from: https://www.instagram.com/maisonmargiela/ [Accessed: 30 April 2019].

Maison Margiela (n.d.) Maison Margiela Official Store | Men’s and Women’s Clothing and Accessories. [Online]. Maison Margiela Official Store | Men’s and Women’s Clothing and Accessories. Available from: https://www.maisonmargiela.com/gb [Accessed: 28 April 2019].

Maison Margiela (2018) THE MEMORY OF… With John Galliano. on Apple Podcasts.

[Online] Available from: https://itunes.apple.com/fr/podcast/the-memory-of-withjohn-galliano/id1401921399 [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

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Martinez, L. (2019) Meet France’s Badass Women of Podcasting. Bello Collective. [Online].

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Médiamétrie (2018) “Podcast Listening” Study. [Online]. Available from: https://www.mediametrie.fr/en/podcast-listening-study [Accessed: 17 April 2019].

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Périer, M. & Marain, A. (2017) Chanel at colette: everything you need to know. Vogue Paris. [Online]. Available from: https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/fashion-news/story/enchanel-at-colette-everything-you-need-to-know-karl-lagerfeld-podcast/285 [Accessed: 23 April 2019].

Petrarca, E. (2018) This Major French Fashion Designer Is Now a Podcaster. The Cut. [Online] Available from: https://www.thecut.com/2018/06/john-galliano-margielapodcast.html [Accessed: 11 April 2019].

Podcast Insights (2017) 2019 Podcast Stats & Facts (New Research From Apr 2019).

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Pokovba, A. (2019) Hermès Launches Storytelling Podcast in French and English. Frenchly.

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Pressman, A. (2018) Why Amy Schumer—and Everybody Else—Wants Their Own Podcast.

Fortune.com. N.PAG-N.PAG. Ramirez, S. (2018) Gucci collaborates with beauty platform for multimedia fragrance launch. [Online] Available from: https://www.luxurydaily.com/gucci-collaborateswith-beauty-platform-for-multimedia-fragrance-launch/ [Accessed: 22 April 2019].

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7.2 Appendices Appendix A : Internet-aided questionnaire Question 1: How old are you?

•

[Enter your age]

Question 2: Do you listen to podcasts?

•

Yes, regularly (every week)

•

Yes, at least once a month

•

Yes, I've listened to at least one podcast

•

No, but I know that they exist

•

I don't know what podcasts are

Question 3: How many podcasts do you follow?

•

1

•

2

•

3

•

4

•

5

•

More than 5

Question 4: What device do you use most often to listen to a podcast?

•

Smartphone/Tablet/Portable device

•

Laptop/Computer

•

Smart Speaker

•

Other: ________________

Question 5: Which location do you most prefer to listen to a podcast? [Select all that apply] •

At home

•

At work

•

Driving/In a car

•

Public transportation

•

Walking around

•

At gym/exercising

•

Other: ________________

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Question 6: What genre of podcasts do you most listen to? [Select all that apply] •

Society & Culture

•

News & Politics

•

TV & Film

•

Sports & Recreation

•

Technology

•

Business

•

Fashion/Style

•

Arts

•

Comedy

•

Health, Religion, Spirituality

•

Music

Question 7: How do you discover new podcasts? [Select all that apply] •

Searching on the internet

•

Social media posts

•

Recommendations from friends/family

•

Via Newsletters

•

'Similar podcasts' suggestions on the app you use

•

Via articles on publications you follow

•

Other: ________________

Question 8: Have you ever listened to a podcast related to fashion, style, beauty?

•

Yes

•

No

•

Not Sure

Question 9: Are you aware of any of the podcasts listed below? [Select all that apply] •

The BOF Podcast by Business of Fashion

•

Vogue Podcast by Vogue

•

Fash-ON Fash-OFF by Vice/i-D

•

Highsnobiety Podcasts by High Snobiety

•

The Glossy Podcast by Glossy

•

Fashion Is Your Business by MouthMedia Network

•

Fashion: No Filter by Sam Fry Limited

•

Monocycle with Leandra Medine by Man Repeller

•

OMONDI Presents: The Cutting Room Floor by Recho Omondi

•

Chloé Radio by Chloé

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•

The Memory of…with John Galliano by Maison Margiela

•

Gucci Podcast by Gucci

•

The Faubourg of Dreams by Hermés

•

3.55 by Chanel

•

Olfaplay by Guerlain

•

Confidences particuliéres by LVMH

•

True Tales of Luxury by Harrods

•

#LipStories by Sephora (in collaboration with GirlBoss Media)

•

The Barneys Podcast by Barneys

•

Liberty Discovers by Liberty London

Question 10: What is your favourite fashion/luxury podcast? Why? •

[Enter your answer]

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Appendix B: Communication plan for promoting ‘Luxurynsight x FashionNetwork’ podcast Table B.1: Episode 4 featuring Elie Papiernik Time

Luxurynsight

Time

Fashion Network

16:30

Elie Intro

16:30

Elie Intro

16:30

FN article repost

11:00

FN article

10:30

Video 1

17:00

Video 1 repost

16:30

Text post 1 repost

11:00

Text post 1

10:30

Video 2

17:00

Video 2 repost

16:30

Text post 2 repost

11:00

Text post 2

Week 1 15-Apr 16-Apr 17-Apr 18-Apr 19-Apr Week 2 22-Apr 23-Apr 24-Apr 25-Apr 26-Apr

Selection for text posts Asian consumers tend to be very savvy, educated and demanding. They are curious and Post 1

passionate about acquiring knowledge, and cannot be fooled when presented with low expertise levels.

Post 2

The fundamentals of creativity in the near future will combine creation with intelligence and data. Knowledge of the industry trends is crucial to fuel the creative process.

Table B.2: Episode 3 featuring Catherine Aymard-Yu Time

Luxurynsight

Time

Fashion Network

16:30

Catherine Intro

16:30

Catherine Intro

16:30

FN article repost

11:00

FN article

10:30

Quote 1

17:00

Quote 1 repost

16:30

Quote 2 repost

11:00

Quote 2

10:30

Quote 3

17:00

Quote 3 repost

16:30

Quote 4 repost

11:00

Quote 4

Week 1 15-Apr 16-Apr 17-Apr 18-Apr 19-Apr Week 2 22-Apr 23-Apr 24-Apr 25-Apr 26-Apr

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