The new podcast age

Podcasts are booming in many of DW’s target regions and have become a strategic priority. But what are the secrets of successful production? A look inside the engine room of format development and the creation of “Love Matters with Evelyn Sharma”.

Text Alina Fichter, Head of Digital Format Development and Lab, Laura Döing, Project Manager Podcast Digital Format Development and Lab

India is one of the fastest growing podcast markets worldwide and a high-priority country for DW. With around 57.6 million monthly listeners, India presented a great opportunity to make DW even better known as a brand among a young target group.

But how would young Indians even discover podcasts among the myriad of other products on audio platforms? That’s one of the biggest hurdles in establishing podcasts, as popularity is still driven primarily through recommendations from friends. That’s where it helps to have a media partner with a long reach that gives the podcast immediate visibility in the target market. Indian Express is one of the largest and most respected daily newspapers in India. It was also just looking to expand its own podcast portfolio and was involved in the development of “Love Matters” from the beginning.

The ingredients

A well-known host also helps a new podcast to establish itself quickly. That’s why Evelyn Sharma, Bollywood actress and presenter of the DW program Euromaxx, was the perfect fit. Because the Indian Express, just like DW, had set itself the goal of using podcasts to address younger target groups and, above all, younger women.

To find out what moves the young, Indian target group and what topics keep them up at night when they think about love, the interdisciplinary podcast team at DW conducted interviews with local users. Some phrases from these conversations remain memorable: “My mother tells me, ’You can date whoever you want.’ The main thing is that you don’t date a Muslim!” (Chandini, 23)

“My parents have no idea that I have a girlfriend, they wouldn’t allow it. I have to come up with an excuse if I want to meet her.” (Dhruv, 21)

The recipe

The beneficiary interviews quickly revealed a pattern: In India, love is a highly controversial topic. While many young people have a clear idea of who they want to be with and how they want to live, it’s often not allowed by their family and society. But what should a young person do now, if he or she has fallen in love with someone who belongs to the “wrong” religion, for instance? It quickly became clear that young Indians have a great need to talk about love — but no one to talk to. The topics are taboo.

That was the opportunity for the podcast: to offer a protected space for exchanging ideas about relationships, where listeners can find out how others deal with the pressure that weighs on them. In each episode, host Evelyn Sharma lets listeners have their say and discuss their problems with her celebrity guests or influencers who have been through a similar situation. Like singer Benny Dayal and his wife Catherine Dayal, who are in a long-distance relationship. Or Indian influencer Leeza Mangaldas, who describes herself as “India’s leading content creator of pleasure-driven content”. She wants to create awareness about sexuality and the body — and especially about women’s sexual pleasure. The goal: practical, constructive tips on how to deal with the situation — coupled with entertainment. It is precisely this inspiring exchange about individual relationship problems that seemed to be missing from the young target audience until now. So, the podcast is about interfaith relationships, a positive attitude towards one’s own body and divorces without shame.

The fact that the podcast is so close to the lives of its listeners was also reflected in its usage: “Love Matters with Evelyn Sharma” made it into the top 10 of the Indian Apple Podcast Charts. The podcast hit its target audience squarely, with 95 percent of usage coming from India.

“Podcast offers a very good opportunity to learn about love and taboo topics in a protected place, because ’Love Matters’ can be listened to privately with headphones. We are pleased to offer a product in the growing podcast market in India, which is of particular interest to young women,” says Melanie von Marschalck, Deputy Head of Life and Style at DW.

“The format is great. It really provides an opportunity to get into the conversation,” says Anant Sharma, Head of Podcasting at The Indian Express.

DW’s Digital Format Development is already working on the next regionalized podcasts for audiences in South Africa and Colombia. A vodcast in Russian will be launched later this year as well.