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The Importance of “Branding”
in Audio Drama Marketing
March 15, 2025
Part of any marketing strategy is “branding.” If you are grassroots promoting your audio drama, this absolutely should be on your mind. I’m not going to pretend like I am a vastly experienced marketing person. But my Master’s degree is in Producing for Film/TV/Digital Media which certainly included marketing classes and strategizing. Why does that include marketing? Because if you are a producer, and certainly an indie-producer, you need to be overseeing every part of production from concept to distribution. And it is no hidden secret that anyone can put creative work out into the world, but if you aren’t finding a way to let audiences know about you, it doesn’t matter how wonderful your product is, no one is going to hear about it.
So “branding” in marketing is loosely defined as “creating an identifiable image for your product or business.” Which in audio drama, means you need to know how you want your show to be received. So whenever you are putting anything out into the world to tell people about your show, you need to work within the parameters of that brand. Simply speaking, when you see the “Golden Arches” you know instantly what that is. So what is your show’s “Golden Arches?”
Madison’s brand started with the logo. Scott Salslow (link to his IG, tooting his horn: he’s a very talented graphic designer who creates images for film marketing) Scott was gracious enough to volunteer to do the original Madison logo. A fan of podcasts, he was very familiar with the format for logos that would grab people’s eye. I had the vision of the silhouette of Madison alongside an old time microphone. Together we found her image (he has subscriptions to stock image companies that he uses and manipulates for his work) and then he chose the two fonts for the title. (I adored the heart for the “O”) We landed on the two shades of pink and there you have it! Madison’s face to the world.
From there you should see that I’ve gone all in on the pink. I have the two shades (her background and her shirt) that I use everywhere. Likewise the two fonts. I further stayed within the “brand” of the logo by creating the silhouette images for each episode. Some have been easy, some I struggle to think of what best represents the episode, and then I build those for use in advertising on social media and here on the website.
But branding goes beyond colors and images. I make a point to post at least once a day every single day on social media. And this is where knowing your brand is vitally important. I decided Madison’s “brand” is old time radio, right? So anything is fair game from the 1930s-1950s. So besides just dropping notices about a new episode or anything specific to the show, I seek out fun photos and facts to share from the era of OTR. This is my brand for Madison. I make a point to say this because I see too many indie creators blur the lines on social media and treat their show’s socials like their own personal socials. I sign up to follow “Show X” because I like gardening. But then most of their posts aren’t related to the show or the tone of the series, but photos of their kids, or “I hate my boss” or some political meme that is far away from the show’s usual content. Your show’s social media needs to stay on brand. It can’t also be a place for you to complain about the world or showcase your personal life (unless that is what your show’s tone is!) Don’t alienate audience with TMI. It won’t make them want to follow you. Simply put: Look at social media as a way to expand the world of your show. The world people already want to be a part of and now have more of it to explore!
One quick hint I will give when creating your social media brand. Don’t try to post in a character’s voice. As if it is your lead character’s social media and they are posting. I’ve seen it a lot and I promise you, it’s too limiting. You’re going to hit a wall fast. When you do imagine your brand, find broad parameters. Like I have 3o years of content to play with. Be specific, but open enough not to paint yourself into a corner. You can always expand later, but it helps if you start with broad brush strokes.
Love your show, love your content, and you will find the brand, the “identity,” you want to project to the world.
