You may not realise it, but we are exposed to about 10,000 advertisements daily. The likelihood is that you don’t recall most (or maybe any) of them as were passing by billboards on your way to work, watching your favourite YouTube channel, or or doing your nightly doomscrolling in bed.
In this attention economy, brands strike gold when they’re able to capture the attention of audiences and remain present in people’s minds. One increasingly prominent way to achieve this is through podcast marketing, which one company in particular managed to get right.
Let’s take a look at Momentous’ brand deal with Andrew Huberman and what that teaches us about sponsorships in the podcasting arena.
A Little Context
Who are Momentous? Momentous was founded in 2016 by a young Matt Wan, with backing from Rob Dyrdek’s venture creation studio. They pride themselves in producing supplements made from the best ingredients, using the latest scientific research, held up to the highest of international standards to enable its customers to achieve their goals.
Who is Dr Andrew Huberman? He is currently the main and only host of the Huberman Lab podcast, which touches on all things health-related. The topics he discusses span from general advice about healthy eating and good sleep habits to the more technical of neuroplasticity and supplementation benefits. He racks up almost 800 thousand active listeners monthly.
What is Momentous x Huberman Lab? In 2022, Momentous signed a long-term partnership with the Huberman Lab podcast. This partnership includes ad breaks for Momentous’ supplements on the podcast, as well as a Momentous x Huberman Lab collection on the Momentous website.
Momentous was definitely trying to surpass industry norms when it first launched. Every aspect of their product hinged on being the best—using the best ingredients, held up under the scrutiny of the most rigorous testing standards, to allow you to achieve your best performance.
There’s no doubt that there was value in what they were producing. Yet, Rob Dyrdek admits that the company struggled to break even and secure funding for the first five years. As the company was convincing investors to stay and securing partnerships that went nowhere, Dyrdek and Wan had to seriously consider where the future of Momentous was.
Takeaway 1: Your Product Needs An Audience to Perform
You can have the most useful, the most innovative, the most novel, the most advanced product ready to hit the shelves, but none of that matters if there's no one who knows or is willing to buy your product.
Momentous’ partnership with Huberman Lab was perfect because it allowed them to reach the very people that were most likely to purchase their products—individuals who feel strongly about health, and who believe in the use of supplementation to achieve their fitness and wellness goals.
Takeaway 2: A Good Host Takes You Far
Partnering with Huberman Lab was beneficial for Momentous not just because it was a health and fitness podcast, but because of the way Huberman himself conducts his episodes.
Each weekly episode is about 2.5 hours of deep dives into neuroscientific concepts, coupled with recommendations of how to apply this into your daily life. The truly impressive feat, and the reason why I think Huberman’s listeners find themselves tuning in again and again, is how he manages to convey and explain these concepts in a way that doesn’t make you feel stupid. He breaks down large, scary theories into digestible pieces of explanation, supporting them with research studies and approaching with reservation where necessary. This is especially important, considering the field area he delves in. Making the audience feel like they’re taking something away with each episode is crucial in building the relationship between host and listener.
Now, I don’t disregard the questionable legitimacy of some of Huberman’s claims. The worst of his critics call his podcast pseudoscience, the more forgiving ones admit he’s incredibly skilful in the way he frames each topic and guides your interpretation of it. Yet, despite the critics, his skill as a communicator and as a host cannot be denied, and this is what ultimately leads his audience to choose to trust his opinions, advice, and recommendations.
Takeaway 3: It’s Gonna Cost You Money (A Substantial Amount of It)
Success doesn't just fall into your lap with a snap of a finger. It takes time, it takes effort, and more often than not, it takes a fair bit of money.
Dyrdek and Wan first poured around $300 thousand into their multi-year partnership with Huberman. That first $300k multiplied a whopping twentyfold (Some quick maths will tell you that that equates to $6 million in revenue). Even then, Dyrdek admitted that the reach, exposure, and sales that amount got them was more than they had anticipated, and that with hindsight, Huberman should've been paid more.
What this tells us is that it may cost money, but it will be money well spent.
Replicating Their Success
Momentous hit jackpot with Huberman Lab, but it took them years of trial and error and a stroke of luck in order to do so. The truth is, finding the right podcast to work with is the better part of the battle, and you need to know where to look and how to find them.
With PodSeeker, that arduous search becomes that much easier. Our podcast database has the details and contact information of most podcasts in the world, made easy for you to filter based on genre, number of listeners, recency of episodes, and whether they invite guest speakers.
The level of success that Momentous found is hard to come by, but you can set the stage for it to happen with the help of PodSeeker.
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