Posted 14 hours ago14 hr comment_11173 Not so long ago, a book deal and a live tour marked the outer limits of how far a hot podcast could hope to expand its horizons. These days, they’re only the beginning. Especially at Wondery, the fast-growing podcast network based in West Hollywood, California. Wondery has more than 240 podcasts, and more than 55 of them have hit the No. 1 spot on Apple Podcasts. The first book adapted from the network’s hit survival podcast Against the Odds is set for publication this June, but a better example of where things might be headed is the line of toys Wondery just launched for the family-friendly science show Wow in the World or the immersive cruise inspired by its Exhibit C true-crime vertical, which is in the works for 2026. As the network continues pushing audio-first intellectual property into uncharted new territory, it’s starting to look like Wondery can turn podcasts into just about anything. “We’ve got this Hollywood-style approach to storytelling,” says Nicole Blake, chief brand officer at Wondery, the network that perfected the podcast-to-streaming-series pipeline with scripted pods like Dying for Sex, Dirty John, and Dr. Death. “So now, we’re trying to take a Hollywood-style approach to IP-building and apply it to podcasting.” The holy grail of branding Some brands are practically inescapable. Whether you’re flipping through channels, stuck in traffic, or taking a Pilates class, they stalk you like prey. Blake has a term for brands like that. “The holy grail is a 360-degree IP—something the fans are seeing at many touch points, all the time,” she says. “It’s not an on-and-off relationship, it’s an always-on relationship.” One brand that certainly qualifies is the Harry Potter movie franchise, whose development Blake steered during her tenure as a senior vice president at Warner Bros. in the 2010s. Beyond all the books, movies, and spinoffs, Harry Potter’s tentacles have extended to clothing lines, food items, Lego sets, video games, theatrical plays, and theme park rides. Though the phenomenon factor of Harry Potter may be singular, the brand’s breadth exemplifies the inventive approach to market saturation Blake is exploring for Wondery’s podcasts. So far, the show that seems furthest along the path to 360-degree IP is Wow in the World, the kid-focused science series with more than 100 million downloads. Designed in Pixar-fashion to appeal to parents listening along, it has steadily cultivated a devoted following, who call themselves Wowsers. The show has long since spawned the requisite live tours and book deals, along with an array of clothing and accessories that includes shirts, pillows, and backpacks. Where the show’s extension breaks new ground, however, beyond a push into the classroom with a Next Generation Science Standards-aligned curriculum, is its new line of STEM kits like an Everlasting Volcano and Dino Dig & Diorama. Though character-driven pods like Welcome to Night Vale and the D&D-based Critical Role have spun off plush toys and action figures, Wow in the World’s offerings may be the first line of podcast-inspired toys in the STEM space. (“I like firsts,” Blake notes.) Wondery partnered with science publishers Thames and Kosmos to launch this first wave of toys last fall, and they’re coming this month to Walmart. But it’s not just kids connecting with Wondery’s podcasts at such a deep level. Why podcasts are poised to become 360-degree IP That podcasts can become as colossally popular and highly valued as more traditional media is old news. Since Joe Rogan made the first $100 million podcast deal with Spotify in 2020, for instance, several similar deals have followed—including one last fall between Wondery and NFL star sibling podcasters Jason and Travis Kelce. However, eye-poppingly lucrative deals and astronomic numbers of downloads don’t paint the full picture of what popularity means for these shows. The main reason podcasts appear poised to become 360-IP, according to Blake, is because of the unique connection they foster with fans. There’s a certain intimacy inherent to the medium. It casts a spell on listeners, creating the illusion that they’re quietly participating in an ongoing conversation, rather than overhearing it. When someone falls in love with a podcast, they fall hard—as Wondery recently demonstrated with a study on fandom conducted with Dentsu and Edison Research. According to its findings, 71% of podcast fans feel they are friends with the hosts of their favorite shows, while 46% claim they are more a fan of their favorite podcast than any other form of entertainment. The biggest podcasts don’t just inspire affinity but loyalty. Their fans are willing to follow them anywhere. What helps present more branding possibilities, though, according to Blake, is the fact that podcasts follow their listeners everywhere. “Podcasts, unlike any other media, complement a person’s day,” she says. “You can listen to a podcast while taking a walk, cooking, or doing arts and crafts. They can go with you on every step of your day; and as such, they provide plenty of opportunities for extensions into other areas such as apparel and consumer products.” Wondery spent years coordinating the rollout of a line of toys for the Wowsers to play with while listening to Wow in the World together after school. But the network does not apply the same long-lead approach to product development for each of its shows. One size does not fit all The first step to a successful brand extension for podcast IP, Blake says, is gathering research and insights to understand the DNA of the show and what people love about it. Beyond that, it can go any number of ways. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to building a podcast’s brand. The weekly nature of some podcasts creates a lot of opportunities for rapid response. Blake’s team always monitors how fans react to Wondery’s podcasts, ready to pounce on, say, a popular segment or catchphrase that emerges from the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast; or create a special T-shirt immediately after Jason Kelce’s former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won the Super Bowl back in February. Similarly, the team also noticed that fans of MrBallen, a beloved mystery storyteller, were talking a lot on social media about Lungy, a frog character the host developed on the show. It seemed like they wanted more of Lungy, and “more” is what any aspiring 360-degree IP should have on tap at all times. Wonndery quickly turned around a Lungy the Frog pin, which sold out right away, paving the way for future frog-centric apparel. Of course, some ideas need more time to incubate. In order to arrive at the planned Exhibit C cruise for 2026—an immersive experience for fans of Wondery true-crime shows like Morbid and Scamfluencers—the team had to first experiment. In 2023, the network staged Exhibit C: A True Crime Experience Live at New York’s Gotham Hall, a sort of podcastapalooza, bringing together an Avengers of in-house true-crime show hosts. The interactive event got such tremendous feedback from fans, it proved the demand existed for even more outlandish events like the upcoming mystery cruise. Just how far can Wondery push its podcast IP beyond the high seas? According to Blake, anything is possible. “There is nowhere traditional media has been extended,” she says, “that you won’t see a podcast go in the future.” View the full article
