I’m incredibly excited to introduce today’s guest, someone who’s truly a trailblazer in the podcasting world. My guest today is Harry Morton, the founder of Lower Street Media, a podcast production agency that we look up to immensely. Harry’s team has produced over 7,000 episodes, reaching more than 12 million downloads, for major brands like PepsiCo, Booking.com, and Fidelity.
The discussion focused on why brands should consider moving away from the familiar “two-people-talking” format that dominates podcasting.
Podcast Background and The Journey
During our chat, I asked Harry to share how he, a self-described “internet nerd,” managed to build one of the most successful podcast agencies in the world.
He explained that it has been a gradual journey over eight years, focused on constantly refining and improving his work. Harry’s team encouraged each client to be slightly more daring with each project, experimenting with formats beyond traditional interviews. This iterative approach has allowed Lower Street to deliver more creative and engaging shows while working with larger and more recognizable brands.
Harry’s background is a mix of music and audio post-production, though his path was far from linear. He initially worked at a post-production studio in London.
Transitioning into sales and marketing for several years, he eventually found himself drawn back to audio during the rise of podcasting. With experience in both audio production and marketing, he recognized a new opportunity. In 2016, he launched Lower Street Media from his bedroom, determined to make his passion a business. Since then, the agency has grown to serve clients worldwide, producing bigger and better shows along the way.
Innovative Podcast Formats
Harry and I discussed the potential of storytelling in podcasting. While the interview format has its place, it often limits a show’s potential to stand out in an increasingly crowded space.
Harry noted that many people prefer stories that resonate emotionally, much like the narrative shows from NPR or the BBC that first inspired him. His agency’s goal is to help brands break away from the typical Q&A structure and instead create narrative-driven formats that can set them apart and keep listeners engaged.
Read More: How To Choose The Right Podcast Format
Harry emphasized that there’s a story in everything. Whether you’re interviewing an accountant or an AI engineer, every guest has moments that can spark interest. While it might seem challenging to create a story around fields like accounting or finance, he believes every topic holds the potential for emotional resonance. The key lies in finding a unique angle that taps into the human element, whether that’s through humor, challenges, or triumphs. This kind of storytelling transforms a straightforward interview into something more memorable and relatable.
By tapping into emotions—be it humor, curiosity, or even vulnerability—podcasters can create a unique experience that resonates deeply with audiences. As Harry pointed out, the goal is to find those compelling angles and bring the story to life in a way that feels authentic and engaging.
Related Topic: The Power of Storytelling: How Podcasting Shapes Our Lives and Creative Journeys
The Challenge of Pitching Creative Podcasts to Brands
While audiences love creative podcast formats, selling these innovative concepts to brands—particularly large, risk-averse ones—can be challenging. For many brands, especially in highly regulated industries like banking, the traditional interview format feels safer and more predictable. I asked Harry how he approaches pitching alternative podcast formats to brands and how he gets them to embrace more creative ideas.
For big-name clients, the objectives often go beyond generating immediate leads. For example, a bank like Chase isn’t expecting listeners to open accounts immediately after tuning into an episode. Instead, the goal is more about branding: creating a long-term association and getting listeners to think of their brand positively.
To meet these goals, Harry emphasized content that captured attention and entertained rather than delivering straightforward, “dry” thought leadership. Although thought leadership had its place, larger brands often looked to establish deeper, ongoing connections with their audience. Creating content that felt like an experience—not just a sales pitch—was one of the most effective ways to achieve this.
By focusing on building brand awareness and cultivating a memorable listening experience, Harry’s team successfully pitches creative podcast formats that align with brands’ larger, long-term objectives.
The Use Of Podcasts For Businesses – Fictional Podcasts
We discussed the rising trend of using podcasts as a powerful tool for account-based marketing, particularly valuable for early-stage startups, agencies, and digital brands. Rather than focusing on building a large audience to generate leads, many companies were using podcasts to build relationships with ideal clients. Harry explained that instead of sending a typical sales deck, he could reach out and invite a potential client, such as a CEO or CMO, to be a guest on his podcast.
This networking-focused approach enabled brands to use their podcasts as a dual-purpose tool: while connecting with potential clients, they also created content that could be shared with a broader audience on social media.
Keynote: Understanding each brand’s priorities and ensuring the podcast aligned with their needs.
I shared my own experience with this approach. Smarter Podcasting was originally launched as a platform to promote a podcasting course I’d developed, but the strategy quickly evolved. Now, my focus is on connecting with industry leaders. Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with remarkable figures in the podcasting world, such as Jordan Harbinger, Ariel Nissenblatt from Descript, and Adam Shibley, to name a few. This networking component has been invaluable and is something I encourage my clients to pursue as well.
Harry agreed, describing it as an “amazing hack” for building professional relationships. He even noted that if he returned to sales, he would absolutely start a podcast as a networking tool.
You may also like: 7 Elements Of Storytelling
Fictional
Harry highlighted the potential of fictional podcasts as a bold approach to brand engagement. He shared the example of The Message, a fictional podcast produced by GE that became hugely successful.
This example demonstrates how brands can use fictional narratives to stand out and generate lasting audience engagement without needing to center on their products.
ROI and Revenue – Above Numbers and Metrics
When working with clients, the first topic that often arose was the return on investment (ROI) for their podcasts. Many brands initially focused on metrics like download counts, wanting to know how many people would listen, click, or engage directly. However, Harry encouraged his clients to look beyond downloads, as the true value of a podcast lay in its ability to foster deep engagement and long-term brand awareness.
Instead of download numbers, Harry and his team placed emphasis on listening time—a measure of how much of each episode listeners actually consumed. Podcasts frequently boasted high completion rates, with 80% or more of listeners sticking through 30- to 40-minute episodes. Compared to platforms like YouTube, where videos commonly experience a sharp drop-off within the first 30 seconds, podcasts offered brands a rare opportunity to capture sustained attention.
By reframing ROI in terms of the impact on the audience rather than sheer reach, Harry’s approach allowed brands to understand the substantial, long-term value podcasts offered. This metric-driven perspective helped clients see the true potential of podcasting to deepen relationships with audiences over time.
Podcasting Industry – Developments and Reflections
Looking back, we both acknowledged how the podcasting landscape has changed and developed.
When he started hiring for Lower Street between 2017 and 2019, the podcasting industry felt young and still developing. At that time, traditional journalists were often cautious or even skeptical about working on brand-sponsored podcasts, fearing that these might lack the objectivity of journalistic storytelling.
Harry’s perspective, however, was straightforward: he wanted to produce engaging, meaningful work, and brands provided the resources to make that possible.
Harry added that the opportunity to work with brands also gave him a chance to share unique stories. Many brands have interesting missions and loyal audiences, and branded podcasts help bring these stories to life in a way that engages and resonates. Over the years, he observed more people warming up to the idea of branded podcasting, recognizing it as a necessary and beneficial part of the podcasting landscape.
While branded podcasting might not appeal to everyone, he believes it enriches the podcasting space, making creative storytelling more accessible. As he put it,
“We’re in a good industry, doing important work, and helping people share truly interesting stories.”
Final Thoughts
Whether through engaging storytelling, innovative metrics like listen time over downloads, or using podcasts as a powerful networking tool, there are countless ways for brands to leverage podcasting effectively.
For anyone looking to enhance their podcast’s impact, the key takeaway is this: find your unique angle, be open to creative experimentation, and always keep the listener experience at the heart of your strategy.
Podcasters out there, if you have your podcast community with dedicated listeners, it’s time to turn them into loyal buyers! Let me help you with 5 secrets in my FREE E-book!
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to boost your podcast’s revenue.
And if you would like a podcast audit let me know!
