Printwear & Promotion The Total Promotional Package
Hands up! Did you discover podcasts during lockdown? I know I did! I’m now fairly partial to a true crime podcast while trying to cram in those 10,000 steps a day. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey speaks to two suppliers who have launched their very own podcasts for the garment decoration industry.
Podcasts have certainly seen a boom in popularity during the past few years and this form of communication doesn’t look like it’s slowing down any time soon.
It’s estimated that over 19 million Britons listen to podcasts, with around 40% of listeners aged 26 to 35. Podcasts can be listened to on platforms such as BBC Sounds, Spotify and YouTube.
You can find any genre of podcasts online to listen to, from comedy to sports, so it should come as no surprise that podcasts aimed at the garment decoration market are now becoming widely available too. Graphtec GB and Target Transfers launched their own podcasts earlier this year to fill a much-needed gap in the market.
The Target Transfers Podcast, as it is known, received its launch at Printwear & Promotion LIVE! back in April, with a new episode released every Thursday. The very first episode discussed the exhibition and how to get the most out of your visit, as well as the brand new UltraColour MAX Heat Transfer. The podcast is hosted by Andy Rogers, marketing manager, and Molly Harmon, senior marketing executive, with topics covered so far including how to start, run and grow a successful business, social media strategy and industry trends.
Crying out
Molly said: “The UK garment industry has been crying out for a new podcast. We are big fans of this platform so we launched The Target Transfers Podcast because there nothing else like it within our industry. We wanted to create something that would entertain, educate and inform our customers.”
The Cutting Matters Podcast is the name of Graphtec GB’s podcast – it’s great to see a pun being used! As the name suggests everything to do with cutting and plotting is covered from levelling up your craft hobby into a career to accessorising and customising your Graphtec machine. Alastair Evans, senior digital marketing and ecommerce executive, was the brainchild behind the launch, which he co-hosts with Ellen Wain, business development executive.
“Like many I got into podcasts during lockdown. The idea to launch our own series of podcasts was first discussed towards the end of 2021. The idea wasn’t thrown out of the door, so we started to put the plan into action,” he says.
Both podcasts not only focus on their own market sector and discuss new products and how to use them, but also feature interviews with guests, mainly garment decorators and key industry figures.
Target Transfers has so far been joined by Darren Sedge, owner and founder of Squeezed Orange and Adam Ellena, managing director of Printing on Sea. “Our favourite episodes are when we are joined by garment decorators,” says Molly.
Graphtec GB’s first official guest was shopping TV channel host, Hayley West, who specialises in the craft market. Their second guest was Declan McCabe, director at Wide Format Solutions. “It’s really interesting to see the industry from different points of view,” says Alastair. “There was a lot of hype surrounding the episode with Declan. It was definitely one of our more popular episodes. And we received great reviews from our chat with Hayley.”
The future
Both companies agree that podcasts are definitely the future when it comes to educating and engaging with customers.
Molly explains: “Education will always be vital for our industry. We’re very happy to be at the forefront of this and believe the podcast is a great way to do this. At the moment podcasts are a popular way to educate and entertain people with longer form content. Our focus is to continue delivering high quality and educational content to listeners, on whichever platform they prefer.”
Alastair adds: “YouTube is one of the largest search engines on the planet now. Having a presence on that platform provides us with a new way of speaking to our customers. The main driving factor behind our podcasts is the ability to talk about our products in an easily digestible fashion for our customers.”
The response that both companies have received from the launch of their podcasts has been exceptional. Target Transfers reports that hundreds of listeners tune in on a weekly basis and that feedback has been really positive.
“The feedback we’ve had from our customers is that they have made significant productivity gains since tuning into The Target Transfers Podcast every week. Customers have been learning from other customers which is just great, and if at the end of the day our customers win, we all win,” says Molly.
“We definitely see longevity in our podcasts,” explains Alastair. “We are putting out content based around what our listeners actually want to hear. As a result of our podcasts, we are seeing more enquiries come through, and engagement with the end-user is increased.”
Graphtec GB has also introduced an ‘Ask Ellen’ element to their podcasts, whereby listeners can get in touch with any burning questions and have these answered by Ellen on the next episode. This section of the podcast has proved to be very popular, with questions not always product or business related.
Joint podcast
In a show of unity, Target Transfers and Graphtec GB are planning a joint podcast to land this side of Christmas. The content at the moment is being kept under wraps, but Alastair and Molly encourage you to keep an eye out on social media for when news of this episode lands.
It is clear in this fast-paced world we now live in that not everyone has the time to sit down and read lengthy blogposts or how-to articles. Podcasts are fast becoming the new way to reach your captive audience.
So, the next time you’re in the car on a long drive or taking the dog for walk why not search for a garment decoration podcast and see where your smart phone, radio or smart speaker takes you.
