studioID receives “Best Branded Podcast - B2B” nomination in the 2021 Digiday Content Marketing Awards

studioID earned a finalist position in the Best Branded Podcast - B2B category at Digidays 2021 Content Marketing Awards for their work on Squares Talking Squarely - Season 1 podcast. Held annually, the Digiday Content Marketing Awards recognize the companies and campaigns using content to modernize media and marketing.

As a global financial services and payment technology company, Square strives to change the way small businesses and major brands participate in the economy. As the pandemic devastated small business owners that make up one of Squares key target audiences, the brand pivoted quickly and judiciously to provide meaningful and helpful content in a time of crisis.

As the world shifted overnight, Square collected 30-second audio vignettes that told stories of business survival and adaptation to promote on social media. Inspired by their popularity, Square and studioID collaborated to produce a podcast that would expand upon these stories and take them one level deeper.

To effectively reach a group of anxious and exhausted entrepreneurs, the studioID and Square team knew the podcast would need to be rooted in the harsh realities these business owners were up against, while simultaneously serving as a beacon of encouragement and hope. This endeavor would also mark Squares first foray into podcasts, so the pressure to produce something impactful enough to make a mark in a crowded content territory, and garner returning listeners, was on.

Rather than adopting the traditional B2B podcast model of featuring a single thought leader per episode, the studioID team challenged themselves to innovate. Each episode of Talking Squarely brings multiple entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds and businesses into the same virtual space to have a candid and productive discussion with each other about the issues theyre facing, and the solutions on the horizon. With no shortage of inspiring business owners to call upon, Square recruited each guest from their existing network, providing a subtle yet effective vote of confidence for the brand across every episode.

Listen to Squares Talking Squarely - Season 1.

While the podcast needed to acknowledge the challenges COVID-19 imposed on businesses, it also needed to be evergreen enough to provide insights to listeners beyond the current moment. Each episode sets the stage with the challenges of running a business within a pandemic context (e.g., what do you do when youre a florist and events get cancelled?), and guests respond with a thoughtful discussion and perspective of resilience that could inspire listeners in 2021 and beyond.

Through this strategy, Square acts only as a moderator and makes the small business owners the heroes and educators for the listener. As part of a larger integrated marketing strategy , each podcast episode also fuels editorial content on the Town Square blog, creating a master narrative of actionable insights/resources grounded in comfort and hope that Squares audience can turn to.

Alongside the Square team, the studioID team behind Talking Squarely consists of seasoned content strategists Travis Gonzalez, Camille Kail, and Liam Berry. The final winners will be announced on May 6.For a complete list of categories and finalists, check out Digidays announcement here .