The best marketing podcasts of 2021
No matter the vertical, it’s becoming tougher for marketing teams to distinguish their product and stand out. Hearing about the challenges, triumphs, and perspectives of leaders is an important step on the way to great marketing. At ironSource, we get inspired and motivated by listening to stories that run the gamut of topics: life tips, just marketing, innovation and business, culture moment, and world history.
Check out this curated list of 14 best marketing podcasts ironSource’s marketing team listens to on the daily - top podcasts recommended by marketers for marketers, what more could you ask for?
The top marketing podcasts picked by the ironSource marketing team
A moment for marketing
1. Out of the Box by ironSource
Description: This is a podcast focused on the challenges, triumphs, and perspectives of the next generation of marketing leaders - those of us cracking the code where growth and storytelling intersect. This is the place for our community of data-driven marketers to learn, share, and become empowered to challenge preconceived notions and break out of the box.
Why we listen: Well, because it’s ours of course! Aside from that, Out of the Box is a place for marketers to hear from industry leaders about how they push the envelope in their fields. Marketing is becoming harder to crack and this podcast brings new strategies and techniques to light.
2. Marketers in Capes with G-CMO
Description: Eytan Buchman shares practical marketing advice that can be implemented into your marketing strategy immediately and effectively. Real marketing heroes, famous or not, discuss how they do what they do so well.
Why we listen: ironSource’s very own VP of Marketing, Melissa Zeloof, was a guest on this podcast. Be sure to check out her episode “Marketing Multiple B2B Brands (Well)” to hear her thoughts. Marketing is largely built by example and it is beneficial to hear marketing leaders talk about what they do and what works.
Innovation in less than an hour
3. How I Built This with Guy Raz by NPR
Description: Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies and builds a narrative around the innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists. Movements had to start somewhere and this podcast reveals those humble beginnings.
Why we listen: It’s inspiring to listen to stories about hard work paying off. Raz is humble and always portrays a positive and hopeful side to everything. The world’s best known companies got to that place because of incredible marketing and targeting.
4. The Moment with Brian Koppelman
Description: Brian Koppelman interviews guests, specifically from the entertainment industry, about the pivotal moments that fueled their fascinating creative careers. Notable guests include Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow, and Rodney Crowell.
Why we listen: This podcast offers great advice on how to pursue creative endeavors with passion and rigor. Marketing is all about creativity and content creation, and exercising your creative brain is important. This podcast gives us a place to think about creativity, alone, and forget about the logistics and operations of marketing for a few minutes.
5. Master of Scale with Reid Hoffman
Description: Reid Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn and investor at Greylock. This podcast analyzes how companies grow from zero to a gazillion through interviews with legendary leaders, such as Jochen Zeitz, CEO of Harley Davidson, and Reed Hastings, CEO and Founder of Netflix. Masters of Scale is the first American media program to commit to gender balance for guests.
Why we listen: This podcast touches on everything business and entrepreneur related in a motivational way. Growth is a vital part of marketing and hearing about the growth tactics of other companies is vital to our own growth strategy.
6. Business of HYPE by HYPEBEAST
Description: Host Jeff Staple interviews well-known creatives, brand-builders and entrepreneurs from various corners of youth culture about their creative mindsets. They share encouraging words of advice and go into depth about the realities behind their businesses.
Why we listen: This podcast is great for people who have a lot of potential but could use a little push. It has helped us leverage our creativity for success. Marketing requires creative thinking alongside realistic thinking and this podcast helps us to decide which of our creative ideas will be the most effective and profitable.
Crazy for culture
7. Freakonomics Radio
Description: Freakonomics Radio challenges what you think you know and what you have always thought you didn’t want to know. Topics range from the economics of sleep to how to become great at just about anything. Host Stephen J. Dubner chats with Nobel laureates, provocateurs, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and more.
Why we listen: Listening to this podcast will make you smarter. Every aspect of the world is influenced by economics in some way, even marketing, and Freakonomics sheds light on that sometimes hard to believe concept. This podcast puts the money behind marketing into perspective.
8. The a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz
Description:Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. As software eats the world, learn about the latest tech and culture trends, news, and the future from industry experts, business leaders, and others.
Why we listen: This podcast covers a wide variety of topics in innovation and technology. You can pick and choose the ones you want to listen to and learn something new from each one. Software is eating the world and marketing has to adapt to the new trends. Being up to date on news and culture has helped us create a relevant marketing strategy.
9. TED Radio Hour by NPR
Description: Explore the biggest questions of our time with host Manoush Zomorodi. The world’s greatest thinkers will inspire you to learn more about the world, our communities, and most importantly, ourselves.
Why we listen: TED radio hour goes beyond just the typical TED talk. They take the most complicated information and break it down into understandable and practical advice. This podcast inspires much of our marketing thinking because learning about the world is the first step to nailing down consumer behavior.
World history made simple
10. Intrigue by BBC Radio
Description: Each series of Intrigue tells a dramatic true story and pulls back the curtain on how the world works. The most recent series is Mayday: On November 11, 2019 James Le Mesurier was found dead in a street in Istanbul. In this series, Chloe Hadjimatheou works to uncover the secrets of his life and analyzes how truth functions in modern warfare.
Why we listen: The best way to learn is to listen to others’ stories of triumph. The history lesson this podcast provides is riveting and inspiring. History is inevitable and influential to all aspects of life, including marketing. Understanding the past has helped us shape the future.
11. Revisionist History
Description: Malcolm Gladwell talks you through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines some event, person, or idea from the past and analyzes whether we got it right the first time. Sometimes the past deserves a second chance.
Why we listen: Every topic he discusses is so relevant to life and work. Understanding the misunderstood is vital to marketing and helps us to branch out of our comfort zone. Looking to the past and seeing what worked and what didn’t have allowed us to build a more universal marketing strategy.
Build a balanced life
12. Work life with Adam Grant by TED
Description: Work takes up a huge part of life, and should be enjoyed not dreaded. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, analyzes some of the world’s most unusual professions to crack the code on a better work-life balance. Learn how to love your rivals and harness the power of frustration to see your job in a more positive light.
Why we listen: The suggestions are practical and presented in an incredibly entertaining way that has helped us to find a balance between marketing and our own lives. It’s also helpful to hear, not only new suggestions but also old ones debunked and broken down.
13. How’s Work? With Esther Perel
Description: Esther Perel is a couples therapist that understands the importance of healthy relationships, even in the workforce. The workplace is shaped by connections, conflict, and dynamics between co-workers. Esther gives you an inside look at some of her therapy sessions with coworkers, co-founders and colleagues to help you navigate your own relationships with the people you work with, especially in the new etiquette of a work from home workforce.
Why we listen: This podcast will blow our minds every single time we listen to a new episode. All of the topics discussed are relatable and the conversations are meaningful on a personal level. It not only helps us find a balance, but, as marketers, the topics help us to understand consumers more clearly.
14. Disrupt Yourself with Whitney Johnson
Description: Whitney Johnson, author of “Disrupt Yourself,” chats with disruptors, people who have dared to create something for a market that doesn’t exist. She shares her insight into why doing something crazy and being a ‘disruptor’ leads to success while revealing new insights about how we work, learn, and live.
Why we listen: If you want to make real, huge efforts to reach your goals and excel in your career, then listen to this podcast. Your career and creativity can always go farther. Especially as marketers, this podcast inspired us to reach farther and not be scared to disrupt the ecosystem.
These are just a few of the podcasts that have shaped our marketing thinking and strategies. But, this list is nowhere near finished. We invite you to share your feedback on this list and to send your favorite podcasts to us.
Check out our other popular blogs on Aura including Our Guide to App Distribution, Marketing Your App in the Android App Market, How to Acquire Users For Your Streaming App with Creative Messaging and more.
