Podcast allows brands to intimately engage with audience: Mountain Dew on partnership with The Ranveer Show

Championing the philosophy and the colloqialness of the brand’s tagline, ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’, Mountain Dew entered into a strategic partnership with Ranveer Allahbadia’s The Ranveer Show Podcast for the creation of “Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai” Stories.

Positioning itself as a brand which acknowledges the fact that fear is one of the most real and raw emotions and that everyone feels fear with no definite scale, measure, or boundary, Mountain Dew in the past has been building upon the ‘Dar Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ philosophy for quite some time now.

Last year, the campaign titled ‘Conquer with Courage’ was launched in September, to celebrate the moments of courage in the routine lives of people.

Elaborating on the primary insights that led Mountain Dew to lap the same campaign with a branded content offering in the form of a podcast in the first place, Akankshaa Dalal, Category Head- Mountain Dew, PepsiCo India, stated that being a brand that wants to stay aligned with current consumer trends and also relatable to the youth, partnering with a long format asset seemed like the right thing to do to Mountain Dew owing to the growth of digital media consumption.

Akankshaa Dalal

“The key factor which led to the conceptualisation of ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ Stories was to further establish Mountain Dew’s proposition of ‘Conquer with Courage’ and in accordance with our commitment, we chose to collaborate with The Ranveer Show due to its extensive and well-loved fan base, ensuring our message reaches diverse audiences across urban and rural India,” she said.

This strategic partnership, in her view, allowed Mountain Dew to expand its reach and deliver the brand’s empowering message by showcasing stories of courage of influential personalities who are not just celebrated in their field but are also a role model for audiences such as " target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kapil Dev, " target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yuvraj Singh, " target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhumi Pednekar, " target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vikas Khanna, %3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neena Gupta, etc. to every corner of the country given its focus on the younger audiences.

“The influential guests on the podcast brought a unique perspective, fuelling a meaningful dialogue that encourages audiences to overcome their fears. The narratives shared by celebrated celebrities and youth icons served as a positive step toward normalising discussions on fear,” she opined.

Upon being questioned as to why the brand specifically decided to partner with Ranveer Allahbadia’s The Ranveer Show podcast for the same, Dalal replied that it was mainly because The Ranveer Show stands out as one of the country's most popular podcasts, with the viewership and fan base from across diverse regions and segments with varying perspectives.

Recognising this, Mountain Dew’s primary goal was to leverage the podcast to connect with and expand its consumer base whilst championing discussions on overcoming fears encapsulated by the colloquial tagline ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ and amplifying the ethos nationwide.

“The partnership was also motivated by the shared belief that fear is a subjective experience, transcending scales and boundaries across different sections of the Indian population. The Ranveer Show's broad target demographic coupled with his youth-centric dialogues and adept conversation leadership, resonates with a vast majority of young audiences across India,” she added.

To support her statement here, she stated that given The Ranveer Show’s inherent focus on sharing courageous stories from influential figures, veterans, and stars, integrating the Mountain Dew brand seamlessly into the podcast felt organic to the brand and her both.

“A special segment called ‘Darr Se Jeet Tak’ was curated to further bring out the stories of courage and distinct fears of every guest. Mountain Dew played a role in steering conversations towards personal fears, bringing to light stories of triumph and courage, all aligning effortlessly with the podcast’s overarching theme of conquering challenges with bravery,” she further added.

Having said that, the core insight behind this project was that ‘everyone feels fear, regardless of their stature’ and is distinctive and subjective for each person and that is precisely what the brand aimed to bring to the forefront and celebrate the courage stories of people who possess the strength to move beyond their fears, despite its scale.

Commenting on how she sees the branded content evolving in the current landscape and how this particular podcast series fits into the prevalent industry trends, Mountain Dew’s Dalal emphasised that over the years, the landscape of branded content has evolved, shifting from a mere sales-oriented approach to establishing a profound emotional connection and brand equity with consumers.

“Branded content, with its nuanced and refined engagement, stands in contrast to direct advertising. The ethos of 'Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai' finds a perfect alignment with The Ranveer Show, as its thought-provoking conversations spotlight individuals with inspirational stories of conquering fears, instilling confidence, and spreading positivity. Hence, this podcast serves as an apt platform to showcase the distinctive stories of youth icons and inspirational figures, reinforcing Mountain Dew's belief that fear is a subjective experience without a fixed scale or boundary,” she added.

With this she also highlighted the brand’s belief in empowering individuals to conquer their fears and triumph in life with courage. The approach to creating a branded content podcast is also aligned with its core philosophy and therefore unlike other forms of content, a podcast allows the brand to intimately engage with its audience and offer a unique auditory experience that resonates with their journeys.

“Basis the podcast episodes appeared so far, we have already garnered a unique reach of 50 million+ purely on YouTube. In addition, interesting bytes from different episodes have been shared and highlighted by different online and social media platforms further adding reach and virality to the series,” she further added.