The Partnership Economy podcast was created for businesses, partners, agencies, and consumers alike—the show highlights how the power of partnerships brings these groups together and creates authentic trust between all parties. Hosts, David A. Yovanno and Todd Crawford, unpack how partnerships can scale revenue growth for brands, agencies, and partners while, at the same time, can put the consumer first.
Simply put, partnerships reach consumers in a way they want to be reached. Consumers have had enough of traditional ads and don’t believe what brands have to say about themselves anymore. Instead, they want the straight scoop from people they do trust—a publisher, a creator, or another business. We’re bringing this strategy to life through this podcast in order to challenge traditional ways of thinking and to aid incredible growth for businesses of all sizes.
The show welcomes global leaders across all verticals to share their unique advice, personal stories, and future outlooks to inspire listeners to dive into the partnership marketing channel—a channel that can make up over 28% of a business’s total revenue mix. The Partnership Economy intends to educate listeners about this evergreen channel and inspire them to take the next step in digital marketing.
As humans, we crave connection. Partnerships with others, whether personally or in business, are how we stay connected and build trust. The show faces the challenge of overcoming the lack of education and knowledge on what partnerships are and how to effectively use them in business. While partnerships are a part of many lives (through influencers, bloggers, and media publishers), minimal podcasts existed before this show that thoroughly dive into the channel and, more specifically, the different partnership types that are around today.
With diverse guests who bring their wealth of experiences, The Partnership Economy encourages audiences to connect with the hosts and guests alike through personal tips and words of guidance to help brands, both big and small. Collaborating with familiar brands— like Disney Streaming, Liquid IV, and Fanatics—and giving their leaders an authentic platform to share their perspectives bridges the connection with listeners, thus driving the idea that partnerships are reliable.
Throughout the show, industry expert hosts, David A. Yovanno and Todd Crawford, sit down with various leaders and discuss how the partnerships channel has helped them create new opportunities. These diverse and global leaders focus on actionable insights and career-building advice, resulting in many relatable “how-to’s.” For instance, in Todd’s episode with Heidi Solchenberger of Foot Locker, Heidi encourages audience personalization based on a time when they partnered with a student program and created personalized coupon codes offered to this target audience; creating an exclusive offer made for a huge return on investment.
Whether someone is new to partnerships or expertly experienced, they can learn something new from the show and uncover where the future of digital marketing and partnerships is heading. The conversations are insightful, and although the subject matter highlights professional business matters, the tone is casual and sounds like listening to a conversation between two friends; this further drives the show's authenticity and draws listeners in. It also focuses on the humanness of partnerships, its importance, and how that foundation sets up this channel for success. We hear from global guests from all walks of life—mothers, farmers, sports fans, influencers, and more. Our aim is to truly show listeners that the partnerships channel is not just a one-size-fits-all.
The Partnership Economy has been promoted through social media, paid campaigns on Castbox and PlayerFM, as well as internal and external campaigns. These efforts resulted in explosive growth for season 2, with a 539% increase from our first season. Each episode links to the guests' and hosts professional pages, so listeners can continue engaging with others in the industry and further the cycle of connecting through partnerships.
The Partnership Economy has flourished since the first episode was released in October 2021. The show started with the simple goal of educating listeners on the power of partnerships, but due to the immense level of growth, has pivoted to adhere to the appetite for this information and the genuine audience that wants to learn insights from leaders they admire. Between Seasons 1 and 2, the show has grown by 539%, with 51k downloads (and counting) since first airing.
Although the show is still in its early stages, it’s promising to note that it had a spot in Apple Podcasts’ Top 30 Marketing shows across the USA and grew its unique listener base by 1599% between the first two seasons. This exemplifies that audiences are tuning in and positively anticipating the show’s content as the show grows. Some guests on the show have also provided that their feature in this series resulted in other speaking opportunities from new contacts developed through the show.
The podcast has received positive feedback, including this one review that noted: “This podcast has been integral in my learnings about the partnership and affiliate marketing channel. The flow of the podcast makes for a really easy listen!”
