According to the 2020 CREW Network Benchmark Study: Gender and Diversity in Real Estate, women occupy just 36.7% of roles in the commercial real estate industry, and this percentage has remained between 35-37% over the last 15 years. Greystone identified a void in the current podcast market, and an opportunity to create a platform for discussion and ideation around increasing the number of women working in commercial real estate finance.
GLOW CRE, which stands for "Gaining Leaders, Originators and Women in Commercial Real Estate," is an honest look into what it's like being a woman in CRE finance, how some of the industry's top women got to where they are, and how women can work together with men as allies to increase equity for all in the CRE sector. Hosts Pamela van Os and Pharrah Jackson, who both hold senior positions at Greystone, share words of wisdom with friends and colleagues throughout the podcast to inspire a new generation of women and future leaders in commercial real estate.
The goals of the podcast are to foster interest and education around working in CRE finance, and to share learnings from successful women in the industry. A secondary goal is to grow the subscriber base, and brand awareness, around GLOW as a media platform.
Greystone is the largest provider of HUD-insured loans for the multifamily sector, and a Top 1- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae lender. Its culture is defined by its tagline, Where People Matter, and is continually seeking ways to provide opportunities for growth across the organization, let voice be heard, and promote from within. The GLOW CRE podcast is intended to be used as both a tool to communicate about equity for women in CRE and as a recruitment platform for listeners to learn more about Greystone's culture through the hosts' conversations with guests.
Greystone developed a strategic, integrated web, social media, and public relations plan for the roll-out and promotion of the GLOW CRE podcast. Launched in March 2023 during Women's History Month, the monthly podcast is distributed via Apple podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon, but the main driver base of the podcast is on Greystone's website via embedded episodes, which enables more control over branding and analytics.
The integrated strategy to launch this initiative included:
The GLOW CRE podcast has seen growth and interest with each new monthly episode, along with the built-in promotion behind the initiative, which includes both paid and organic social media graphics posted across Linkedin (as well as organic posts on Facebook and Instagram), dynamic audio posts with clips from episodes on social media, and press promotion of the podcast and its distinguished guests.
To date, the podcast has accumulated a 5-star rating on Apple podcasts and has reached nearly 1,000 downloads.
Media coverage includes:
