!"#$%&'()*+,-)$./&0121&324&55666/&66678&!!9:2& ;;;1""#$%1<)& ! ="-$+,&%<&!,$-&$>+-)-&"?-$,"@$& ! & !A$>%,&&Maya Pillai! :)$#+&%<&$>+-)-&&Voices of Specialists: Using a Podcast to further company reputation! B+C",$D+($&&Department of Media& B+E,++&C,%E,"DD+&&New Media Design and Production F+",!!2019 GAD?+,&%<&C"E+-!!80+3 9"(EA"E+!!English !?-$,"@$& Nudging Pixels is a design podcast that features interviews with designers and developers from the Finnish technology industry. The podcast is produced and hosted by me and my colleague Elina Korpela for Houston Inc., a software consultancy based out of Helsinki, Finland. In this Master’s thesis, I explore the role Nudging Pixels plays in helping Houston Inc. build its network and brand. The role of this podcast is examined through three lenses, as a tool for knowledge sharing, as con- tent marketing and for building familiarity within the design and technology community in Fin- land. The results presented in this thesis are based on the findings collected from informal inter- views with listeners and critical reflection. These findings are used to iterate every episode of Nudging Pixels continuously. Nudging Pixels is an ongoing podcast first published in January 2019. This thesis explores the pro- cess behind creating the podcast, and how it attempts to meet the goal of providing new and relat- able content to its listeners. As a final result, this thesis aims to provide information to practition- ers who may wish to embark upon the endeavour of creating a podcast to further their company’s reputation. H+.;%,I-&&podcasting, design podcast, digital content marketing, corporate storytelling ! ! Voices of specialists Using a podcast to further company reputation Maya Pillai Master’s Thesis Abstract Author Maya Pillai Title of thesis Voices of Specialists - Using a podcast to further company reputation Department Department of Media Degree programme New Media Design & Production Year 2019 Number of pages 80 + 3 Language English Keywords podcasting, design podcast, digital content marketing, corporate storytelling Master of Arts thesis abstract Aalto University, P.O. BOX 11000, 00076 AALTO www.aalto.fi Abstract Nudging Pixels is a design podcast that features interviews with designers and developers from the Finnish technology industry. The podcast is produced and hosted by me and my colleague Elina Korpela for Houston Inc., a software consultancy based out of Helsinki, Finland. In this Master’s thesis, I explore the role Nudging Pixels plays in helping Houston Inc. build its network and brand. The role of this podcast is examined through three lenses, as a tool for knowledge sharing, as content marketing and for building familiarity within the design and technology community in Finland. The results presented in this thesis are based on the findings collected from informal interviews with listeners and critical reflection. These findings are used to iterate every episode of Nudging Pixels continuously. Nudging Pixels is an ongoing podcast first published in January 2019. This thesis explores the process behind creating the podcast, and how it attempts to meet the goal of providing new and relatable content to its listeners. As a final result, this thesis aims to provide information to practitioners who may wish to embark upon the endeavour of creating a podcast to further their company’s reputation. Acknowledgements Thank you, Elina Korpela, my partner in crime, and Houston Inc. for letting me indulge in my love for podcasts and for having faith. This thesis would not have seen the light of day without you. Lots of gratitude to the guests of the first season of Nudging Pixels - Akseli Anttila, Petra Väänänen-Leimu, Elias Aalto, Angelos Arnis, Sonja Krogius and Niko Salminen. Thank you to Olli Sulopuisto for an evening of coffee, ‘nerding’ over podcasts and the crash course into podcast production. Thank you, Teemu Leinonen, for helping me turn this production into a text that can be called a thesis. The Aalto Media Lab, for all the fun and learning and for giving me the people who helped me stay sane through this tumultuous writing period - Liam, Sourya, Timi and Reishabh. Disha and Kaushik for the ever-ready cups of chai, yoga and sauna. Thank you to my friends from across oceans who stressed out with me and always had an ear for my rants. Jemma, Shweta, Tanya and Shiraz you were my light through this dark winter. Samira, your input on my writing was a lifesaver. Amma, Pappa, Pooja and Pramit, I could not even imagine moving to this country and finishing this thesis without your support, love and encouragement. Thank you, Mikael, for feeding me, showing me animal videos and writing with me. And to the public libraries of Helsinki - You are my favourite places in this country. Contents 1. Introduction 5 1.1 Structure of the thesis 6 1.2 Research question 7 1.3 Motivation 7 1.3.1 Introduction to Houston Inc. 7 1.3.2 Problem Definition 8 1.3.3 Why a podcast 9 2. Podcasts in context 11 2.1 History of podcasts and their evolution 12 2.1.1 What is podcasting and how does it work? 12 2.1.2 A brief history of podcasting 13 2.1.3 Radio, Podcasts and Blogs 15 2.1.4 The different podcast formats 16 2.2 Content marketing that speaks to you 17 2.2.1 What is content marketing? 17 2.2.2 Outsourcing your content 18 2.2.3 Content as stories - why podcasts work 19 2.3 Building bridges over microphones 20 2.4 An overview of related podcasts 22 2.4.1 Design podcasts by Finnish companies 22 2.4.2 Analysing the structure of a popular design podcast 24 3. Methodological approach 29 4. The making of Nudging Pixels 33 4.1 Content and mission statement 34 4.1.1 Creating a project blueprint 34 4.1.2 Finding the right format 36 4.1.3 Reaching out to potential guests & episode topics 39 4.2 Production 41 4.2.1 The team and working methods 41 4.2.2 Tools and software 43 4.2.3 Production Workflow 46 4.3 Post-production and Launch 46 4.3.1 Comparing different content management platforms 46 4.3.2 Promoting Nudging Pixels 52 5. Results: Nudging Pixels as knowledge sharing, content marketing and for building familiarity 55 5.1 Knowledge sharing 56 5.2 Content marketing 59 5.3 Building familiarity 60 6. Limitations and further development 63 6.1 Limitations of the research 64 6.2 The future of Nudging Pixels 65 7. Conclusion 67 References 70 Appendix 76 Chapter 1 Introduction Voices of Specialists 1.1 Structure of the thesis This thesis is composed of two parts. First, the production of the podcast on the topic of design, Nudging Pixels (link in Appendix) for the IT consulting company Houston Inc. Second is the written documentation that identifies and addresses my main research goals and learnings. This written text is divided into three sections: 1. Introduction, background and methodology This section covers the research question and objectives of the thesis. I introduce the context of this thesis and provide an overview of the terms and concepts used in the text. It also includes a concise history of the medium of podcasts and content marketing and the context within which I present this research. It also provides an overview of the current landscape of design podcasts in Finland and elaborates on the structure of a successful podcast. 2. Production process and documentation This section introduces the methodology within which this thesis was conducted. It also covers the production process of the podcast, Nudging Pixels, which makes up the other half of this thesis. 3. Results and conclusion This section reviews the main findings of the thesis. The research question and goals form the structure for the critical findings. This part also includes strategies for the further development of the production. Essential learnings are documented to make a useful contribution to the field of podcast production as a means of content marketing. 6 Introduction 1.2 Research question This thesis explores the question : What role can a podcast play, as a vehicle of knowledge dissemination, in helping a company build its network and brand? In an attempt to understand this role, the use of podcasts is examined in the following ways in this thesis: - As a means to share knowledge - As a form of content marketing - As a tool to build familiarity with the audience 1.3 Motivation 1.3.1 Introduction to Houston Inc. Houston Inc. Consulting Oy, referred to as Houston Inc. in the rest of this text, is a digital service consultancy based in Helsinki, Finland. Which means that we provide support to businesses to help build software and other digital services based on the business’ requirements. Houston Inc. has a total of 90 employees in Helsinki and Turku, of which 55 are developers, and nine are designers. Our clients include Finnish corporations like Finnair (Airline), Konecranes (Crane manufacturing) and Caverion (Building and industrial services) amongst others. Development and design consultants from Houston Inc. work closely with clients to develop the required software and digital services. Houston Inc. hired their first designer in 2013. They realised that their clients needed software development services that would range from concept design to final development. This need from a few clients prompted Houston Inc., to hire 7 Voices of Specialists more designers. So since the year 2017, the design team has increased from three to nine. They wanted to provide a more holistic service to their clients by including design services as part of their consultancy offering. Having more designers would also mean that the development teams from Houston Inc.