Whirlpool podcast attracts target audience

How Whirlpool created its American Family podcast, and why it’s so valuable to PR

Fast-forward to 2007, and the American Family podcast, first produced by Reed-Granger in a home studio, now claims 30,000 downloads per show (once or twice weekly), and has generated a host of mainstream media coverage for the company.

“A podcast helps you connect with people on a more emotional level,” says Dan Cook, Whirlpool’s director of interactive marketing (he’s in charge of the podcast while Granger is out on medical leave). “It’s not a press release about a new dishwasher.”

The American Family podcast covers a wide range of topics of interest to families—in other words, the target audience for Whirlpool products. However, like most successful corporate podcasts, Whirlpool never discusses its products within the show, limiting mention of the company to the beginning and end of each transmission.