Podcasts · Mission-driven brand
REI Co-op Studios: Wild Ideas Worth Living
Conversations with people who took the path less traveled and brought their wildest ideas to life.
In December of 2016, host Shelby Stanger reached out to see if we could help edit and publish her new podcast, Wild Ideas Worth Living. The show quickly gained a following and had regular advertising partners. In 2018, REI Co-op came on as the sole sponsor of the show, and in 2019 they purchased the podcast.
What were the results?
- Since 2019REI Co-op’s flagship podcast
- 50episodes a year, produced by us
- 5.5M+downloads and counting
- 42023 Signal Awards, including Listener’s Choice in the Branded Shows and Advertising: Lifestyle category
- 32024 W3 Awards, including Best in Show in the Lifestyle category
Why did REI buy Wild Ideas?
Podcasts allow listeners to stay with branded content for LONGER. Instead of videos and social media reels where a brand keeps the audience's attention for 30 seconds to a minute, Wild Ideas Worth Living episodes are about 30 minutes long. In addition, REI wanted a tool that would inspire customers between visits to their store. The show encourages people to get outside and try new activities, with the hopes that REI will be their first stop when they need new gear for their outdoor adventures.
The podcast has been able to help REI communicate their brand values, like a commitment to making the outdoors accessible to everyone and environmental sustainability. By collaborating with other departments within REI, the show has supported marketing campaigns, programs, and events. They’ve also been able to support the show by selling ad spots to partners and vendors, as well as securing Capital One as a title sponsor.
Our role
The show has evolved a lot in the past five years. With Puddle Creative’s guidance and expertise, the podcast has moved from an interview chat style to a narrative podcast rich with music and sound design. We pitch and book guests, schedule production logistics, join every interview, edit the tape, write the scripts, coach the host on narration reads, and do all of the sound design and mixing. Our hard work has paid off. We’ve seen almost a 30% increase in important listener metrics like monthly followers and consumption rates.
Working with them has been a fantastic experience and I am so grateful for their support in helping us grow the REI podcast network.