Anyone that studies or hears about how I think about content marketing in B2B knows I always tell people to make their content strategy like The Ringer's.
Well today, I'm happy to share news that Bill Simmons is expected to stay at Spotify according to a few sources. Let me explain my excitement, and what you can do to steal The Ringer's Content strategy.
When Spotify acquired The Ringer for an estimated $200 million, it marked a bold step into podcasting for the music-streaming giant, acquiring content and figuring out how to monetize.
Simmons’ vision for blending in-depth commentary on sports and pop culture with a diverse slate of podcasts proved to be a perfect fit for Spotify’s content strategy. With podcasts like The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Rewatchables, and The Ringer NBA Show, the platform has grown into a hub for loyal listeners seeking unique perspectives on sports, film, and beyond.
Since the acquisition, The Ringer has expanded its reach, benefiting from Spotify’s global marketing power, and as their listenership on podcasts has grown over the past several years, we've seen The Ringer's audience grow as well.
It’s not just a podcast network but a content powerhouse, boasting articles, video content, and even scripted series. Simmons’ fingerprints are all over the brand’s voice, and his continued leadership ensures that its unique mix of sharp analysis and cultural commentary will remain intact.
According to multiple sources, first reported on Semafor, then confirmed by Awful Announcing and Front Office Sports, it looks like he's here to stay.
"One person familiar with Simmons’ plans told Semafor that he has recently been engaged in long-term projects that take him beyond his current deal. Simmons, Simmons’ spokesperson, and Spotify did not return multiple requests for comment."
Last August, Ryan Glasspiegel reported for the New York Post that Simmons was planning on shopping around free agency in early 2025. Fans even speculated with the new NBA deal, he could explore joining some of the new networks taking over the NBA, including a return to ESPN (where he was once suspended and fired for criticizing the NFL's concussion protocol), or even a reddit conspiracy theory he'd end up at NBC.
Well the end is not near. We can hear more Wayne Jenkins, Cruise or Hanks, and APEX Mountains with The Rewatchables continuing.
It's not a done deal quite yet, but my assumption is if he is committing to projects past the February deadline, I think it's pretty safe sign he'll continue working at Spotify. Let's keep an eye out for announcement the next few weeks.
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So there a few things that make The Ringer's content special. First things first, they have a tendency to collect talented writers, commentators, and producers who all have personal relationships with one another. Some carry personal brands, while others are not known as well. Here's how they get so many popular podcast rolling.
Bill Simmon’s show is about sports and pop culture. Ryen Russillo’s show is focused on the NBA and NFL. Larry Wilmore talks about world politics/news, current events. Dave Chang is a famous chef and food personality. Van Lathan (from TMZ originally) and Rachel Lindsay (former Bachelor Contestant) talk about black culture. All of these people have large followings online or a baked in audience from their career before the Ringer. This helps them with leverage their existing audience.
If you are a leader looking to expand your company's reach, maybe tap into hiring someone with a brand online to come work at your company to leverage their audience.
If you are just starting out in B2B marketing and looking to grow, pick a bigger topic and put your lesser known talent on that topic to build up an audience.
If you have junior talent, have them talk about topics that you know your target audience cares about. If they don't know a lot, connect them with customers, and have those customers talk about the topics they know. Every person who is in a GTM role can be a facilitator and start conversations.
All of the shows they do like this are super niche on specific topics, and rotate hosts. The Prestige TV Podcast rotates overing big shows like Game of Thrones, Succession, White Lotus, The Bear. The Rewatchables has 2-4 host revisiting older movies. Simmons is usually on it.
The Philly Special, Off the Pike, and New York, New York are all local sports podcasts for those major markets. The Hottest Take and Trial By Content are where the Ringer staff debate and discuss opinions with each other. Bachelor Party talks about events on the TV show/spin offs, of “The Bachelor.”
Once you have your developing talent making content about a popular topic, and your talent with an existing brand doing their content, start putting them together to create cross pollination.
Well this activates something we call "Media Friend" Theory.
I talk about this in the video above by the way if you want to learn more.
The idea behind "Media Friend" Theory is that you can make an target audience feel like they are friends with your company if they are regularly exposed to the personalities that work there. If you can do this, it becomes a lot easier for your company to build "brand affinity."
Brand affinity is the deep emotional connection and loyalty that customers feel toward a brand. It goes beyond brand awareness or even brand preference—it’s about people identifying with a brand on a personal level, often becoming advocates for it.
Follow these steps and you can start getting your B2B content strategy to feel more like infotainment vs. generic content your buyers don't care about.
If you're looking for a call to action for your viewers, feel free to send them some paid prospecting courtesy of Pitchifre. Now if you excuse me, I got go listen to Chris Ryan do Wayne Jenkins impessions while Bill SImmons talks about how great Robert DeNiro is as a smoker in movies.
Ryan O'Hara is the founder of Pitchfire. Prior to starting Pitchfire, he has been an early employee at several startups helping them with marketing and prospecting tactics including Dyn (Acquired by Oracle 2016) and LeadIQ (first GTM employee-Series B).
He's had prospecting and marketing campaigns featured in Fortune, Mashable, and TheNextWeb. Ryan specializes in go-to-market strategy, branding, business development, prospecting, and sales training. He also mentors two accelerators, The Iron Yard and The Alpha Loft.