Behind the Chairs - Living For We, Season 2: Keep Ya Head Up
Candidly, Living For We, Season 2: Keep Ya Head Up has been the biggest project I’ve worked on in my (still relatively short) podcasting career. Sure, I’ve contributed to podcasts with large download numbers but when it comes to mission and impact, this one was the most significant. I’m Samantha, Director of Marketing at Evergreen Podcasts, and I led the marketing efforts for Season 2 of Living For We.
From the start, we knew marketing this podcast would be different. It wasn’t the typical “let’s grow downloads so we can make money doing what we love” kind of project. Yes, Marlene Harris-Taylor, the host of Season 1, co-host of Season 2, and Executive Producer of the Living For We podcast series absolutely wants to see a return on investment (we all do, so we can keep it going). This podcast is part of the Connecting the Dots Between Race and Health initiative from Ideastream Public Media, and it’s deeply mission-driven. We needed to prove our impact, not just creatively but financially and through community action to keep building support. At its core, this was never just content. It was a cause.
Gun violence, the leading cause of death for youth in the United States, is a growing epidemic. For some, it’s a way of life: a response to bullying, a defense mechanism, and, sometimes, a perceived means of survival. Especially in cities like Cleveland, Ohio. To make a real impact, we knew we weren’t targeting the typical podcast listener; We needed to reach the kids actually living this reality.
Marlene and her team set up a series of "listen and learns" with the goal to listen to teens and community members from areas impacted by gun violence to have a conversation about prevention and solutions. Ideastream Public Media sponsored the events and grassroots organizations like Ghetto Therapy facilitated the conversation along side this season's co-host, Myesha Watkins. From those conversations, we built our marketing plan.
One of the biggest takeaways was most kids are not using podcast apps - they’re watching on social media; mostly short clips; often on YouTube. With this being a video podcast, we decided to clip as much content as possible and push it out across social media; We created a Living For We Instagram and TikTok. Beyond that, we partnered with local influencers and accounts that already had a bigger voice in the community especially in Northeast Ohio.
We also connected with student groups and activist organizations already passionate about these issues. And when kids mentioned specific podcasts they actually do listen to, we reached out to those creators too. Between our content, our influencer network, and our podcast partners, we set out to make a splash in Cleveland. And, we did.
One of our major partners is The Cleveland Remembrance Page, well known for its quick reporting on events close to home. With that reach came some complexity. The page was specifically mentioned in our study groups as a trusted source for news, which made it a strategic choice. But it also has a reputation. Still, as the saying goes, ‘All publicity is good publicity’ and in this case, it definitely got people’s attention. Already, nearly 500,000 people have engaged with our posts on social media, with over 1 million video views in the first six episodes.
Almost immediately, our social media accounts started growing and even better, we began hearing directly from the audience we were hoping to reach. People started reaching out to share their stories.
We received voicemails, DMs, texts - So many, in fact, that we decided to open our studio doors to record even more interviews.
The truth is, aside from intimate conversations with loved ones or community spaces like Ghetto Therapy, there just aren’t many safe spaces, especially for teenagers, to talk about what they’ve witnessed and how they feel. But they do want to talk.
This all closely aligns with Mayor Justin Bibb’s latest initiative: the creation of Cleveland’s Municipal Cabinet for Children and Youth. This cabinet is a citywide effort to center youth voices and unify data, resources, and leadership around improving the lives of Cleveland’s young people.
The cabinet’s launch was announced during a powerful meeting that opened with 10-year-old Lorenzo addressing Mayor Bibb and the city, asking, “Will I have a chance to survive?”
All of this work comes together thanks to an incredible team. Raven Golliday leads our social media strategy. Declan Rohrs heads up production. Sean Rule-Hoffman oversees sound. Kae Fox captures, edits, and produces all of our videos - shorts, reels, and everything in between. Teagan Ferraby created the podcast cover art, episodic graphics, and most of the visuals you’ve seen. And Erin Lann served as our Senior Producer.
Declan Shared,
“I’m most proud of our team’s ability to do incredible work with tight deadlines. We’ve run into more than our fair share of delays and difficulties, but the team (especially our editors Kae Fox and Sean Rule-Hoffman) has gone above and beyond to ensure the success of the show. Late nights, weekends, and probably some of our sanity, has been dedicated to this show in order to do right by the incredible people we feature on Living For We.”
In addition to our social media marketing, we hosted a launch party where handed out over 100 swag bags, made custom “Living For We” and “Living For...” shirts, and recorded more than a dozen stories and songs inspired by the podcast’s message. We created a page of resources for people to access, and Ideastream Public Media's Matt Erman and Anna Garvin launched a YouTube ad campaign.
Our co-hosts, Marlene and Myesha were interviewed on the Urban Ministries podcast. Urban Ministries works with thousands of churches across the U.S. and their interview helps spread the word even further. While our numbers may not put us on the top charts yet, we’ve moved the mission forward. This podcast, the work, the stories we shared, and even the ones we didn’t, have impacted every one of us.
What’s next for the Living For We series and the Connecting the Dots Between Health and Race Initiative is still taking shape. But I can say without hesitation this has been the most rewarding podcast I’ve worked on. It’s left a lasting mark on me as a marketer, a podcaster, and a proud resident of Cleveland, Ohio.
Love this mission as much as I do? Watch Living For We, Season 2: Keep Ya Head Up on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Want to work with Marlene or Myesha? Reach out to me directly to set up an interview.