August: Can a branded podcast ever feel organic?

I never thought I’d listen to a branded podcast. No matter the media, whether it’s a magazine advertorial or a social post, I always assume brand-created content isn’t going to be as exciting as content created by one of my favourite writers or podcast hosts. But this month I fell in love with Ffern’s podcast, As the Season Turns.

Ffern is a British organic perfume brand that releases a new fragrance four times a year, at each solstice and equinox. You have to join the waiting list for the chance of buying a bottle. It would all feel very elitist were it not for the inviting, atmospheric copy, which evokes the very specific mood of the changing of the seasons – a mix of optimism, romanticism and cosiness.

After reading that As the Season Turns is presented by Lia Leendertz, the author of The Almanac annuals, I wondered if this could be the perfect podcast to enjoy with a herbal tea and flickering candle just before bed.

And it’s exactly that – the August episode features flowers in bloom, tadpole happenings, ‘found sound’ of a rainstorm, and a folk musician singing in Welsh. The only mention of the product arrived right at the end of the episode just as I was falling asleep, so I woke up feeling refreshed and hell-bent on starting a very expensive perfume habit. A success all round.