Mamamia wins Australia’s only gold at the international Native Ad Awards, crowning a year of podcast leadership

Mamamia’s award-winning podcast partnership with Westpac has been awarded again, with The Split winning Australia’s only gold for Best Use Of Podcast at the international Native Advertising Awards 2019 in Berlin.

Hosted by comedian Mandy Nolan, herself a twice-divorced mother of five, ‘The Split’ is the latest podcast manifestation of Westpac’s commitment to helping people in the moments that matter.

Developed in collaboration with Westpac, Media Lab and Map and Page, the series draws on Mamamia’s candid conversation with its audience to empathise, raise a smile, and guide women through what can be one of the most isolating times of their lives - separation and divorce.

With Westpac research revealing two thirds (65%) of those considering a separation were hesitant due to the fear of having to financially start over*, the evergreen content aimed to provide much needed guidance and support.

Jenny Melhuish, Head of Group Brand, Advertising & Media – Westpac Group, said: “Separating from a partner can be a really difficult time, and can often mean navigating financial challenges. Partnering with Mamamia on the The Split allowed us to provide help in a way that empowered people to tackle separation on their own terms. With downloads to date of over 92,000, we are really pleased to know we are helping in the moments that matter.”

*The Westpac Finances and Separation Report, January 2019 - nationwide survey of 1,014 Australians who have gone through OR are currently going through OR are currently considering a divorce or separation in the next two years.

Mia Freedman, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Mamamia, said: “The team at Westpac are experts at enabling the right balance between brand messaging that naturally integrates and content that has genuine utility for our listeners.”

‘The Split’ follows Westpac’s first podcast with Mamamia, ‘Hello Bump,’ a guide to all things pregnancy starring Bec Judd, which picked up the top gong for Best Branded Podcast at The Australian Podcast Awards 2018.

Mamamia is the leader in Australia when it comes to co-creating bespoke podcast series to deepen brands’ emotional connection with audiences. Other bespoke podcast partners of Mamamia include Elevit and Subaru, with more in the pipeline for 2020.

The Native Ad Award crowns a stellar year for Mamamia podcasts, in which the portfolio has expanded to over 30 series, including the radio-disrupting commuter dailies of ‘The Quicky’ (snackable news), and ‘The Spill’ (snackable entertainment and pop culture). ‘The Quicky’ won Mumbrella’s Best Podcast 2019, and No Filter, Mamamia Out Loud, Lady StartUp and Ask Me Anything have all picked up awards in Apple’s charts.

Mamamia’s prodigious output and quality have attracted listeners of this mainstream’ing medium in their droves. Monthly listeners have tripled since the start of 2019, with monthly listens (streams + downloads) currently averaging around 3 million (Source: Omny Studio, last 30 days to November 2019).