Platform and Listen announce strategic partnership

Creative content group Platform and leading UK audio producer Listen have announced a strategic partnership. The two companies will collaborate on building brands around ambitious 360° programming that span podcasts, social media and beyond. With a number of high-profile projects already in the works featuring some of the biggest names in the country, the partnership will open up unique opportunities for creative talent to build long-term projects in which they share a stake.

Launched in May, the Platform group is the home of ventures including: Wildfire, a social agency specialising in video, content distribution and communications; media technology business Format; and multimedia storytelling company Folding Pocket, whose co-founders include renowned actor James Nesbitt and former England rugby stars Mike Tindall and James Haskell. Folding Pocket’s programming includes: Rob Brydon’s Spotify-exclusive podcast Brydon &; John Bishop and Tony Pitts’ Amazon Music exclusive Three Little Words; boxing champion Carl Frampton’s Inside Fighting; and The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, the world’s biggest rugby show.

Listen, the UK’s leading independent audio producer, crafts high-quality shows with millions of listeners. Working across all genres, its podcasts and radio projects include commissioned shows, branded podcasts and TV sister shows. The company works with high-profile talent including Claudia Winkleman, French & Saunders, Edith Bowman, reality star Gemma Collins, chef Levi Roots and boxing promoter Frank Warren. As well as shows for Audible, the BBC and national commercial radio networks, Listen has created award-winning branded content for brands including BMW, Vodafone, Starbucks, Sky Bet, Churchill, Fiverr and The Open University.

Matthew Sherry, CEO, Platform, says: “Listen is the UK’s pre-eminent creative force in the world of audio, so we are thrilled to be joining forces with them. Their 25 years of experience are a huge asset to Platform, supercharging the scalability of our core business model. As a creative partner, they will complement Platform in the development of market-leading ideas and IP. As a production partner, they will instantly give us the capacity to deliver a higher volume of prestigious shows.

“Platform uses its cross-section of companies to transform podcasts into premium brands. Listen shares our drive and ambition in ensuring that podcasts not only rise above the saturated marketplace, but have the capacity to deliver significant commercial media value, so we are delighted to be working with them in this way.”

Josh Adley, Director of Commercial & Client Relations, Listen, adds: “Platform’s keen awareness of building brands and developing talent are in perfect harmony with our own values. Their unique combination of creative skills and distribution expertise makes them the perfect partner for us.

“Talent, brands and platforms are increasingly looking for more than just an audio solution. They want to establish programming brands through strong distribution, discoverability and visibility. Our collaboration with Platform allows us to do just that, creating a one-stop-shop for those who are wanting to create, or own, ambitious programming.”

About Platform

Platform comprises:

• Wildfire - a social agency expert in content distribution and influencer marketing. With a portfolio of work spanning gaming, health and fitness, film and television, sport and travel and lifestyle, Wildfire has worked with leading brands including KFC, eBay, Britbox, Paddy Power, Kellogg’s, Frontier and Excel Esports.
• Wildfire Sport - formerly Trinorth, a publisher and leading communications agency, home to some of the world’s most respected sports publications including: Athletics Weekly, the global voice of athletics; The Blizzard, the home of outstanding football journalism; Wisden Cricket Monthly, the independent voice of cricket; Gridiron, the UK’s premier one-stop-shop for American football conversation; and Nightwatchman, the Wisden quarterly.
• Format - a company offering next-generation tools for editorial teams and newsrooms that automate and accelerate content creation and publishing. Format’s revolutionary tools are currently being used exclusively by Platform’s owned channels and publications, where they are transforming efficiency in creative output.
• Folding Pocket - a podcast-led brand-building powerhouse. Folding Pocket uses original programming as the centrepiece for vibrant and exciting multi-platform digital channels, which pushes brands and talent to create original programming through a new 360° brand-building model.

About Listen Entertainment

Listen, one of the UK’s leading producers of world-class audio content, is a key supplier to brands, agencies, broadcasters and digital platforms. Their work includes:

• shows for commissioners, for example: Titting about with French and Saunders (Audible), just nominated at The British Podcast Awards for The Spotlight Award; The Gemma Collins Podcast (BBC Sounds); Mandemic with comedian Sideman (BBC R1xtra), just been nominated at The British Podcast Awards for Best Lockdown Podcast; A Grown-Up Guide To Oceans and A Grown-Up Guide To Dinosaurs (Audible); and the true crime hit Beyond Reasonable Doubt? (BBC 5 Live).
• branded podcasts, for example: Ninetwentynine (Fiverr) which, with over 1 million downloads, won a Lovie Award for Best Branded Podcast; Business Unusual with Claudia Winkleman (Vodafone); Play Next with Edith Bowman (BMW); The Super 6 football podcast (Sky Bet); and Little Chapters of Chill with Giovanna Fletcher (Churchill). TV sister shows, for example: The Greatest Dancer (BBC); Geordie Shore: The Podcast (MTV); and Marnie’s Home Truth’s with Marnie Simpson (MTV).
• audio strategy consultancy to help clients make the most of the explosion of opportunities in audio - from strategic consultancy to bespoke advice about commercialisation, how to best use the medium and maximising audience reach.