Episode 21: That's What She Said Series: Call Her Daddy Deep-Dive
This episode dives into the brand evolution of Call Her Daddy and the Founding Father and host, Alex Cooper and how your podcast could benefit from a brand overhaul.
You'll learn about:
The evolution of CHD
The $60m Spotify deal
Why change is a good thing
The benefits of being in alignment
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Share this episode with a friend who you know would love it also!
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Good Chat Media acknowledges the traditional owners of the land where we work, live and record the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation and we pay our respects to elder's past and present always was always will be Aboriginal land Hey, I'm Cass, the founder podcast production agency, Good Chat Media and welcome to Good chats. Good chat is a podcast with a holistic approach to business and marketing. And with the help of some super special people, I'll be spilling all the secrets about boosting your brand building credibility and connecting with community through podcasting. Let's get into the episode.
Hi friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Good Chats podcast. It is your girl Cass, the founder of Good Chat Media. What is going on? As you can see from the title, I'm doing another installment of the That's What She Said series. And I haven't done one of these in quite a while.
So I'm really excited about this one. I don't listen to a lot of podcasts anymore. I'm going to be honest. When you work with them all day, you really only want to listen to ones that are going to make you laugh. or nah, mine's to make me laugh. I just want to be entertained. So really the only podcast that I listen to religiously, and when I say religiously, I mean it is my go to podcast for entertainment, for comedy, for celebrity interviews.
It is the podcast Call Her Daddy. Now if you've been living under a rock and you don't know what Call Her Daddy is, yourself in because not only am I going to take you through a lot of detail about this podcast and the journey of the podcast and how it got to where it is today. I'm also going to chat to you about the evolution of the host of the podcast, our founding father, Alex Cooper.
Because I think it's such an interesting concept when you have a podcast or you have a brand or you have a business that you have to always stay the same. And because you've always done it in a certain way, then that's what you've got to do. You've got to keep it in that certain way, but that's really not correct.
And I couldn't be further from the truth. And this really excites me because I will be changing up the way that I do podcasting in 2024. I am finishing out the rest of the year in the same format, and then next year, watch out, because the Good Chats podcast is going to be... It's going to be an elevated version of what it is now.
I can't wait to share it with you. So keep your ears and eyes peeled for that. But in terms of brand evolution for other podcasters, I think it's really important to grow and to better yourself. And I think especially when it comes to this podcast, it started in a not very. glamorous light. The topics that they chose and the themes that they were talking about and the advice that they were giving was super toxic and from what it was when I first started listening to it to what it is now is an absolute flip on the head.
Like insane. The glow up is real. I'm going to take you through all of that and I'm going to make note of how this could actually work for you if you're tired of your brand, if you're tired of the podcast the way it is. It is okay to make changes. I actually put out an EDM about a month ago and a new client of mine had messaged me and said, Hey Cass, I just want to let you know that you saying that we can change our intro or outro or our music or any of those things, the cover art, any of it.
If we're sick of it and it doesn't align anymore, that you gave us permission to do that. Absolutely. You don't have to wait till the end of the year like I'm doing. It's just that I've got it already planned out, but if it's not aligned, if it's not right anymore, you do not have to keep it the way it is.
And the call her daddy podcast is a perfect example of why you don't need to stay the same and why change is not always a bad thing. So let's get into it. This is so exciting. I love this podcast so much, but I have been planning this episode for quite a while and it was so fun going through the research for the podcast.
If I sound really excited, it's because I am. So when Call Her Daddy began, it was 2018. Friends and roommates, Alex Cooper and Sophia Franklin started a podcast called Call Her Daddy. The episodes had quite candid discussions about relationships and dating and sex and their personal experiences. But the advice that they were giving was not always the, uh, most healthy.
The whole premise of the podcast was so that they could provide a filtered and a humorous take on modern dating and relationships. And sharing those personal stories and other topics related to sex and lifestyle. And it was quite explicit content, and it was targeted towards a young adult audience. Now, in 2018, I would have been 24.
So, I could see through it as a 24 year old, and understand that some of the things that they were talking about were quite toxic, but I had a younger cousin who was listening to it as well, and she was like, maybe late teens. So going into womanhood thinking that these things were normal when they really weren't was an interesting watch on my end to see her going through them, but also Just it was just like a take what you want and then leave the rest But some people just didn't see it like that and of course if you're younger you're gonna take the advice of these older cool girls that you know, maybe aren't as positive for your life In general, and the podcast was able to have such success that it led to a multi million dollar with a media company called Barstool Sports.
If you have not listened to the podcast or early episodes of the podcast, I want to share something that was written about the podcast so you can really understand where this was at in 2018. So it says in call her daddy. The pair basically just shoot the shit about dating in their 20s in ways that are refreshingly raunchy for women, albeit often not PC.
Cooper described it to the New York Post as a women's locker room conversation that we should be able to have. Period sex, tricking your partner into taking medication for sexually transmitted diseases, and whether or not men should be allowed to do baby talk are just some of the topics that broached in their episodes, which have earned them 1.
3 million followers on Instagram and a dedicated following on Reddit. Now that was a little while back and the podcast currently has 2 million followers on Instagram, and I'm sure will continue to grow. After issues with negotiating the new barstool sports contract, the gals weren't on the same page.
And Alex went on to host call her daddy solo and Sophia with an F was out. This ended up with a big controversy all over social media, but Alex did really well. And in July of 2021, Spotify offered a 60 million plus deal for Call Her Daddy to be co produced by Spotify. This three year agreement meant that all the existing episodes Spotify.
That makes this deal Spotify's biggest exclusive deal for a woman led podcast to date. According to Chartable, Call Her Daddy sits in the top 10 for Spotify USA top podcasts and is frequently number one in that category and in the USA comedy category. Alex is able to get so many celebrity guests on her podcast that include Gwyneth Paltrow, Madison Beer, Lil Dicky, Christina Aguilera.
John Legend, Zayn Malik, Cole Sprouse, just to name a few. The Call Her Daddy brand, when I first began listening to it, as I said many times already, it was pretty toxic. It was all about, you know, cheating boyfriends and how you should look through their messages. And that you should assume that they're cheating on you and ways to manipulate and please men.
This was entertaining for a while, but since the founding father went solo, the quality of the episodes and the transformation of Alex herself is quite amazing. She went from dating professional athletes and talking about the most outrageous things to now having not only celebrities as her guests. But I believe one of her first episodes after going through Spotify and on her solo journey was with a therapist.
So the transformation is there. It's changed. And especially in her private life, she is now engaged, living a very humble, lovely life. Now, when I say humble, it's because of all the outrageous crap that they used to talk about that you would be like, what the actual hell is going on with these people? The kind of episodes I used to put on were like, You don't want anyone else to hear that you're listening to what they're talking about.
So if you want to have an idea of that, message me privately, and I'll send you some of the episodes that are wild. But please know, I'm not endorsing that. I'm just letting you know that they are in there wild. So, as I said, Now has hugely popular guests on the show, and although there are plenty of laughs, the content is much more mature and healthy.
And really what this shows me is that you don't have to continue your brand forever, especially when you start off giving tips on blowjobs. Now in the middle of 2023, Alex Cooper launched the Unwell Network, and it is a talent network that she claims the world is not ready. And I'm really excited to see what comes out of this.
I think she's an absolute powerhouse of a woman. She is an absolutely incredible content creator. The team that she has behind her that are able to get these amazing guests on, get these amazing topics out are really good. And I really do encourage you to go and listen to some episodes that are out in the last six months.
I have been able to really see her transformation and it's such a beautiful thing. But how does that relate to you? Because everything I do, I want to be able to relate it to everyone who has a business that has a podcast or that wants to start a podcast. Let's just say, for the whole time you've had your business, you have said, I'm never starting a podcast.
A quick little brand transformation would be to start a podcast. If you've got a podcast, and you've been talking about one thing, or you've been going consistently for, you know, every fortnight for a year, and you're like, I don't want to do this consistently for a fortnight forever. I want to do it in seasons.
Then do it in seasons. You don't have to stay the same. You want to change your cover art because it doesn't align with who you are and it doesn't speak to the right audience anymore. You need to change it. Being able to give people what they want from you is what is going to lead you to more. Sales in your business because when you are more aligned in the choices that you're making for the business That's when you're gonna be able to start attracting the people that are aligned to your business that want to work with you that think your shit don't stink and Wonder where that they can get some it is your podcast and you can do whatever you want I would definitely look at it with a strategic lens and not just change it willy nilly.
Think about like why you want to change it. If you want to change your intro and outro, why? What about it is bugging you? Is it because of the way it's recorded? If it's a simple thing like that, absolutely go for it. Because that's going to add to audience enjoyment. Absolutely. If you want to change it because it doesn't align with what you're actually talking about in the podcast anymore, go for it.
This is your permission slip to change whatever you want in your podcast, in your marketing in general, in your business in general. Change it. Because if you're thinking about changing it and you're like, well, I'll do it when blah, blah, blah. How long does an intro take to record? How long does it take for you to get cover art in?
And if you're outsourcing these things, maybe a couple of weeks. But how long does it take to brief that cover art if you are outsourcing it? How long does it take to actually record that intro or that outro to then send to an editor to then mix and master it? So, nice short episode for you. I just really wanted to talk about her because I am just so obsessed.
I think, as a business woman, I look up to her so much. As an entertainer, I look up to her so much. And I just think what she's done with the Call Her Daddy brand has been... Absolutely unreal. And I'm so excited to see where she goes from here. If you have loved this episode, I would so appreciate you sharing it with a friend.
If they are cool, her daddy lover too, or if they're thinking of starting a podcast or changing something in their podcast, because they're not loving it anymore. I would so appreciate that whatever you're doing for the rest of the day, for the rest of the evening, whatever time it is, I hope you have a fabulous time doing it and I will see you next week.
Bye.
We want to say thanks so much for joining us for another good chat. We would love if you would help us with our 2023 goals to get to 100 ratings and reviews and then send this podcast on to someone who you think will love it just as much. Connect with us on LinkedIn Instagram, my good chap media. I will chat with you next week. Bye. This podcast was produced by good chat media.
