After a successful stint on radio, The Morning Shift took what they learned, elevated it and applied it to a daily podcast. It’s huge.
It feels safe to say every Gen Zer knows about The Morning Shift, which is charting at No 1 on Spotify in New Zealand and is in Australia’s top 20.
The Morning Shift are the leaders in the podcast space with 6.2 million downloads since March 2023.
Hosted by Jordan Rivers, Brooke Ruscoe and producer Marc ‘Matua Marc’ Peard, The Morning Shift covers sports, entertainment, culture, but also thought-provoking commentary.
Peard, who worked in live radio for 20 years, says daily podcasting holds the same unpolished charm: not fine-tuning it and being rough around the edges can make a show. But what sets The Morning Shift apart is its content.
“There’s a real change in content and audio, where we’ve now had social media long enough for us all to be good enough judges of what’s genuine and what’s not,” says Peard.
The Morning Shift has taken off because they understand the shift in audience behaviour. Traditional media relies heavily on characters, which can be seen as a lack of genuineness, says Peard. Their podcast tackles this formula.
“We are who we say we are, we argue about the same things that you may be arguing about at home. We are friends, we’re not a group of people that got put together for salary to make radio content. We are genuinely wanting to be there together and generally have strong opinions on certain topics,” he says.
This more genuine approach extends to advertising. Instead of accepting money from fast food outlets, loan companies or gambling organisations, The Morning Shift seeks financial partnerships that evoke education and conversation.
“This isn’t an audience you can buy, and it’s not an audience for sale as we view it, our community could be perceived as being particularly vulnerable. This is a powerful community that’s hard to reach for the likes of the government – and we understand that. So, with that comes great responsibility,” he says.
“The beautiful thing is that we all know what we want to achieve, and it isn’t personal fame, it’s not anything to do with money. It’s genuinely having these conversations to an audience that’s really hard to reach for mainstream mediums and hoping that those conversations then get had in the homes of people that need to have them.”
Peard cites a partnership with Lion as an example. While it’s an alcohol brand, the Speight’s campaign that focused on mental health checks over a drink resonated with the team.
The Morning Shift also worked with Chemist Warehouse, happy to spread its work in ditching the $5 prescription fee.
Partnerships like this allow the podcast to stay genuine. It’s a winning formula for the crew, who have gained a cult following among Kiwis and Aussies alike.
“I’ll notice that we’re doing well because over the last year I get stopped now 42 times a day to get photos, but the fame of doing the podcast is a side product,” adds Peard.
“The end goal is – and the same remains for the boys – is that there is a genuine want to do better, to be better and to do what’s right by our community.”
This was first published in the 2024 June-July NZ Marketing Magazine issue. Subscribe here.
