Dive Brief:
- Alongside other brands experimenting with audio, Maybelline New York launched its “I’m Fine, You?” podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher on Thursday, the cosmetics brand announced on Tuesday. The podcast is part of its Brave Together initiative, which aims to address the stigma behind anxiety and depression.
- Chrissy Rutherford, brand consultant and former special projects director of HarpersBazaar.com, will host the podcast and feature guests like gold medal gymnast Aly Raisman, therapist Nedra Glover Tawwab and psychiatrist Sasha Hamdani.
- Each guest will choose a mental health organization to which the brand will donate. The company said it is committed to donating $10 million and reaching 1 million people by 2025.
Dive Insight:
Maybelline launched the Brave Together initiative in September 2020 with the goal of helping break stigmas related to mental health challenges and make support accessible to all. In addition to the podcast rollout and its charitable donations, the initiative also does “various activations” year-round.
“I am so excited to be supporting Maybelline’s Brave Together initiative through this podcast and bringing these conversations surrounding mental health to the forefront,” Rutherford said in a statement. “I hope that through this platform and our expert guests, listeners can leave with a feeling of understanding and guidance on how to make a change, both in their own lives and the lives of others.”
While Maybelline has turned its attention to mental health, other brands are centering their podcasts on arts and culture. In April, Tommy Hilfiger unveiled its five-part podcast series “The Invisible Seam: Unsung Stories of Black Culture and Fashion” to amplify the forgotten contributions of Black people and culture to American fashion, according to Women’s Wear Daily. This month, Chanel also unveiled its “Chanel Connects” podcast, an arts and culture podcast with guests like musician Grimes and artist Kehinde Wiley, Women’s Wear Daily reported.
Taking a different approach, other brands have created podcasts that hew to their products. Mattress Firm, for example, teamed up with Vox Creative to launch its podcast filled with healthy sleeping tips and other mattress-related topics. American Girl created a podcast network of multiple shows, starting with the “American Girl Fan Club,” “The Smart Girls Podcast” and “American Girl 10-Minute Mysteries.”
