From Listeners to Loyalists: The Role of Branded Podcasts in Building Brand Communities and Consumer Loyalty in India

Abstract

Podcasting has emerged as a distinctive medium through which brands cultivate intimate, community-oriented relationships with consumers. This paper combines a systematic review of 35 studies on brand community podcasting (2015–2024) with an original empirical survey of 600 Indian respondents examining three branded podcasts — Royal Enfield, CRED, and Bombay Shaving Company ("The Barbershop with Shantanu"). Using a structured questionnaire measuring six constructs — podcast content, host credibility, brand perception, podcast engagement, brand community, and brand loyalty — the study finds excellent scale reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.957) and strong, statistically significant positive correlations among all constructs (p < 0.01). Chi-square analysis reveals that podcast listening frequency is significantly associated with respondent age but not gender, and that occupation is significantly associated with preferred branded podcast. Across constructs, Bombay Shaving Company recorded the highest mean scores despite a smaller listener base, while Royal Enfield commanded the largest audience share. The findings extend brand community and parasocial interaction theory to the Indian podcasting context and offer practical guidance for brand managers seeking to convert podcast listeners into loyal brand advocates.