By: Megan Camlasaran

Podcast: The Forefront: Ideas for cities
Client: Toronto Metropolitan University Advancement
Launch: 2020
Average length per episode: 15 minutes
Praise: The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education Prix d’Excellence Award (2021) and
The Canadian Online Publishing Awards (2023)

For Meredith Jordan, director of stakeholder and alumni outreach at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), podcasting was a new and exciting marketing tool to explore. 

“It was a bit of a gamble. It was a new area for us, but we’re always looking at the different ways we can reach different segments of our audience. We really liked the storytelling aspect. It was a new and unique way for us to tell the TMU story versus print and social. And we liked the intimacy of the medium," she says.

Initially, the team considered several different names for the podcast including Culture of Innovation, Bold Innovation and This Is What We Do. They worked with Lead Podcasting to brainstorm names that would align with TMU's values and priorities and eventually landed on The Forefront; a simple way to capture the idea that TMU is leading – through its professors, research, alumni and community connections. 

Developing The Forefront

The team knew they wanted to share a lot of information in a way that was captivating but digestible. Season one, episode one, experimented with a mixed format of narrative and chat cast but after receiving feedback from an internal focus group, the episode was revised to being fully narrative. This means it's journalistic in nature and selects the best clips from interview subjects and the story of the episode is strung together with scripted narration from a host.  It allows for the episodes to disseminate information in a shorter, punchier way. 

“The tone is a mix between journalistic and storytelling. Like a news story, we wanted our host to lay out the facts off the top of each episode and then seamlessly bring in the various voices and perspectives, weaving a compelling narrative around the issue, why it matters and how our university is addressing it,” says Jordan. 

Given the format, TMU decided to opt for a journalist to be host – but also someone who had a strong connection to the content of each episode. In this case, Amanda Cupido, founder of Lead Podcasting, was a perfect fit as a journalism graduate from the university and a part-time instructor.

"I really enjoy hosting The Forefront," says Cupido. "It's an honour to be able to use the foundational storytelling skills I learned at TMU to highlight the important work the school is doing. It's also great to be able to share updates with my students and even hire some of them to support the production."

Emily Morantz was one of those students. 

Morantz was a Master's of Journalism student in Cupido's radio documentary and podcasting class in fall 2020. After graduating, Cupido reached out to see if she'd like to work on the show as a producer. 

“It was the first thing I got paid to do as a producer, which was really cool," says Morantz. She adds she was previously accustomed to working as a solo producer. “It was a collaborative environment where I'm alongside a co-producer and working with the people from TMU… and that [team environment] is something I've come to love about this kind of podcasting." 

With the team and format in place, it was time to start establishing the guests and topics for each episode. 

What's in an episode?

Initially, TMU wanted to have each episode highlight an area of research that was helping with city building across Canada. The university had a plethora of experts and they figured each episode could include an in-depth interview with one that was leading the charge in relation to the topic of the episode.

"Early on, I suggested adding a voice 'on the ground' to bring each issue to life," says Cupido. In addition to hosting, she's also the executive producer of the podcast. "So each episode has at least two guests – one that sets up the story and can illustrate why the issue is important to Canadians. And then there's a professor or researcher who can speak to the solutions that are being discovered and how TMU is supporting that area of development."

Meredith says the combination worked well for the brand and the overarching marketing strategy. 

"It comes down to showing the best of what TMU is doing in the city and in society and wanting to share that more broadly with our audience,” says Jordan. 

Once the approach to each episode was solidified, TMU's internal team took the lead on sourcing guests for each episode and pre-interviewing them ahead of recording. Then, they'd make an e-connection to the Lead Podcasting team who would take it from there. 

Getting the best from guests

Both Cupido and Morantz conduct the interviews for the podcast – which are usually recorded over Cleanfeed, one of the industry's best remote recording software. Initially, the idea was to interview people on campus, but season one of the podcast launched at the height of the pandemic and the team had to pivot to record remotely. But once they started recording this way, they found it was still quite effective and has allowed them to interview experts and graduates across the country. 

Out of the first three seasons, the only episode that was done on location was one about Toronto’s Green Roof Bylaw and TMU's Urban Farm. Cupido recorded it and was able to create a soundscape to help paint a picture for listeners.

Whether in person or remote, Cupido and Morantz both take pride in being able to help make their interview subjects at ease. Cupido explains that she starts each interview by explaining that the podcast is heavily edited and will only be selecting the "golden sound bites" from guests. Morantz explains that she tries to ask her interviewees funny questions to get them loosened up and more comfortable before getting into her pre-planned interview questions. 

“If they don't feel like they're talking to a friend, or like talking to someone at a party or something, they're just gonna say things from their notes that they prepared earlier. They're not going to be the person that they actually are," she explains. "For audio, it's all about the enthusiasm and their voice, right? It's all about them coming through like real people. So if you want them to sound and talk like a real person, then you also have to be a real person."

Audience before anything: Scripting 

Once all the audio has been captured, it's time to write the script. For seasons two and three, Morantz would write the first draft. She explains that she's always thinking about how to make it as interesting as possible for the listener. As a grad (and part of TMU's target audience), she focuses on what she'd want to listen to, herself and how she’d want something to be explained to her.

When the script is written, it's handed over to Cupido for tweaking and personalization. "I like to add reflections or little anecdotes about myself in relation to the issue," she says. "Although that's not traditionally journalistic, it's more of a personal documentary approach. As someone who has worked in talk radio for many years, I know one of the keys to a compelling story is being able to be relatable and connect." Cupido shares the example of a recent episode about bike lane development and how she incorporated a scary moment in her own life: getting hit by a car while biking in Toronto.

After the script is complete, Cupido records the voiceover and passes it along for editing. In the last season, it was completed by another one of Cupido's former TMU students, Katia Galati. Then it gets an extra set of ears on it from a Lead Podcasting advisor. In this case, Michael Allen. Lead Podcasting ensures that the final listen is conducted by someone who hasn't worked on the podcast. Getting a "fresh set of ears" on it, as Cupido calls it, is important for catching anything that might have slipped through the cracks. After that, it goes to TMU for final review and approval. 

A common episode that Cupido, Jordan and Morantz are proud of is episode one of season three, “Renaming our University.” This came after the university removed reference to Egerton Ryerson from its branding and began to forge a new chapter. It features TMU elder Joanne Dallaire, author and journalist Waubgeshig Rice and chair of the University Renaming Advisory Committee, Jennifer Simpson.

“Many Canadians and organizations have started being more intentional with their pursuit of reconciliation. It was important to address this, but also lean into what's happening at the school and be honest about its complicated history. Being able to talk about these sorts of issues shows the strength of the series – the fact that we can look inwards and outwards,” says Cupido. 

Being able to create a podcast episode about the new chapter was important for Jordan's team as well. 

“I was happy with how we told that story. Getting the perspectives of those tasked with stewarding the renaming process and hearing the thoughtful way they approached it was important. It meant our audience, some of whom may be unsure about the renaming, would hear from the folks directly involved and realize how much care and consideration went into the process while also hearing from some of our Indigenous alumni about what the name change meant to them. It does add human side that people aren’t hearing as much,” says Jordan.

Spreading the word

The final step is promotion. TMU and Lead Podcasting worked together on the following marketing tactics. 

1. Releasing a trailer for each season, which summarizes the topics that will be covered and prepares audiences for what they can expect.

2. Putting out a press release and regular coverage in newsletters and other university communications.

3. Featuring it on the TMU website with transcripts provided by Lead Podcasting

4. Running ads via Spotify, voiced by Cupido. 

5. Promoting on social media with audiograms created by Lead Podcasting.

Jordan says the team is planning on doing a fourth season and encourages others to give podcasting a go. 

“Most people hear research and assume it will be challenging to understand and irrelevant to their lives. However, the storytelling nature of podcasting brings the research to life. Our listeners get to hear first-hand from those impacted by the issues we're trying to solve and even get a window into the minds of the incredible researchers, entrepreneurs and experts who have made it their life's work to address those issues,” she says.