The solution was to provide six 20-minute episodes with the journalistic credibility and production values of the WSJ coupled with the financial expertise of UBS. Starting in January 2025, and dropping every two weeks, each episode explored an area of change or innovation shaping the private markets.

Hosted by WSJ Custom Content editor and veteran anchor Phillipa Leighton-Jones, the series provided a deep dive into complex financial markets, with unique insights and real-life stories and learnings from the people directly involved. In natural, unscripted conversations, UBS, alongside its private market partners, unlocked a range of topics and themes related to the private markets.

The episodes comprised:

• The Story Behind the Equity Capital Market Headlines – featuring Gareth McCartney and Tommy Rueger, Global Co-Heads of Equity Capital Markets at UBS, and Maisa Badawy, Partner and Global Head of Capital Markets at Capital Group.
• Alternative Asset Managers and Investment Banks: Partners or Rivals? – featuring Simona Maellare, Global Co-Head of Alternative Capital at UBS and Robert Seminara, Partner and Head of Europe at Apollo.
• Sustainability Unpacked: Misconceptions, Markets and a Path Forward – featuring Laurent Bouvier and Therése Lennehag, two of UBS’s leading voices in Corporate Shareholder and ESG Advisory.
• The Venture Capital Playbook – featuring Ben McLean, head of venture capital at UBS, and Alex Gurevich, managing director at Javelin Venture Partners.
• A New Dawn for Private Funds – featuring Kevin Kuryla, Global Head of Private Funds Group at UBS and Jerry Pascucci, Co-Head of Unified Global Alternatives at UBS.
• Private Equity’s Human Equation – featuring Diron Jebejian, Co-Head of Americas Sponsor Coverage at UBS, and Vahe Dombalagian, Managing Partner at Madison Dearborn Partners.

The series lived within the WSJ Podcast Center, with episodes available on Spotify and Apple. The page was designed as a simple, refined hub that stressed the “banking is our craft” message, and showcased UBS’s expertise as a global financial services brand that has been operating for more than 150 years.

This was a series that spoke to C-suite audiences and investors, with authoritative voices who provided clear and impactful commentary on the state of the markets and where they are headed. The slick recordings, the accessible, digestible format and cutting-edge content ensured it landed with the audience.

To reach time-starved C-suites and senior investors, the amplification strategy focused on precision, prestige and placement.

Each podcast episode was also supported by:

6 sets of Content Integration Units (CIUs): Strategically placed and contextually aligned with relevant editorial, these native-style units are designed to seamlessly mirror WSJ’s premium aesthetics, elevating each podcast episode within a trusted, high-impact environment.

1 custom-built high-impact unit: Positioned in the most premium ad slots across the Dow Jones network, this bespoke unit promoted the podcast series landing page, maximizing visibility and brand stature across our ecosystem.

1 audio shortcut placement: A dynamic pre- and mid-roll audio format integrated within relevant editorial content on WSJ.com’s Podcast Center. This placement amplified awareness of the podcast series within our growing audio-first audience landscape.

6 sets of dual-format social assets: A multi-media mix of static posts and short-form video shortcuts optimised for LinkedIn. This dual strategy was designed to drive both credibility and engagement by sparking conversation within professional networks.

6 sets of long-form audiogram units: Entire podcast episodes were hosted in visually branded audiogram formats, distributed across social channels and YouTube.

This approach ensured deep, cross-platform content engagement and a frictionless listening experience.

This campaign was structured around a robust set of contractual KPIs. Notably, the overall traffic target was set nearly 50% higher than typical benchmarks for comparable budget programs. In addition, the client set elevated performance expectations across podcast starts (nearly double our platform average), completions, media engagement, and audience quality.

Despite the heightened challenge, the campaign exceeded its traffic goal by 24%, driven by a three-dimensional promotion strategy that ensured seamless alignment between content placements and the most relevant media and podcast environments. Throughout, the audience consistently met the client’s profile expectations, with a strong concentration of senior business decision-makers and investors.

Our cross-platform podcast promotion strategy was especially effective, 66% above the goal for podcast starts—a clear testament to our close campaign monitoring and agile optimisation. Completion rates remained high throughout—11,364 completions against a KPI of 4,300—and our audiogram-driven retention strategy delivered a standout result: over 4x the goal for completed listens. In a world where content is competing for consumer attention, 40-54% of listeners completing a 20-minute episode is a notable achievement.

Media promotion reached a highly engaged audience across the Dow Jones network and social platforms, exceeding KPIs by 2.7 to 3.2 times. This played a key role in efficiently driving traffic and maximizing visibility.

Critically, the campaign reached a high-value, business-oriented audience, with over one-third of listeners in C-suite roles and strong representation from both institutional and general investors—precisely aligning with the campaign’s strategic objectives.

As a result of these outstanding outcomes, the client has renewed for a second season, set to launch later this summer.

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