BMW Group has built up a library of really interesting shots at branded audio content across different formats and themes starting in 2020. I’m planning to come back to their show Changing Lanes that has over 100 episodes of company stories, and instead start with their more genre-bending show HYPNOPOLIS.

Hypnopolis

Across two seasons and 12 episodes (plus lots of well-produced bonus content), it tells a hard sci-fi story spanning AI, cyber-terrorism, sustainable technology, and some Amazon Echo-enabled interactive elements. BMW itself is almost non-existent besides the opening and closing credits. I like seeing brands take really ambitious swings - HYPNOPOLIS is compelling as a fiction podcast and for a well-known brand like BMW, it was a bet that getting brand awareness among these listeners is a nice complement to the more traditional route of telling company stories that speak more to the already converted super fans.

(Shoutout to the credited team: writer Robert Valentine, producers Kristian Nord and Malte Hagemeister, BMW staff Maik Schwalm and Jörg Poggenpohl)