Every CloserStill event has its own distinct soundtrack: the hum of a theatre filling up, conversations spilling into the aisles and applause rising from the audience.

An event may last a few days. The questions it raises, the expertise it brings together and the people behind it can travel much further.

That thinking sits behind CloserStill’s podcast studio, which opened in London this summer. It is not trying to recreate the full sound of an event through a microphone. It is capturing what that sound represents: curiosity, expertise and, perhaps most importantly, community.

From Page to Podcast

One of the first projects to emerge from the studio was The Delivery Note, which now has six episodes featuring insight from across the  logistics sector. Hosted by Hazel King, Editor of Parcel & Postal Technology International, the podcast brings guests into the studio to explore the issues shaping the world of parcel and postal technology.

Hazel’s work follows the industry throughout the year. Each month, she brings together the people, developments and questions shaping the sector in a new edition of the magazine. Parcel & Post Expo is one point in that cycle, when many of those voices gather and the themes Hazel has been following become part of the show floor.

The Delivery Note carries them into audio. A feature can become an episode, while a question raised at the event can open up into a deeper discussion with someone working in the sector.

Teams from across the CloserStill Group have also used the space to experiment with different formats. Some have developed podcast series, while others have used it to test shorter forms of content.

There is no single formula. The value lies in giving teams room to discover what their community needs.

The Pull of Personality

For the IMRG team, the goal was not simply to add another show to an already crowded podcast market. It was about reaching new people and giving audiences another way to engage with the expertise behind its events.

The result was IMRG Takes On, hosted by Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight Director, and Tom Jacobs, Head of Operations.

Andy and Tom’s personalities and chemistry are already a big part of the experience at their events. As Alyssia Smith, Group Content Manager and part of the team behind the podcast, explains: “People come because they want to see those guys.” 

The podcast gives listeners access to that chemistry throughout the year, combining their natural back-and-forth with insight into the world of e-commerce.

The first five episodes generated more than 300 downloads without paid promotion, while one episode was picked up organically by The Grocer.

Beyond the Episode

For Alyssia, the value of podcasting is not measured only in downloads. Every episode also gives the team a real-time sense of what its audience wants to hear more about, helping the team spot which subjects could shape future content at events like eCommerce Expo. 

The format also leaves room for personality. Alyssia says she enjoys listening to Andy and Tom disappear down a tangent or joke with each other. Those candid moments do not take away from the expertise. If anything, a little imperfection makes a recording feel more human. There is no need to remove every pause or smooth away every unexpected turn if they help the audience feel closer to the people behind the microphones.

That same flexibility gives the studio a wider role. A single idea can become a full series, an episode, a short social clip, or a voiceover, depending on where the content needs to go.

An event can close its doors without closing the story. The microphones are in London, but the audience can be anywhere.