Navigating the Podcast Landscape: WAEPA’S Strategic Approach

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By Shane Canfield, Chief Executive Officer, WAEPA

Podcasts have had a meteoric rise in today’s digital landscape. In 2023, there were more than 67 million monthly listeners in the U.S. This demand has resulted in increased supply with 4.3 million total podcasts registered worldwide.

For an organization like WAEPA – 80 years old, with a niche audience – to wade into a hyper-saturated market meant our team needed to think strategically about our audience, value proposition and promotional strategy.

Here, I’ll discuss two key questions that guided the 2021 launch of our “Lessons in Leadership” podcast.

What Value Could WAEPA Add to the Podcast Space?

WAEPA is a nonprofit membership association and benefits trust, founded in 1943 with a clear mission to promote the health, welfare and financial well-being of the Federal workforce. Today, we offer exclusively products and services to current and former Civilian Federal Employees, which provides WAEPA with a niche audience of about 1.8 million people.

Those called to civil service face a unique set of challenges and are also imbued with a unique sense of duty. This contributes to the exclusivity of WAEPA’s Group Term Life Insurance; we position rates to be lower than our primary competitor. At the same time, we do not compete with the open market, preferring to focus on providing exceptional service tailored to meeting the needs of our members. In addition, we offer resources that help Feds navigate Federal benefits, retirement planning, FEHB Open Season and more.

Civilian Federal Employees may be a relatively small audience, but they are a distinct one. In WAEPA’s experience, content targeted at Feds, covering topics that specifically affect Feds, finds them and adds value.

Once we confirmed the viability of our audience, we needed to determine what our value proposition to them would be.

After eight decades of serving the Federal workforce, our organization truly understands Federal employees and believe in our ability to deliver relative content to Feds with an interest in career development and who actively seek out Federal news.

During “Lessons in Leadership,” I have the privilege of hosting a diverse array of guests who share insights into their personal leadership journeys and the lessons they’ve gleaned during long and brilliant careers.

Previous podcast guests have included:

Admiral Cutler Dawson, U.S. Navy Commander Ret., CEO of PedFed
Angela Bailey, CHCO, Department of Homeland Security
Dr. David Wilson, President of Morgan State University
Tammy Smith, Ret. Army Major General
Susan Neely, CEO of ACLI

From pivotal experiences to transformative moments, each episode offers a unique glimpse into the evolving landscape of effective leadership.

The “Lessons in Leadership” podcast is an extension of WAEPA’s brand: demonstrating our commitment to empowering the Federal workforce with practical information, re-enforcing current insured’s decision to stay with us and putting us on the radar for prospects.

Should WAEPA Collaborate with a Partner?

Having identified our target audience, value proposition and content, the next question that drove our strategy was whether to work with a partner or not. As mentioned, the podcast market is a saturated one, and we wanted to engage the expertise of a trusted partner. Finding Feds and providing them with valuable content is no easy task, and starting a podcast from scratch was a lift we did not want to pursue.

WAEPA has had a long-standing partnership with Federal News Network (FNN) and WTOP radio; collaborating with them gave us the confidence and acumen to launch “Lessons in Leadership.” FNN has the largest offering of Federal podcasts, with over 20 proprietary podcasts and 1 million downloads. Each month, the network reaches 500,000 monthly users, 70% of whom are Federal employees.

Understanding that our target audience is a niche one, we knew the importance of involving a partner who could help us reach Feds where they were at. Since the inception of “Lessons in Leadership,” Federal News Network has delivered on its metrics.

The podcast is included in Your Turn/Your Federal Life and Federal Drive, which delivers more than 650,000 downloads, while on-air FNN and WTOP promotion is heard by more than 850,000 Washingtonians. The podcast enjoys high social engagement that exceeds industry benchmarks and currently has 15,000 downloads through a combination of partner promotion on our own social media efforts.

“Lessons in Leadership” is now in its fourth season, with quarterly episodes being released on a dedicated channel, as well as common services including Spotify and Apple. As the Federal workforce faces ongoing changes, I am grateful that this podcast provides WAEPA with an opportunity to offer insights and reassurance to Feds in uncertain times.

Published in the Spring 2025 issue of Insights Magazine.

PIMA® (Professional Insurance Marketing Association®) is a member-driven trade association focused exclusively on the affinity market.