with Steve Pratt, Author of the hit book Earn It

CASE STUDY

How D-Wave Built One of the Top 5% Technology Podcasts

How the JAR System helped D-Wave turn one of the world’s most complex technologies into a podcast that business leaders actually wanted to hear.
D-Wave is a global leader in quantum computing, helping commercial organizations, researchers, and public-sector institutions solve complex computational problems using quantum technology. Its systems, software, and services are being applied across manufacturing, logistics, financial services, artificial intelligence, and scientific research.
Industry
Industry Quantum Computing and Enterprise Technology

Company size

375+ employees

Website

https://www.dwavequantum.com/

Overview

D-Wave partnered with JAR to build an audience-first thought leadership podcast that made quantum computing understandable, relevant, and worth returning to.

Business Objective

Most quantum conversations are technically impressive. But few are genuinely useful.

D-Wave is one of the world’s leading quantum computing companies. Its researchers, engineers, and customers are solving problems that were impossible just a few years ago.

But there was a challenge.

Quantum computing attracts enormous curiosity, yet much of the conversation around it lives at two extremes. It is either highly technical and inaccessible or overly simplified and filled with hype.

Neither approach helps technology leaders understand what quantum computing actually means for their businesses.

D-Wave didn’t need another branded podcast.

It needed a trusted destination where technology leaders could explore how quantum computing is moving from research into real-world applications.

The goal wasn’t simply to launch a show.

The goal was to become one of the most credible voices in the industry.

The Solution

Together, D-Wave and JAR built Quantum Matters around the questions business leaders were already asking rather than the technology D-Wave wanted to explain.

Our team partnered with D-Wave to:

  • Define the strategic role of the podcast using the JAR System (Job. Audience. Result.)
  • Develop an editorial strategy focused on practical business applications rather than technical demonstrations.
  • Shape interviews around pivotal business decisions instead of company biographies.
  • Produce premium long-form audio episodes alongside promotional assets for discovery.
  • Optimize episode packaging, publishing, and distribution for organic audience growth.
  • Monitor performance and use audience data to continuously improve the show.

Every episode was designed to answer one question:

“Why should a business leader care about quantum computing today?”

The Impact

The JAR System changed the conversation before a single episode was recorded.

Instead of beginning with guests, formats, or production, we started by defining the podcast’s job.

Job

Create the most useful executive conversation about practical quantum computing.

Not a product show.

Not a science show.

A business leadership show.

Audience

Technology executives, innovation leaders, developers, researchers, and decision-makers exploring how quantum computing could solve meaningful business problems.

Result

Build long-term trust by helping listeners better understand quantum computing, while establishing D-Wave as the company leading the practical application of the technology.

Once those three questions were answered, every editorial decision became easier.

  • Guests
  • Episode topics
  • Interview structure
  • Titles
  • Promotion

Everything aligned around a single purpose instead of simply publishing another interview podcast.

How the JAR System Changed the Show

Before After
Let’s make a quantum podcast. Let’s build the most useful executive conversation about quantum computing.
Explain the technology. Explain why it matters to business leaders.
Broad technology audience. Innovation leaders actively exploring quantum adoption.
Measure downloads. Measure trust, engagement, audience growth, and strategic reach.

What Changed

The success of Quantum Matters wasn’t created by better editing.

Or better microphones.

Or better guests.

It came from answering three questions before production ever began.

  1. What job should this podcast do?
  2. Who is it really for?
  3. How will we know it worked?

That’s the JAR System.

And it shaped every decision that followed.

What marketers can learn

The easiest way to make a complex subject interesting isn’t to simplify it.

It’s to organize every conversation around the questions your audience is already trying to answer.

That was the job of Quantum Matters.

The technology never became simpler.

The storytelling became more useful.

The first half of Season One attracted more than 23,000 unique listeners, demonstrating meaningful demand for practical conversations about quantum computing without relying on paid podcast advertising.

Quantum Matters consistently performed within the top 5% of podcasts globally, outperforming the vast majority of branded podcasts competing for executive attention.

The podcast reached #21 in Apple’s U.S. Technology category, placing D-Wave alongside some of the largest technology publishers in the world.

Every listener was earned through content quality, discoverability, guest amplification, and strategic distribution.

  1. No paid podcast advertising
  2. No inflated download campaigns

Just a show people chose to recommend.

23,000+
Unique listeners in the first half of Season One
2,000+
Average first-seven-day downloads per episode
#21
U.S. Apple Podcasts Technology chart