with Steve Pratt, Author of the hit book Earn It
with Steve Pratt, Author of the hit book Earn It
CASE STUDY
Company size
Website
Most executives don’t wake up wanting to learn about accounts receivable protection, or commercial risk, or trade credit insurance.
But they do care about protecting cash flow, and managing uncertainty, and growing confidently.
That was Allianz Trade’s challenge.
The company possessed extraordinary expertise, global research and real-world experience helping organizations navigate financial risk.
The problem wasn’t a lack of knowledge, but helping busy business leaders recognize why that knowledge mattered.
Launching another branded podcast filled with insurance terminology wasn’t going to change that, so Allianz Trade needed a show people would choose to hear because it made them better business leaders, not because they were shopping for insurance.
Together, Allianz Trade and JAR built Wheel of Risk around business decisions rather than insurance products.
Instead of creating educational episodes about trade credit insurance, every conversation explored how leaders navigate uncertainty, economic volatility and commercial risk.
The insurance expertise remained. It simply stopped being the headline.
JAR partnered with Allianz Trade to:
The result was a podcast executives wanted to hear even if they had never heard the phrase “trade credit insurance.”
Wheel of Risk didn’t succeed because it explained trade credit insurance better, but because it stopped trying to make insurance interesting.
Instead, it made business uncertainty understandable.
The JAR System clarified the podcast’s job, identified the audience it needed to serve and defined what success would look like before production began.
Everything that followed, from editorial strategy and guest selection to promotion and measurement, aligned around those three decisions.
The result was stronger audience growth, deeper engagement and a thought leadership platform that continued creating value long after each episode was published.
| Before | After applying the JAR System |
|---|---|
| Explain trade credit insurance. | Explore how leaders manage uncertainty and business risk. |
| Lead with products and industry terminology. | Lead with decisions, challenges and real business stories. |
| Market insurance expertise. | Build executive trust through useful conversations. |
| Measure publishing success. | Measure audience growth, engagement and returning listeners. |
| Create isolated podcast episodes. | Build an evergreen content engine supporting marketing, sales and thought leadership. |
Nobody wakes up wanting your product.
They wake up wanting to solve a problem.
Business leaders don’t search for trade credit insurance.
They search for confidence, growth, resilience., and better decisions.
The JAR System shifted Wheel of Risk away from explaining a product and toward helping executives think differently about uncertainty.
The insurance never disappeared.
It just became more valuable because it lived inside conversations people already wanted to have.
Instead of asking:
“How do we explain trade credit insurance?”
we asked:
“What job should this podcast perform?”
Help executives better understand uncertainty, business resilience and commercial risk through engaging conversations.
Trade credit insurance became part of the conversation, not the conversation itself.
People were searching for better decisions, not insurance.
Success wasn’t defined by publishing episodes.
Success meant:
Clear on this, every editorial decision became easier, including the guests, stories, episode structure, promotion, and measurement.
Everything served the same purpose.
Downloads increased 83% from the end of Season One to the end of Season Two, demonstrating growing audience demand as the show’s editorial strategy matured.
Subscriber growth increased 1,325%, driven by stronger packaging, Apple Podcasts optimization and a focused audience development strategy.
Rather than attracting one-time listeners, Wheel of Risk built a growing audience that returned for new episodes.
Listeners consumed an average of 69% of every Season Two episode on Apple Podcasts.
That level of engagement suggested audiences weren’t simply sampling the show.
They were staying for meaningful conversations.
Every episode became more than a podcast.
Interviews evolved into reusable marketing assets supporting thought leadership, sales conversations, executive communications and future content across multiple channels.
“We love JAR Audio, and truly believe they are one of the best in the industry. We have received countless compliments on the production quality of the show. We also had so much fun every step of the way. We hit the jackpot with this team in bringing our ideas and ambitions to life.”
Kathleen McMahon, Brand and Integrated Marketing Manager, Allianz Trade
