Automotive podcast production for brand storytelling that outlasts your ad campaign
A campaign has an end date. Your shopper is still deciding after it. A recurring show gives them something to listen to between your ads, and something to keep listening to after they buy.
You might run an OEM marketing team, a dealer group, an aftermarket brand, or a car channel of your own. The job is the same. You bring the host and the stories. We handle the recording, editing, video, and publishing.
Companies behind the shows we produce
How long does a car buyer take to decide?
Months. Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive interviewed more than 5,000 car shoppers. Gen Z buyers spent 147 days researching and shopping on average. Gen X spent 122 days, Millennials 112, and Boomers 84.
Few of them start with an answer. In every age group, fewer than four in ten said they knew exactly which vehicle they wanted at the start. For Gen Z it was 24%. For Boomers it was 38%.
That is a long stretch to stay quiet. A campaign flight ends on a date, and the shopper keeps deciding. A show can hold a spot in their podcast app the whole time, whether or not you have budget in market that month.
The relationship does not end at the sale. Your owners keep the vehicle for years. In that time they decide whether to buy from you again, and what to say when a friend asks about the brand.
Which show fits your brand, your dealer group, or your channel?
Pick the audience first: shoppers still deciding, owners between purchases, or your own people across locations. Then pick a format your team can keep feeding. A show tends to stall when its format needs more hours than anyone has.
Employee-hosted brand stories
Put one of your own people at the microphone to talk about design choices, engineering trade-offs, and how things get built. Honda Stories uses this format. A named host from inside the company sounds different from an announcer reading a script.
Owner and customer shows
Real owners talk about real vehicles, from daily drivers to weekend builds. Your most loyal customers often explain the brand better than your copy does, and shoppers can tell the difference. Retail brands lean on the same idea.
Dealer network training
A recurring show for sales and service teams across your locations. People can listen on the drive in. It can run on a private feed that only your staff can open, much like the internal shows we make for large companies.
Service and parts expert shows
Technicians, parts counters, and service managers answer the questions customers and peers keep asking. A good fit for aftermarket brands and dealer service departments with real know-how to share.
Motorsports and enthusiast shows
Racing programs, drivers, and the culture around them. This audience already follows you closely, and tends to stay for the details, like one suspension decision. Our gaming and esports shows serve a similar fan base.
Car creator channels
You already film drives, builds, and reviews. A podcast feed puts the conversation in the apps people use on the road, and we can turn the same recording into captioned, YouTube-ready video.
What usually slows an automotive podcast down?
Three things come up again and again. All three can be planned for before the first recording.
Approvals and calendars
Brand, legal, and regional teams may all want to see an episode. Before the first session we ask who signs off and how long they take. Then we build the release calendar around the answer. You decide what runs.
Model launches, race weekends, dealer events, and quarter-end all compete for recording days. Batching several interviews into one session is a common fix. One parts-industry host describes recording guests on set days for exactly this reason.
The host
One person carries the show. If that person also runs a service department or a sales floor, the show competes with their day job.
On our launches we plan for about one to two hours of your time per episode, and we do the rest. Our step-by-step process shows where your hours go.
What do we handle, so your team does not have to?
Hand us the whole show, or just the parts your marketing team can't cover. One crew handles whatever you pick.
Plan and record
We settle the host, the format, and the schedule before anything gets recorded.
- Podcast launch: a trailer, your first episodes, and a 90-day growth plan.
- Audio production: engineers clean up road noise, balance levels, and master each cut, often 3 to 5 business days after the raw files land.
- A brand with many locations gets one consistent sound.
Film and run the show
One recording can feed both your podcast feed and your YouTube channel.
- Video production: YouTube-ready episodes and short clips with captions. Walkarounds, engineering explainers, and owner stories fit video well.
- Podcast management: on a subscription, a dedicated producer plans episodes, supports recordings, and keeps the show on schedule around launches, race calendars, and dealer events.
Get it heard and hosted
Each episode needs a home and a way to travel.
- Podcast marketing: short video clips, social graphics, and a transcript for every episode. Search engines read text, and a transcript gives them some.
- Public hosting to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube from $25 a month.
- A dealer network show can sit on a private feed from $1,000 a month, open only to the people you invite.
Honda Stories, for American Honda Motor Company
Honda Stories is the automotive show we produced and can name. American Honda Motor Company publishes it. Bradley Hasemeyer hosts, and he records from his CR-V. Guests include Honda insiders, industry experts, and championship drivers.
You can listen before you call us. We have not published a dealer group, aftermarket, or creator case study, and we will say so on the call. We also do not publish audience numbers for Honda Stories, so we will not quote any.
Client show, at a glance
- Client: American Honda Motor Company.
- Host: Bradley Hasemeyer, a Honda employee.
- Recorded: from his CR-V.
- Guests: Honda insiders, industry experts, championship drivers.
- Produced by: Resonate Recordings.
How to read this credit
We summarized this from the published show. It is a production credit and not an endorsement of Resonate from Honda.
Hosted by an employee, a show like this sounds like the people inside the company. That is the main reason we suggest the format.
Listen to shows we produce
Honda Stories is the automotive one. The other two show formats that a dealer network or brand team could borrow.
Will a podcast move this month's sales?
No, and be careful with anyone who says it will. A show builds slowly, and the first months are quiet while the back catalog grows. If you are measured on units this quarter, put the money into paid media. We will tell you so on the call.
What a show gives you is a catalog. A shopper in the middle of a 147-day search can work through it at their own pace. Podcast results also rarely show up cleanly in a CRM. Ask new customers how they heard about you, and treat the answers as a rough direction.
Questions brands ask before they start
What to settle before your first recording, whether you are an OEM, a dealer group, a parts brand, or a creator.
What is an automotive brand podcast?
It is a recurring show made by or for an OEM, dealer group, aftermarket brand, or car creator. It covers brand stories, engineering choices, employees, owners, and culture, rather than pushing one model or a weekend sale. Shoppers and owners can listen in their podcast app or watch a video version on YouTube.
Why run a podcast instead of putting the money into video ads?
They do different jobs. Ads buy attention for the weeks you pay for. A show builds a catalog that a shopper can work through during a decision that took Gen Z buyers 147 days on average, and Boomers 84. If your goal is units this quarter, ads are the better spend, and we will say so. Our cost comparison can help you weigh it.
How does automotive brand storytelling work on a podcast?
It puts a real voice on the brand. You get a host with a name, guests who build or drive the vehicles, and stories that will not fit in a 30-second spot. Honda Stories works this way, with a Honda employee as host and guests such as company insiders, industry experts, and championship drivers.
What does an automotive podcast production agency do?
We handle the work around the conversation. That means format and schedule, audio and video production, publishing, and promotion. You supply the host and the expertise. We produced Honda Stories for American Honda Motor Company. Our how things work page shows the full process.
What kind of podcast should our brand or dealer group launch?
Start with who you want to reach. Shoppers still deciding suit a brand story or owner show. Your staff across locations suit a training show on a private podcast feed. Enthusiasts suit a motorsports or build show. Pick the format your team can keep up for a year.
Can we feature customers and employees on the show?
Yes, and it often makes the strongest version. Employees bring authority and customers bring proof. Get written permission from anyone you record, and check your own brand and legal rules before you publish. We build the schedule around your review, and you decide what runs. With ongoing show management, a producer tracks those sign-offs for you.
What makes a car brand podcast different from other branded shows?
It serves two buyers on two clocks. A shopper may need a reason to keep listening for months. An owner needs a reason to stay for years. Most branded shows plan for one of those. We plan topics for both, then build the format around the one that matters most to you.
How much does automotive podcast production cost?
Full-service subscriptions run from $2,100 to $6,500 a month. Where you land in that range comes down to episode frequency, video, and the number of teams who review each cut. A private feed for a dealer network starts at $1,000 a month. Try the cost calculator for a quick range.
Has Resonate produced podcasts for automotive brands specifically?
Yes. We produced Honda Stories for American Honda Motor Company. It is the automotive show we can name publicly. We have not published a dealer group, aftermarket, or creator case study, so we will not claim one. You can browse our wider client list too.
Can dealerships, aftermarket brands, and car creators work with you too?
Yes, we can produce for any of them. A single rooftop with one busy marketer may do better starting with short video, and we will say so. A dealer group, a parts brand, or a creator with a steady supply of stories is a stronger fit.
How much of our time does a show take?
On our launch program we plan for about one to two hours of your time per episode. We handle editing, publishing, and promotion. Approvals add time, so we map who signs off before the first recording.
Other industries we make podcasts for
If your brand sits between categories, these pages may help.
Your shopper is still deciding after the campaign ends
Book a thirty-minute call. We go through your brand, your dealer network or channel, and what a recurring show looks like across the shopping window and the years of ownership.