Labor gathered intelligence from Keir Starmer’s UK Labour and senior US Democrats on the political power of podcasts as it sought an edge on rivals in the emerging campaign battlefront.
The party head office used the overseas lessons to help design a “new media” strategy for the Australian election, which included hiring the firm behind satirical newspaper the Betoota Advocate to provide advice on which podcasts the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, should appear.
Podcasts have become a feature of political campaigns globally, with campaigners viewing the format as a vehicle to reach younger voters who are not consuming traditional media.
The latest Guardian-Essential poll showed 42% of 18- to 34-year-olds receive their news via podcasts and social media – compared with just 6% for over-55s.
Guardian Australia can reveal the Australian Labor party dispatched operatives to the UK to learn how Starmer’s team tapped into podcasts and digital creators as part of Labour’s successful 2024 general election campaign.
The officials were run through how UK Labour engaged a third-party firm to map out the online environment, identify leads and build relationships with digital creators.
Officials also received briefings from senior Democrats after the 2024 US presidential campaign, where podcasts played a prominent role.
Donald Trump’s three-hour interview with Joe Rogan – which has attracted more than 57m views on YouTube – was considered pivotal to his success in appealing to young male voters.
Democrat strategists briefed their Australian counterparts on their version of events of the Kamala Harris-Joe Rogan interview that controversially never eventuated.
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Armed with insights from overseas, Labor’s team – led by the national secretary, Paul Erickson – devised its own “new media” strategy to reach disengaged voters.
That included hiring Diamantina Media, the company behind the popular digital media brand the Betoota Advocate.
Labor confirmed Diamantina’s role was limited to providing advice on which podcasts Albanese should consider appearing on.
The prime minister has conducted 12 podcast interviews this year, including nine with non-traditional media brands or journalists.
These included Abbie Chatfield’s It’s a Lot, Ozzy Man, The Grade Cricketer’s new podcast The Circus, Big Small Talk, The Squiz, Mamamia with Kate Langbroek, Straight Talk with Mark Bouris and the Daily Aus.
Two of the podcasts are part of the Diamantina network: The Circus and Betoota Talks.
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The Betoota Talks interview was conducted before Labor started working with Diamantina, the party said.
The Liberal frontbenchers Jane Hume, Angus Taylor and Sussan Ley have appeared on recent episodes of Betoota Talks, as has the outspoken backbencher Bridget Archer, teal candidate Nicolette Boele and Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has also turned to podcasts, appearing on Straight Talk with Mark Bouris and Diving Deep with Sam Fricker among others.
Labor’s wider new media strategy has involved working with social media influencers to amplify coverage of major announcements.
About a dozen content creators were last month invited to Canberra to join the federal budget lockup with press gallery journalists and interview Albanese and senior ministers Jim Chalmers, Katy Gallagher and Tanya Plibersek.
The select influencers – many of whom have more than 100,000 followers – posted clips of the interviews and other budget-day content, offering a different perspective on the annual political event.
The Labor party organisation covered flights, hotels and other travel expenses for some of the creators, several told Guardian Australia at the time.
However, the ALP did not pay for the content or opinion. A no-paid content rule has been applied across the party’s new media strategy, reflecting UK Labour’s approach.
The teal independent Allegra Spender attracted criticism from the Coalition after admitting to paying an agency to commission social content with influencers.
The mental health-focused content creator Milly Rose Bannister has posted several videos “made in collaboration” with Spender, including one in which she shadowed the Wentworth MP for a day in parliament.
