Instagram has launched its first branded podcast, Close Friends Only, with Alex Cooper’s Unwell Podcast Network and Spotify. Part of the Trend Talk series, the audio and video podcast debuted with Doja Cat and Ice Spice as the first episode’s co-hosts, discussing trending online topics.
Future episodes promise to feature more celebrity guest co-hosts discussing a variety of cultural moments, from memes to friendship. While the audio version of Close Friends Only is available on all major podcast platforms, video content is only accessible on Spotify.
Alex Cooper, best known for her Spotify-exclusive podcast Call Her Daddy, launched the Unwell Podcast Network in August and announced an ad sales partnership with Spotify in October. Unwell is a branch of Cooper’s media venture Trending, focused on producing scripted and unscripted content for Gen Z.
Instagram joins fellow social media platform LinkedIn in utilizing branded podcasts as promotional tools. LinkedIn started its own B2B podcast network in July with iHeartMedia, featuring career and business podcasts developed by LinkedIn and its partners.
