Objective

Sunshine & Rain is a podcast aimed to normalize conversations about grief. In 30-45 minute weekly episodes, host Victoria Fortune finds positive and lighthearted ways to guide guests through a conversation on their story confronting loss, grief, coping and healing. Inspired by Frankie Beverly and Maze’s song Joy and Pain, Victoria’s approach to each episode includes discussing songs that reminds the guest of the situation they’ve grieved.

Each episode, Victoria invites friends across industries and health experts to open up about their personal grief stories. Through their vulnerability and story sharing, the hope is to affirm that grief is more common than we think, more than not, we are all experiencing similar emotions. The goal is for listeners to  feel more connected to their own experiences and inspired to take the necessary steps to heal.

Strategy

It was All A Dream 

• After Victoria's father passed in 2018, she struggled to find community. She recognized that speaking about grief, especially in the Black community, was taboo.This realization led her to seek spiritual guidance. Following a session with a clairvoyant, Victoria had a dream of hosting a podcast that normalized conversations about a subject that often gets ignored, grief. That following morning Victoria wrote out her vision and the beginning of the Sunshine & Rain podcast was born. 

From Vision to Execution

• Once Victoria got the vision on paper, she reached out to her network in search of a producer and season one guests. She was introduced to producer Taylor Hosking who has led a number of popular podcasts from Netflix’s Okay Now Listen to HBO’s Insecure Interludes. 

Identifying the Key Conversations 

• The two began working together, aiming to have guests touch on the under discussed topics in the world of grief. They brainstormed lesser-discussed ways that grief impacts lives like its effect on the body or romantic partnerships. They highlighted ways that Black communities often encounter grief, like the disappointment of a dream job taking a toll on one’s mental health, overcoming breast cancer, or the grief journey of being a a closeted athlete in the NBA. Each episode was designed to bring a fresh perspective to topics of grief, while highlighting the good that can come from letting yourself go on the journey. That also included frequently circling back to guest’s advice on how they’ve learned to balance both their sunshine and rain in life. The next step was to find a Black-owned studio to record in, lock in a few guests and begin the recording process. 

Activating the Network of Influential Guests

• The biggest challenge throughout this process was getting over the fear of independently releasing a podcast around such a nuanced subject matter. To get through this challenge, Victoria was very intentional about inviting friends on with compelling stories that reach broad audiences.
• Some of the season one guests included: 
  • Yvette Noel Schure (publicist of Beyoncé Knowels Carter)
  • Jason Collins (former NBA player)
  • Don Peebles (Real-Estate Mogul)
  • Cory Townes (DJ and son of DJ Jazzy Jeff)
  • Asha Tarry (Somatic Therapist )
  • Ashlee Wisdom (Founder of Health in Her HUE)
  • Chris Thomas (ad industry)

Healing Music

• Each episode, guests are asked to share the music that reminds them of their grieving experience. Having music incorporated as an unexpected guest, breaks the mood of the podcast and adds a personalized texture to each episode. The audience never knows what answer to expect. This creates a moment for the audience to connect with the guests' experience in a more intimate way. 

Leveraging Social Media

• Without having a huge following or any media backing, another challenge faced was building an audience around the podcast. We managed to work through this challenge by leveraging short powerful clips of each episode on Instagram driving the reel viewership across clips to over 80K views.

Results

• The results exceeded expectations. Not only did we increase our listenership, but we also grew an audience from scratch that engages with our content on social media. We’ve found that people who visit the Sunshine & Rain Podcast Instagram take the time to leave comments under posts that resonate with them. Comments range from expressions of gratitude to personal stories shared of their own grief. This informs us that there is great appetite for the podcast and that we're also building trust amongst a community of people who may not otherwise have a safe space to grieve. 

• We have listeners from all over the world including: United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ghana, Central America, France, and Nigeria. Some of our most popular episodes and social clips are from conversations with male guests, as we’ve received an outpouring of support from male listeners, including celebrities like Common. 

• Our launch event showcased the power of physically gathering to unpack grief experiences. The full-house panel featured the dynamic range of topics and season one guests. Panelists included Publicists of  Beyoncé Knowles Carter, Yvette Noel-Schure, Victoria’s childhood friend Millen and friend Chris Thomas. Meanwhile, guests were invited to make bouquets of preserved flowers by Ritual Stems. Select guests returned for a second in-person launch dinner and panel hosted by the EDITION Hotel and Mrs. Noel-Schure.

• Most importantly, listeners have been asking when season two will premiere, as well as seeking advice on healing. 
   

Media