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Pocket FM: Online audio streaming platform, offering content in various genres including romance, horror, fantasy, sci-fi, mythology, suspense, and thriller, and languages such as Hindi, English, Malayalam, and Marathi, in an episodic format (10 - 30 minutes)
Pocket FM solves the problem of finding and enjoying audio entertainment, specifically focused on non-music content like audio stories, audiobooks, and podcasts. What Pocket FM offers
For listeners:
For story writers:
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Pocket FM stands out as a user-friendly platform that caters to fans of audiobooks, podcasts, and serialized audio stories.
An Ever-Expanding Universe of Audio: Pocket FM boasts a massive library of audiobooks, podcasts, and serialized stories, constantly growing with fresh content. Their intuitive discovery tools make it effortless to navigate this vast universe and find exactly what sparks your interest.
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Seamless Listening Experience: The intuitive audio player goes beyond basic playback. You can download episodes for offline listening, share your favorites with friends, leave comments, and fine-tune the playback experience with adjustable speed controls and sleep timers – perfect for winding down before bed.
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Flexible Subscription Options: Pocket FM caters to both casual listeners and binge enthusiasts. Freemium users receive one new episode per series daily, keeping them engaged and enticing them to unlock additional episodes using in-app purchases. For those who prefer to devour an entire series at once, the platform allows for bulk episode unlocking with coins.
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Tired of the same old music on repeat? Pocket FM is your all-access pass to a world of fresh audio entertainment. Discover new shows you'll love, listen anywhere, anytime, and unlock a world of stories, knowledge, and entertainment. Pocket FM - where stories come alive.
Here's what we can draw based on available information online:
Conclusion: Based on the analysis, Pocket FM has found PMF and is ready for acquisition (mature scaling).
Parameters | ICP-1 | ICP-2 | ICP-3 |
---|---|---|---|
Who are they? | Working Professional | College Student | The Multitasker |
Age | 25-40 | 18-22 | 25-40 |
Gender | Any | Any | Any |
Location | Tier 1, 2 cites | Tier 2, 3 cites | Tier 1, 2 & 3 cities |
Occupation | SWE, Teacher, Manager | College student | NA |
Income | > 15 LPA | Up to 10k (internships) | NA |
Relationship Status | Any | Single, In a relationship | Married |
Lives with | Friends, Family, Alone | Family, Friends | Family |
Where do they spend time? | Work (40-50 hrs/week), Commute, networking, sports, parties, meeting friends, learning new things, going out to have food Entertainment during commutes, learning new things | College: 30 hrs/week Social Media, Entertainment | Household chores, childcare, managing family Entertainment, self-improvement, childcare & parenting tips |
Where do they spend money? | Shopping, travel, luxury experiences, food, rent, fashion, entertainment | Food with friends, mobile data, entertainment subscriptions (may be shared) | Food, rent, lifestyle, fashion, household needs, groceries, children's education, entertainment |
What do they value more: Time vs. Money | Time | Money | Balance between Time & Money (Family Priority) |
Previous expenses on entertainment/OTT throughout the year | INR 3000/year | INR 500-1,000/year | Low spender (Free with ads or shared subscriptions) |
The Problem: What problem do they face with the currently available solutions? | Every day, 3-4 (60 mins times commute, travel) Reasons: Long commutes, need for entertainment, and knowledge consumption | 2-3 times a week Reasons: Limited access to high-quality audio content in their preferred regional language. | Every day, 1-2 times Reasons: Needs engaging content for while multitasking, and short travel. |
ICP Prioritisation framework
,
ICPs | Profiles | Value to user | Ease of Adoption | Frequency | Appetite to pay | CAC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ICP-1 (Selected) | Working Professional | Very High âś… | Very High âś… | High | High | Medium âś… |
ICP-2 | College Student | Medium | High âś… | Medium | Low | Medium âś… |
ICP-3 | The Multitasker | High âś… | Medium | High | Medium | Low âś… |
​
ICP 1: The Busy Professional
Juggling a demanding career, this individual craves entertainment and knowledge consumption during their lengthy commutes (3-4 hours daily). A high spender on digital entertainment (over INR 3,000 yearly), they prioritize convenience and value. Time is precious, and Pocket FM's extensive library and effortless discovery tools offer an efficient solution. Their willingness to pay reflects their time-saving focus.
ICP 2: The Regional Language Enthusiast
Limited access to high-quality audio content in their preferred language fuels their interest in Pocket FM. Listening 2-3 times a week, they prioritize affordability. Freemium options or low-cost subscriptions would be most attractive to this cost-conscious individual. Pocket FM bridges the gap by providing the content they crave without breaking the bank.
ICP 3: The Multitasking Master
Adept at juggling tasks, this individual seeks engaging audio entertainment for daily commutes (1-2 hours) and multitasking activities. Similar to the Regional Language Enthusiast, they prioritize affordability. Pocket FM's engaging content keeps them entertained while on the go, and the platform's freemium model or low-cost in-app purchases cater to their budget-conscious approach. Their time is valuable, but affordability remains a key factor.
Conclusion
Given their significant spending power and time spent consuming audio entertainment, Busy Professionals (ICP-1) emerged as a primary target audience for Pocket FM. However, the platform's diverse content library and flexible subscription options hold value for all three user groups we explored.
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Due to the niche nature of Pocket FM's focus and limited data availability, calculating a precise TAM is challenging. However, by employing a bottom-up approach with conservative assumptions and leveraging relevant market research, we can create a working estimate.
Challenges and Considerations:
Methodology:
Employing a bottom-up approach, we'll estimate the TAM by multiplying the following factors:
Estimating Factors:
TAM Calculation:
TAM = Interest in Audio Entertainment * ARPU * 12 months
TAM = 13.06 million * $2/month * 12 months = $315.36 million
Important Considerations:
This is a conservative estimate. Actual TAM could be higher based on factors like:
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Conclusion:
This calculation estimates a TAM of $315.36 million for Pocket FM in the Indian market, focusing on audiobooks, podcasts, and serialized stories in various languages.
This approach leverages our prior discussion on the Indian market for audiobooks, podcasts, and serialized stories.
Key Points:
Here are possible acquisition channels, along with their potential effectiveness for Pocket FM's user acquisition project in India, considering its focus on audiobooks, podcasts, and serialized stories:
Organic (SEO & ASO):
When searching on Google for "audio story series," Pocket FM's link ranks at the top. However, this isn't the case for other terms like "audio story Hindi app." On the contrary, the app claims the top spot on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store for the search term "audio stories."
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Paid Ads: Pocket FM excels in paid advertising (Google Ads & Facebook/Instagram Ads) (evident from Meta Ads Library - 300+ ads). Most of their user base originates from paid ads, leveraging captivating stories and an enticing freemium offer to engage and retain users effectively.
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Strategic Referral Programs:
Exploring Partner Integrations:
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Channel | Cost Required | Efforts Required | Scalability | Flexibility | Lead Time | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Organic (SEO & ASO) | Low (ongoing maintenance) | Medium (ongoing optimization) | High | High | High | Focus on relevant keywords and user experience |
YouTube Channel | Medium (content creation, promotion) | High (ongoing content creation) | High | High | Medium | Build audience trust and engagement |
Paid Ads (Google Ads & Facebook/Instagram Ads) | High (pay-per-click model) | Medium (campaign setup, monitoring) | High | High | Short | Target audience effectively, analyze data for optimization |
Content Loops | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium | Ensure alignment with Pocket FM's brand and target audience |
Referral Program | Low (program setup) | Medium (ongoing promotion) | Medium | Medium | Medium | Incentivize existing users to spread the word using platform currency |
Partner Integrations | Medium (negotiations, integration) | Medium (ongoing communication) | Medium | Low | Medium | Align with complementary businesses for mutual benefit |
​ |
​Based on our user acquisition prioritization framework and an evaluation of existing efforts, I recommend focusing on experiments in the following areas:
Leveraging User Sharing with a Referral Program
Currently, Pocket FM relies on organic content sharing – users recommend content they find exceptional to friends. While this demonstrates user satisfaction, it lacks a structured approach to user acquisition. Implementing a referral program incentivizes users to actively promote Pocket FM, potentially leading to:
A referral program based on platform currency can be mutually beneficial for Pocket FM and its users:
Missing Elements:
This program aims to incentivize user referrals and drive user acquisition through a combination of:
Age: 25 - 40
Location: (Mostly) Tier 1
The most common apps the ICPs use are:
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Which Product do they interact with? | Uber | Google Maps | Cred | MakeMyTrip | HealthifyMe | Strava |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
How frequently do they interact with them? | High | High | Low | Low | High | High |
How important are those interactions? | Important | Important | Important | Somewhat | Somewhat | Important |
Can your product add value to those interactions? | Highly Sure | Highly Sure | Not Sure | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Time to go live | Moderate | High | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
Tech Effort | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | High |
# of new users we can get? | High | High | Low | Low | Low | High |
​Based on this analysis, Pocket FM should focus on partnering with Uber for integrations. This also aligns with our selected ICPs who are frequent commuters.
Uber and Pocket FM partnership will be helpful to acquire new users in the long run and also has the global operations advantage since Pocket FM also has a presence in more than 20 countries.
Pocket FM Inside Uber
User Flow Integration and Functionality:
Benefits for Uber:
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