Curiosity has a way of pulling people closer.
That’s what struck us when Callie Zamzow, co-CEO of Zamzows, approached our team with an idea. Not for a promotion or new product, but a podcast. A passion project driven by a desire to enhance community and connection in the Treasure Valley.
Callie wanted a space where she could sit with community members she admired and ask the kind of questions you usually save for long walks or late nights: about local life, animals, education, the environment, and how everything we care about is intertwined.
She wasn’t interested in institutional messaging or expert monologues. Rather, she imagined listeners feeling like they’d pulled up a chair, slipping into the kind of candid conversations that are usually off the record.
To make that feeling real, we first had to understand who’d actually pull up that chair—and why.
Understanding our audience
Pretty quickly, it became clear that this wasn’t a passive crowd. It was a community of curious, capable people who treat learning like a hobby. The kind that click into documentaries for fun, dive down rabbit holes on a random Tuesday night, and happily trade mindless scrolling for meaningful storytelling.
Our MRI Simmons research showed that almost all of them (94%) regularly seek out learning-focused content, and a strong majority (75%) enjoy chewing on big, brain-stretching questions about how the world works.
They’re not just thinkers, though. Nearly three-quarters regularly tackle DIY projects, which signals they don’t just absorb information, they act on it. Content can’t be fluff or filler. It has to offer practical ideas and insights that broaden their perspective, making everyday life feel a little more intentional.
Demographically, this audience leans largely female and spans a wide age range. With 59% living in higher-income households and many married, they spend intentionally on the people, places, and animals that matter to them most. When choosing who to trust, they gravitate toward authentic voices that feel human instead of heavily polished, preferring warmth and wit to cold, clinical expertise.
We also had to find a clear position in the local podcast ecosystem. Treasure Valley listeners could already find shows covering hard news and hot topics. What they didn’t have was a space for slower, more introspective storytelling. A place where local leaders talk less about titles and more about personal philosophies. It was the perfect cue for a podcast that valued depth as much as dialogue.
With these insights, the bar for the brand was set: every element needed to invite, not intimidate. That meant matching our audience’s curiosity, honoring their intelligence, and grounding each episode in real, lived experience.
Balancing Brand Heritage
Once we knew who we were speaking to, the next question was who we were speaking from.
With Zamzows, we weren’t starting from scratch. In the Treasure Valley, it’s a household name: a family story and a familiar song everyone seems to know by heart. That history gave us a huge advantage. It also came with a very real risk.
If we leaned too hard on the Zamzows identity, the podcast would feel like another arm of the business, more promotional than personal. But if we stripped away the connection completely, we’d lose the trust, familiarity, and emotional equity the family had earned over generations.
So the challenge became creating an entirely new brand expression that could stand beside Zamzows, not behind it. The podcast needed to carry forward the same spirit of neighborly knowledge and lifelong learning without copying the store’s visual system.
That balance between familiarity and freshness became the brief for every creative element, from iconography to environment.
Crafting a Curious Identity
NAME
We started with the name. Early concepts circled around casual storytelling, playing with phrases that felt pulled from everyday conversations, like “The Story Goes” or “That Reminds Me” (sparked by That Reminds Me of a Story, the book by Art Gregory and Jim Zamzow). Then, inspiration struck from Zamzows’ iconic jingle, “Nobody knows like Zamzows.”
“Nobody Knowz” tipped its hat to the familiar tune while flipping the message on its head. Instead of claiming expertise, it encouraged curiosity. Meanwhile, the move to a “z” nodded to the family name and introduced a playful personality.
LOGO
Next came the logo, which needed to signal curiosity without slipping into chaos. Our early sketches explored all sorts of symbols: question marks that twisted like a thought in motion, overlapping speech bubbles, even a quirky “questioning quail” that briefly stole our hearts. Each concept tugged at a different side of the brand’s personality, but many leaned too familiar for the podcast world or too literal for the tone we wanted to strike.
So we refined, simplified, and let the brand’s spirit guide the form. The final mark carries soft, welcoming curvature, shapes that echo the ebb and flow of a good conversation. Nothing rigid. Nothing overly stylized. Just a sense of openness and momentum, the visual equivalent of leaning in and saying, “Tell me more.” It’s playful without tipping into whimsy, thoughtful without drifting into formality, and unmistakably aligned with Callie’s warm, inquisitive voice.
STUDIO DESIGN
With the visual identity taking shape, we turned our attention to the space where these conversations would actually unfold.The studio was curated to feel like stepping into Callie’s world, where curiosity flows freely and connection follows right behind.
We styled and arranged the room to radiate warmth. Natural textures, earthy tones, and lived-in cues created a setting that felt intentional, not contrived. Every piece played a part. Framed family photos added history and heart. Custom artwork echoed the brand’s organic curves, creating continuity between the identity system and the space itself. Greenery along the wall introduced a sense of steady growth, softening the room and reflecting Callie’s love for all things living.
PHOTOGRAPHY
To support the podcast’s identity across platforms, we orchestrated a photoshoot capturing the character and charisma listeners would come to associate with Nobody Knowz. Rather than pose Callie in a stiff studio setup, we built a relaxed, collaborative environment that allowed her personality to shine. She moved with ease among plants, produce, and playful branded pieces—props chosen to echo her passion for nature and nourishment.
In post-production, we pulled the visual thread even tighter. Pops of bright green and organic linework stitched the photography back into the brand system without overwhelming it. The final collection offers a versatile set of visuals that effortlessly adapts to website headers, social posts, episode promos, and everything in between.
Setting the Standard
With the identity dialed in, the debut episodes carried the weight of determining what listeners would seek out each time they tune in.
So, to give the show a steady center of gravity, we recorded the first five episodes before launch. This library ensured that new listeners, no matter which episode they found first, would land in the same warm, curious world Callie envisioned.
Topic selection played a big part in that. We curated a lineup that already lived close to Callie’s heart: local farm-to-table stories, sustainability and community life. Starting with subjects she loves ensured the conversations unfolded with an easy confidence and unforced cadence. It also drew a direct line to the lived experiences of locals, giving listeners a sense of familiar ground from the start.
To further establish trust, we paired those themes with familiar Treasure Valley voices. Many initial guests came from well-known local businesses and organizations, offering instant recognition for listeners scanning episode titles. The first wave of guests also skewed female, aligning with the audience we knew we would resonate with. They came ready to share stories rather than present pitches, bringing a mix of personality and perspective that matched the audience’s appetite for honest, human conversation.
One of the earliest recordings even surprised Callie with her daughter as a guest before she left for college, offering listeners a glimpse into their host’s life and setting a heartfelt tone that carries through every conversation thereafter.
To keep that consistency as the show grows, each episode ties back to the brand values that we initially identified, asking questions about local life, personal stories, and the ways people care for their community. Callie stays in an active “learning alongside you” spirit, which keeps the content approachable. And every episode ends with a fun fact that “nobody knows,” a ritual that reinforces the podcast as a path to new insight.
A brand becomes resonant when it reflects both the people behind it and the people it’s for. When those worlds meet, the story feels honest and the audience feels seen. That alignment is where our work thrives—translating insight into creative systems that are cohesive, compelling, and unmistakably yours.If that’s the momentum you want behind your next move, we’re here to help you build it. Let’s talk.
