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In a recent podcast, Northwood Retail president Ward Kampf observed that 2021 was a transition year to a full recovery in 2022 and that developers like himself “need to be thoughtful about getting our retail partners to the other side.”

Not surprising, then, that Kampf, who noted that 80 million Americans listen to podcasts each week, invited Northwood tenants to tell consumers their stories in a series of five-minute podcasts that consumers can scan onto their phone while shopping in the

“Podcasts are rapidly growing in popularity and the stories we are sharing not only increase awareness but are also powerful and relevant,” said Kampf. “For us, these Backstory Beginnings podcast set a new industry standard at high-level assets, representing the latest intersection of technology and real estate.”

When Kampf left Glimcher Realty Trust to join Northwood in 2014, he set out to stock Northwood’s 3-million-sq.-ft. portfolio with tenants tuned to the needs and desires local customer bases. As a result, Northwood centers contain 71 first-to-market tenants and 28 digitally native brands, many of which are featured in Backstory Beginnings. Able to tell their stories in the series are upstart brands such as Brilliant Earth, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Palmer’s Hot Chicken, Tecovas, and Mizzen + Main.

Faherty co-founder Kathy Docherty used her five minutes to tell listeners that positivity is the founding value of her company.

“In 2013, my husband, his twin brother, their mother, and I all quit our jobs to start our Faherty clothing brand,” Docherty said. “This idea of finding joy and comfort is something we think about every day. We want to show up in the world in ways that make us feel proud and part of that is through our sustainability efforts.”

Northwood also figures that the podcast series might be able to turn up new tenants for its properties. Backstory Beginnings podcasts encourage listeners to enter a contest for a $1,000 prize by spelling out their own entrepreneurial yearnings.