The Best Brand Content Doesn't Feel Like Branded Content
When I have some down time I like to watch YouTube with my son, it helps me see and understand what younger generations are watching and consuming. Across the weeks, we have watched Mr Beast, Ryan Trahan and more. While we were watching, it dawned on me that these creators are doing exactly what the creators of the original soap operas were doing 80 years ago.
That was the moment I realised we were watching a 30-minute advert for a brand wrapped in a piece of really entertaining content.
The impact of this is two-pronged; not only will he be making money from the views but more importantly, and the real key thing is, his core audience is spending 30 minutes or more immersed in his content and the by-product of that is that they buy into his brand
What i found really interesting is that this formula is actually what brands like Procter & Gamble were doing 80 years ago when they created the first soap operas that aired during the daytime to sell soap to housewives. The same psychology is at play across 8 decades
This principle is what I apply when considering how to reach our fans and engage with them more than just a short viral clip of the latest summer anthem. The aim is to create content that gives deeper insight into what we create to help fans feel a deeper connection to the brand.
A great example of this was a series we shot telling DJs' journeys from the first time they discovered their love of music through to them playing some of the best clubs in the world. The goal was to inspire these would-be DJs who make up a key part of our audience, that these top-tier DJs now started off the same as them.
Most brands approach their content backwards. They start with what they want to say and try to shoehorn it into something entertaining rather than asking what their audience shows up hoping to find.
As a true fan of what you create, you can identify that naturally. Start there and build from it.
Culture & Signal is an ongoing exploration into how brands grow from inside communities, how ritual creates meaning, and why signal only lasts when participation stays real.