The Dirt
This month’s dig starts here
It may be time to start thinking of Netflix as your competition.
Because you’re all fighting for the same thing: time, attention, and choice.
People don’t want to be marketed to anymore. They choose what they engage with and skip the rest. Audiences are getting more niche. More driven by their interest and more selective about what earns their time.
So brands are shifting. It’s not about reaching everyone or even borrowing someone else’s audience. It’s about building your own.
You can see it happening. Brands are hiring Chief Content Officers and launching studios. This isn’t a content marketing glow-up; this is something new. It’s a role change for brands.
Because we are heading into a world where your brand isn’t a brand anymore. It’s a studio.
The Dig
Let’s tunnel in
So why are brands doing this at all? If attention is the goal, wouldn’t it be easier to just partner with an influencer who already has it? Or buy impressions through paid ads? That has been the playbook for years.
In a lot of cases, yes. And that’s exactly why influencer marketing exploded. But there’s a limit to borrowed attention, and audiences are starting to see through those partnerships for what they are: a paid endorsement.
When you rely entirely on someone else’s audience, you’re renting access, not building anything of your own. The moment the partnership ends, so does the connection. The audience belongs to them, not you.
And more importantly, you don’t control the experience.
That’s the shift. Brands aren’t just trying to show up in culture anymore. They’re trying to create their own corner of it. You can see it in how they’re investing.
Optimization Without Explanation Feels Manipulative
When personalization works without context, it can feel magical. When it misfires—or feels manipulative—it feels invasive. Sometimes the difference isn’t the algorithm.
It’s the explanation.
Spotify’s Daylist works not just because it’s personalized, but also because it shows its logic. It invites curiosity instead of hiding the machinery. TikTok’s transparency tools don’t weaken the feed. They reinforce user confidence in it through openness.
Respect isn’t about reducing AI. It’s about revealing where it is and how it is working.
For a brand, that can be surprisingly simple: a clear note when AI-assisted creative is used or a visible explanation of why a recommendation appeared using transparent language about how data informs personalization.
These are small signals, but they can make a big impact.
Over-optimization without transparency may feel like efficiency internally, but it can feel like manipulation externally.
Adobe isn’t just sponsoring creators or running ads; they are also producing a scripted comedy series anchored by a well-known comedian. They are creating characters and a property people can follow.
Gucci recently launched an AI-powered interactive murder mystery experience that is built into their site.
LEGO has spent years creating entire story worlds (think Ninjago and Dreamz) that have led with shows and movies while launching products and nurturing fans from childhood into adulthood.
And when a company like Salesforce launches a streaming platform, it’s clear that this isn’t about reach: it’s about ownership and developing new ways to build and retain an audience.
And there’s something else happening here. These aren’t just content plays. They’re asset plays.
When a brand creates a series, a format, or a world, it’s not just filling a feed—it’s building something it can own, expand, and return to. Something that compounds over time instead of disappearing when the campaign ends. That’s transferable brand value.
▶︎ The goal isn’t just to be seen. It’s to be chosen and then chosen again.
Because attention today isn’t a one-time transaction. It’s a relationship. And the brands that win don’t just build relationships; they also build fandom. And fandom doesn’t come from cameos. It comes from showing up, over and over again.
And here’s what it means for you.
You don’t need to stop working with influencers. But you can’t rely on them to build your brand for you. At some point, you need something that’s yours.
A format. A voice. A perspective. Something people will come to recognize as authentically yours.
The brands that win here will not only grab attention, they’ll refresh existing expectations, establish new audience relationships, and give them unique reasons to come back.
The Shiny Stuff We Found
Attention isn’t a one-time hit. It’s a habit.
Campaigns spike. Consistency sticks. The goal isn’t to go viral—it’s to be worth coming back to.
The most valuable content doesn’t feel like marketing.
If it feels like an ad, it gets skipped. If it feels like something, it gets watched.
You don’t need a studio. You need a point of view.
Formats, series, consistency—all of that matters. But it only works if there’s a clear reason people care in the first place.
If you don’t build your own audience, then you’re renting someone else’s.
Influencers can give you reach. But they can’t give you ownership. At some point, you need something that’s yours.
The best content doesn’t just market your business. It becomes part of it.
Formats, series, and ideas that people return to don’t just drive awareness—they build long-term value you can reuse, expand, and grow over time.
Relationships get attention. Fandom keeps it.
Think about all the channels available to you now: podcasts, short-form video, newsletters, communities. Think about all the new ways to create with the tools at your fingertips.
Now is the time. But start small. Pick one thing. A podcast. A Substack. A short-form series. Make it something worth coming back to and then show up with it consistently.
That’s how you start building something people don’t just see but choose.
Till next time, stay scrappy and we’ll keep digging.
Team Baby Badger
