Transforming Brands Into Binge-Worthy Experiences
Brands shouldn’t be seen. They should be watched.
Imagine your brand as a network like ESPN or Bravo—always on, constantly delivering fresh, engaging content that audiences can't resist. In today's media landscape, where the average consumer sees up to 10,000 ads per day, a marketing strategy that resembles a juicy series where audiences keep coming back for more is your brand's future. This is precisely what consumers and social media algorithms crave—entertainment and consistency.
A Watchable Brand® transcends existence as products or services—a cultural phenomenon, programmed like a network that keeps audiences hooked while fostering long-lasting emotional connections. Have we forgotten that the emotional impact of a story activates brain regions associated with feelings, reinforcing connections between the consumer and the brand? After all, emotional narratives increase the likelihood of purchasing decisions and foster brand loyalty.
Take Duolingo as a prime example. What began as a simple language-learning app has transformed into a cultural sensation beloved by both users and non-users. By sending their quirky mascot, Duo, to a Charli XCX concert, they created a memorable brand moment that captured attention and generated more than 20 million impressions. This clever programming isn't just a campaign—it's a brand journey, illustrating the magic of a Watchable Brand®.
Brand Programming: Sympathy for the CMO
For Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), the pressure to consistently launch and engage audiences and the post-campaign hangovers that accompany it can be overwhelming. The constant content churn often leads to noise rather than meaningful connections. A staggering 70% of digital content goes unnoticed.
What stands out in this crowded landscape? Brands that embrace a serialized, episodic approach, including newsjacking and breaking news, that connect to culture. This is what we call brand programming.
Want more engagement? Transform your mission, value propositions, and culture into narratives and intellectual property, not marketing copy and campaigns, that capture and retain audience attention.
Consider the University of Phoenix, a client that successfully utilized a brand programming strategy to increase enrollment by 23% in under six months. By creating 12 content series based on audience needs, we acquired new audiences and kept them coming back for more. Each piece of content, including the video series "No Quitter’s Club" featuring former NFL pro Larry Fitzgerald and the blog series "Sunday Scaries" addressing student anxieties, is built upon a brand experience or customer journey, enhancing audience loyalty and interest.
Similarly, Travis Scott's Record label, Cactus Jack, exemplifies how storytelling and community engagement can create a cultural phenomenon. By merging music, fashion, and lifestyle, Cactus Jack builds immersive experiences that resonate with its audience. The brands’ collaboration with acclaimed filmmaker Robert Rodriguez on the Jumpman Jack Jordan launch is a prime example. The collaboration featured a unique launch that included a film aesthetic, complete with a movie poster. This creative approach helped elevate the sneaker's release by blending art, fashion, and music, which aligns with Travis Scott's brand identity and cultural influence.
The Multidimensional Storytelling Approach
Today's binge-worthy brands understand that every story has multiple dimensions. Social media, advertising, and live events should not exist in separate silos; they must work together to create a unified narrative that reflects your voice and values–teasing out your best intellectual property across platforms where each experience becomes part of a larger story.
For Marriott’s "LoveTravels" campaign, leveraging influencers, celebrities, events, and real-life stories allowed Marriott to craft an inclusive cultural narrative that resonated with travelers, fostering emotional connections and increasing revenue 13x year over year. What started as an online video series transformed into Pride events and has become their global corporate DEI pillar. The power of episodic storytelling creates conversation and conversion.
Community engagement is crucial in this narrative-driven approach. Brands that actively engage with their communities can significantly improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. Consumers want brands to connect with them on social media, underscoring the importance of maintaining an ongoing dialogue with your audience.
Engaging daily with your community is as important as creating content with consistency. “Community is in the comments,” Kim Wu from TikTok shared during a panel at Cannes in 2022 where one of her comments garnered 100,000 likes.
Leading Culture, Not Following It
The most compelling brands don't merely follow trends—they set them. They create original content that sparks conversations, shifts narratives, and influences cultural movements. These brands draw people in by leading with culture and storytelling.
Case in point? Alexis Bittar's "The Bittarverse." By building a narrative world around their chic Upper East Side Bittar-wearing character, Margaux, they’ve made their brand feel more like a soap opera than a jewelry company. This cultural storytelling has resulted in something truly binge-worthy, with audiences begging for more. By integrating Margaux’s story into product launches, they've connected their brand values, culture, and products into a compelling series.
The Future of Brands as Entertainment Networks
Think of your brand as a series where each piece of content is an episode, and every campaign is a season, building anticipation and engagement. Each day reveals something new, immersing your audience deeper into your brand story and making them feel part of a larger experience.
Brands seeking relevance today need more than one-off campaigns—they need a story that unfolds across platforms, with every piece of content contributing to a larger narrative. This is what makes a Watchable Brand®. In a world where audiences crave entertaining content and social media algorithms reward consistent engagement, the question remains: Is your brand watchable?
Want to know the top 5 criteria for Watchable Brands? Read it here.
Bibliography
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2. Content Marketing Institute. (2023). 2023 Content Marketing Trends. Retrieved from Content Marketing Institute
3. Far From Timid. (2024). University of Phoenix Brand Programming Case Study.
4. Hootsuite. (2023). Social Media Trends 2023. Retrieved from Hootsuite
5. HubSpot. (2023). The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Statistics. Retrieved from HubSpot
6. McKinsey. (2022). The New Consumer Journey: Creating Emotional Connections. Retrieved from McKinsey
7. Nielsen. (2022). The Power of Storytelling in Advertising. Retrieved from Nielsen
