It has never been so difficult for brands to grow.
This is partly due to the typical causes – ad and algorithm saturation, increasing ad avoidance and endless consumer choice – but there is another critical problem: advertising is still stuck in its outdated structures. The industry is too myopically focused on moments and campaigns, both of which are short-term and fleeting. Marketing and media must modernize to achieve lasting growth.
Instead of spreading messages, we need to engage people. Instead of disrupting, we need to attract attention. Instead of creating campaigns, we need to create worlds.
World-building is at the heart of community, culture and commerce—a convergence that produces ideas that capture attention. When done right, brands can integrate different facets of marketing and media into a sprawling, evergreen ecosystem that functions stronger together.
Take Barbie as an example. Not only did the film hit the box office last year, Mattel also expanded its presence with over 100 licensing deals. Or HBO’s The Last of Uswhich started as a video game and became a successful show, part of a much larger ecosystem that fuels the fanbase with Easter eggs, podcasts and experiences.
One of the most powerful elements is when worlds collide. Ryan Reynolds does this masterfully by linking his various businesses together. Wrexham shirts and training kits are prime real estate for Aviation Gin and Betty Buzz; Wrexham players promote products such as Paul Mullin and Mint Mobile; Deadpool and Wolverine brings two Marvel universes together.
Developed for the community
World-building isn’t just about Hollywood. It’s created by, for, and of communities with shared values, aesthetics, inside jokes, and culture. Only real Swifties know what Swiftball is. There’s a difference between a hypebeast and a sneakerhead.
As brands invest more in social networks, world-building can fuel these communities. You can think of these social circles as groups of interconnected influencers. Why buy one or a handful of influencers who are similar in content (ie. all love fashion or sports) when there are creators who are connected by real connection and friendship and are not built for the algorithm?
Brands like to be at the forefront of culture, but miss the opportunity to nurture micro-communities and subcultures that simmer beneath the surface of popularity. This approach has its advantages because as a community grows, so does the brand. If a community stays small, the brand retains a loyal audience.
The death of monoculture
Monoculture is dead.
game of Thrones has been called the last great piece of TV monoculture. 91 percent of Generation Z believe there is no more mainstream pop culture. And the head of Meta in South Korea said the trend for 2023 is that there will be no more trends.
Moments are fast-moving. Culture moves at breakneck speed, and marketers often struggle to keep up. Moments are also fleeting. Once a moment happens, it’s rarely revisited. And moments are expensive. Any brand, regardless of its budget, can chase a moment.
Anyone who deals with moment-based marketing knows the difficulty. And as a result, high demand and limited inventory become a goldmine for platforms and publishers as brands fight to break through.
Yet even as brands modernize, they must remain true to their core. Marketers must consider their brand’s origin story – the rich heritage, values and DNA that define it – to unlock a set of behaviors that can add value in different worlds.
To start creating worlds:
- Open the aperture: Create a balanced audience portfolio. A broad audience is the benchmark, but there should also be smaller, valuable communities in your world.
- Use signals: Worlds are full of signals and rich in culture. Social mining and data are the backbone of always-on capabilities and responsiveness.
- Involve buyers from the start: Integrate commerce from the start to create shoppable experiences, collaborations and content that convert.
- Design for networking: Worlds are evergreen, endless and have no dead ends. Every touchpoint is an opportunity for another unique engagement.
Passion points can’t be turned off like a light switch, and your marketing should too. World-building can create powerful strategies that modernize marketing for a social age, give communities and fanbases more of what they love, and usher in a new era of growth.
Janet Levine, global head of inventions at Mindshare.
