Why should a brand be more interesting than Netflix?

We live in an age where consumer attention has become the scarcest resource, and entertainment is the universal currency. According to research, modern people see over 5,000 advertisements every day. In such conditions, traditional advertising is often simply ignored: 61% of the audience skip or do not notice ads, but 56% have a more positive attitude toward brands that engage them through entertainment, such as games or entertaining content.

The MIM:AGENCY team analyzed the new challenges facing brands in the age of continuous entertainment, how they are becoming participants in cultural dialogue, what the entertainment-first strategy means in practice, what advantages and risks it carries for big business, and looked at examples of successful implementations, both global and Ukrainian.

The world is a show. What about brands?

Over the past decade, the media landscape has changed radically. First, the cost of traditional channels has skyrocketed (TV, for example, has become several times more expensive in 10 years), and many brands have shifted their focus to digital platforms. Second, the internet has leveled the playing field: there is only one rule on online platforms – creativity wins. YouTube, TikTok, and social media have provided a “democratic” platform where a good idea is more valuable than a big budget. As the CAIG report notes, a number of young brands have learned to quickly build brand strength through entertaining content, challenging the giants.

At the same time, audience expectations have changed. The public has grown tired of overly serious, “mission-driven” ads. “Brand purpose fatigue” has set in: a GfK study found that socially educational videos hold attention less well (only 65% of viewers) than regular creative ads (74%). In other words, good intentions are great, but if an ad doesn’t touch people’s interests and entertain them, it loses out to the competition. Brands had to shift their focus from abstract “saving the world” back to the interests of consumers in the here and now.

If the 2000s were marked by glamorous reality TV and the 2010s were the era of influencers, the 2020s have become the decade of authenticity. Users value imperfect, “human” content. We discussed this phenomenon in more detail in our article “Global changes in content consumption using the example of Latin America.”

Modern consumers are accustomed to a 24/7 stream of content on various devices. Young people can spend more time on TikTok in a day than on any other activity. This “democratization” of content has opened the door for brands: from Nike to Sephora, everyone has started investing in creating their media content (branded documentaries even got their category at the Sundance Film Festival).

In other words, brands that took the risk of becoming entertainment creators have been given a historic opportunity to truly stand out.

The brand as a participant in cultural dialogue, not an advertiser

To remain visible, brands have begun to act as media and cultural players. The CAIG report mentioned above calls these leaders Entertainment Brands – they blur the line between business and pop culture, literally settling in people’s minds and hearts. For them, advertising is not a separate block, but part of the general cultural noise. The brand speaks the language of memes, TV series, and music, becoming an equal voice in a dialogue that was previously only conducted by artists and the media.

A striking example is the educational platform Duolingo. Instead of the usual course advertisements, Duolingo has created an entire comedic character out of its logo – a green owl named Duo. On TikTok, this owl behaves like an influencer: it jokes about pop culture, reacts to trends and news in real time. For example, it sang Adele songs, “confessed” its love to singer Dua Lipa, and jokingly mourned Taylor Swift. In fact, the brand comments on current events on an equal footing with users, and does so with lightning speed. The audience appreciated this approach – videos with the hashtag DuolingoBird have garnered nearly 10 million views. This is an example of a brand participating in cultural dialogue: Duolingo doesn’t “shout” about its product, but entertains people by becoming part of their daily news feed.

Duolingo also attracted new users and increased interest in its brand when it publicly announced that Duo the owl had died because too few people were learning foreign languages.

Another way to engage with culture is through co-creation with communities and fans. Strong brands today are not afraid to give up some control to their audience, allowing them to play with the brand. For example, footwear manufacturer Crocs encourages fans to customize its famous clog model by adding their own Jibbitz charms, allowing consumers to create new meanings around the product themselves. The brand lives in the culture of its fans, and they repay it with loyalty. According to WARC experts, when a brand acts in a culturally relevant way, people not only start buying it but also become its advocates, work for it, and weave it into their own lives, meaning that the brand can even outgrow its category and become part of the culture.

The “Entertainment-first” strategy: what it is and how it works

In practical terms, the transition to an entertainment model means implementing an Entertainment-first strategy. Its essence is first to capture attention with quality content and then gently sell the product.

As Forbes notes, this is a shift from direct advertising to a format where the brand presents itself as a favorite TV series or show that people want to watch themselves. In other words, the brand becomes a media producer, creating films, series, video shows, games, podcasts – anything to captivate the audience. At the same time, the commercial message remains in the background, native, woven into the plot.

In the CAIG report, savvy brands are directly referred to as “entertainers” who have mastered a “mix of owned and earned media channels” – a combination of social media, viral PR, and media partnerships, rather than traditional purchased airtime. This is the very essence of “Entertainment Media” – when a brand gains reach because its content is interesting to people in and of itself. As a result, such companies can compete for a share of the voice even with giants, without having their advertising budgets. It is noteworthy that all successful “entertainers” adhere to a simple principle: “If you can’t buy media, create your own.”

For example, Liquid Death (a water producer) positions itself first and foremost as an entertainment brand, “and only then as a water brand.” Their marketing department works like writers on a comedy show, coming up with jokes and videos that could easily be featured on Saturday Night Live. Liquid Death’s VP of Marketing, Andy Pearson, puts it bluntly: “We imagine Liquid Death as a character in a TV series and ask ourselves, ‘What would this character do in this situation? This is Entertainment-first in action – every marketing campaign is conceived as an episode of entertainment content that continues the brand’s story.

In practice, implementing Entertainment-first requires several things.

1. First, mastery of new media: social networks, online video, virtual communities – that’s where brands are being built today. Marketers need to think like media editors: tracking news stories 24/7 and generating ideas that are “newsworthy.”
2. The second component is creativity, and more creativity. If you can’t flood the market with money, you have to flood it with ideas. All successful cases show that if you don’t have a budget, invest in creativity.
3. Third, strategic clarity. Although entertainment brands appear “fun and reckless” on the surface, none of them acts chaotically. On the contrary, they have a clearly defined target audience and cultural niche in which they want to resonate, and all entertainment is consistent with the brand’s DNA.

However, it is important to follow one rule: no successful entertainment project neglects strategy and brand codes. Otherwise, there is a risk that viewers will be entertained but will not remember who entertained them.

It is always worth remembering that there are both advantages and risks.

Advantages	Risks
Emotional loyalty	High production costs
Organic reach	Difficulty measuring effectiveness
Virality	Risk of losing brand identity
Adaptability to new formats	Not every product “sells through a show”

Which Ukrainian brands “entertain” users

Ukrainian businesses are also embracing the trend of entertainment marketing. One of the most successful examples is Monobank, Ukraine’s first mobile bank. Monobank has managed to build a real gamified ecosystem around its financial product, where users not only receive services but also enjoy interacting with the brand. In the Monobank app, customers are greeted by funny animations with cats and receive badges for various achievements (for example, for a certain number of card payments) – all of which make routine banking transactions almost like a game. “Monobank makes routine interesting and fun by adding achievement badges and cats.

This light tone is also set in communications: Monobank’s co-founders are active on social media, communicate with customers in a lively manner, joke, apologize for glitches, and comment on events in the country. They have essentially become media personalities, and any post they make is perceived by the audience as news from the brand.

Interestingly, despite its popularity, Monobank spends almost nothing on traditional advertising. In 2023, only 32% of Ukrainians said they had seen Monobank ads, but at the same time, 41% of those aged 18-55 were ready to name Monobank as their main bank, which is a huge indicator for a relatively young brand.

The phenomenon is that the brand is growing through its own media influence: every post by the CEO, every new feature of the app becomes a news hook that people discuss and pass on to each other. As noted by Kantar Ukraine, “Monobank, without traditional advertising campaigns, is demonstrating impressive growth in recognition, appeal, and loyalty” – consumers identify with this brand and spread the word themselves. This is a great example of how a Ukrainian brand has built its strength on entertainment and genuine dialogue with customers.

Conclusions

The era of constant entertainment dictates a new rule for business: either you capture the consumer’s attention through curiosity and emotion, or you lose them. Major brands around the world are already rethinking themselves as content creators and cultural participants, rather than simply sellers of goods. They invest in films, shows, social media performances, and collaborations with artists and fans – and it pays off in increased loyalty and sales.

Graph: average index values for all brands and competitors.

This path is also open to Ukrainian companies: we have creative teams, bright ideas, and consumers who are hungry for something more than boring advertising. It is important to remember that the “entertainment-first” strategy is not about a one-off campaign, but about a new marketing philosophy. It requires a delicate balance between creativity and strategic consistency, between boldness and authenticity. But those who manage to find their form of entertainment will discover unique opportunities. After all, today’s consumers are willing to give their time and attention to a brand that genuinely excites them. Therefore, in the battle for attention, it is not the loudest who wins, but the most interesting.

Sources:

1. CAIG, “SMALLWORLD: How Brands Win in the Entertainment Era” (2024).
2. WARC: “Why brands must think like entertainers now”
3. Forbes: “The Rise of Branded Entertainment: Content That Connects”
4. Deloitte Digital Media Trends Report 2024