Audiences are changing the ways they interact with entertainment, as well as how they respond to advertising and marketing designed to promote it. Audiences are increasingly creative and engage in lean-through behaviours, are less tolerant of ads, and want more authenticity in their digital social lives. Traditional marketing methods are struggling in this environment, however, campaigns that tap into creative behaviours and encourage audiences to participate can create cultural movements around the entertainment they are promoting. This turns an audience member into a cultural participant and part of the campaign itself. It also powerfully taps into the ‘fear of missing out’ of those who have not yet engaged with the entertainment being promoted.

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Advertising Standards Authority, Aldi, Billboard, Don’t Worry Darling, Facebook, Facebook Video, Instagram, Kim Petras, Love Island, M&S, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Rotten Tomatoes, Sam Smith, Snapchat, Spotify, Stranger Things, Taylor Swift, Ticket to Paradise, TikTok, Twitter, Yeat, YouTube, Zebr