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Blog: Engagement

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy, audio and social.

When the math stops mathing: Fandom signals in the agentic AI era

Tatiana Cirisano

15 Oct 2026

Fandom Streaming Consumer behaviour

Artists understand their audiences largely through their actions. Following, liking, subscribing, opening an email, buying merch, buying a ticket, waiting in line – each of these efforts creates attachment and signals a different level of commitment.

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From newsroom to newsfeed: Why news broadcasters and content creators should partner to reach young people

Hannah Walker

7 Oct 2026

Business Strategy Fandom Social media

As the attention economy fractures traditional media consumption habits, Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs) risk losing reach among young viewers. According to Ofcom , three-quarters of 16–24-year-olds report that they get their news from social media platforms.

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Audiences are craving connection – could livestreaming be the answer?

Hannah Walker

30 Sep 2026

Marketing Strategy YouTube TikTok

This year has shown a clear audience appetite for live, shared viewing experiences. The finale of the UK’s The Traitors attracted a live audience of 9.4 million viewers in January. An international audience flooded to watch sporting events like the Super Bowl and World Cup, with both events genera...

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Threads versus X: Algorithmic USP and the benefits of a cross-platform offering

Hanna Kahlert

22 Sep 2026

Business Strategy Social media Creators

In a September interview with Sources , Mark Zuckerberg dropped the finding that Threads is as big – or at least closing in on – X, the platform it was designed to compete with. The platforms’ respective monthly active user reported numbers are 550 million for X, as of May 2026, and 500 millio...

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Disney+ partners with TikTok: Can streaming stay relevant in the short-form era?

Hanna Kahlert

12 Aug 2026

Business Strategy TikTok Social media

In a shift from its traditionally close-fisted stance to IP, Disney has announced a partnership program with TikTok that will bring creator-made, short-form content to Disney+. This comes on the heels of Disney+’s Verts feed in March 2026 and an agreement earlier in the year to license over 200 ch...

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Beyond the briefing room: What Andy Burnham's How to Fail booking tells platforms about podcast fragmentation

Laura Fisher

11 Aug 2026

Clients only

Marketing Strategy Podcasts Engagement

UK podcast listening is remarkably fragmented by taste: sport, comedy, true crime, news – and that fragmentation is precisely the opportunity. There isn't just one podcast audience to court ; there are several, each with its own tone, trust dynamics, and level of political engagement.

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The biggest album launches happen off streaming – here’s how it can win them back

Olivia Jones

15 Jul 2026

Marketing Strategy Spotify TikTok

Album marketing rollouts are moving to centre stage as a growing number of artists and labels incorporate interactive experiences into their digital album promotions. For example, with Olivia Rodrigo’s recent release you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love , TikTok launched an in-app experience ...

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Social versus sponsorship: brand building in 2026

Hanna Kahlert

17 Jun 2026

Marketing Strategy Fandom Social media

Social media is the go-to form of marketing in the digital age, resulting in a predicted combined $737.1 billion in annual revenue by 2031 per MIDiA’s forecast . It’s not hard to see why: social offers quick returns and easy measurement, including reach, time spent, click-through rates, and purc...

Vertical TV is more than streaming’s TikTok moment

Ben Woods

10 Jun 2026

Product Strategy TikTok Streaming

Streaming TV services are entering a new phase of smartphone competition. For years, their strategic focus has been on content depth: exclusive shows, premium originals, and sports rights. Yet on mobile, the battle for engagement is increasingly shaped by experience as much as content.

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The renewed value of maximalism in the era of AI

Laura Fisher

3 Jun 2026

Product Strategy Creators Entertainment

The infrastructure of entertainment consumption has never felt more feudalistic. Distribution, discovery, and monetisation increasingly operate through a small number of platforms that shape how audiences find, consume, and pay for content.

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Clipping campaigns: marketing’s next move in a fragmented attention economy

Hanna Kahlert

27 May 2026

Social media Social Content

In early May 2026, New York Magazine and The Verge published articles outing the secret sauce of marketing in the social video era: clipping campaigns. In summary, thousands of accounts across social media are mobilised – through formal companies like Floodify or through informal networks on Disco...

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The attention trap: Why social engagement does not always create fandom

Ben Woods

27 May 2026

Fandom Social Engagement

Social video platforms are often portrayed as the home of modern entertainment fandom. There is no question that YouTube and TikTok have enabled audiences to deepen their relationships with entertainment IP compared to the pre-digital era.

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Instagram Instants hint at Meta’s changing aspirations

Hanna Kahlert

19 May 2026

Business Strategy Instagram Social media

As of May 13, Meta has announced the rollout of Instants: a new feature for Instagram that doubles as its own app. Instants are quick snapshots that can only be viewed by followers once and disappear after 24 hours.

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Multi-dimensionality in music isn’t new – but it’s overdue for a comeback

Olivia Jones

23 Apr 2026

Business Strategy Spotify Streaming

Multi-dimensionality in music – that is, engaging in ways beyond simply listening to a song – has existed for decades. In the vinyl era, fans could read liner notes and look at album artwork while listening.

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Social media doesn’t feel social anymore – so where does online community go from here?

Laura Fisher

21 Apr 2026

Cultural trends Social media Podcasts

A curious divergence is emerging in the UK's media habits. Earlier this month, Ofcom published its latest report on adults' media use, and one finding stands out. Social media usage remains high, with 89% of UK adults using at least one platform daily.

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How the creator economy is changing traditional entertainment's discovery, distribution, and supply

Ben Woods

15 Apr 2026

Business Strategy Streaming Creators

The creator economy used to be an adjacent entertainment ecosystem to traditional entertainment. Those days are numbered – if not over already. Creators are now a foundational component in how traditional entertainment produces and distributes content at scale.

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Beyond the song: Why artists need transmedia storytelling

Olivia Jones

2 Apr 2026

Fandom Marketing Strategy Streaming

In today’s fragmented marketing world, artists have to promote more than just their music – they have to build dedicated fandom. To achieve this, more artists are implementing transmedia elements – that is, adapting a brand story across multiple platforms – into their marketing strategies.

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The dos and don’ts of community: What digital entertainment can learn from the live sector

Hanna Kahlert

18 Mar 2026

Cultural trends Social media Content

Social media has fundamentally changed – and the consequences matter whether you’re a consumer, a content creator, a regulator, or a marketer. Here’s why: 1. Social platforms are now passive entertainment Content creation remains a niche activity, and simply posting for friends has become less...

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Attention versus fandom: Why entertainment needs a new framework for understanding engagement

Ben Woods

11 Mar 2026

Fandom Creators Video

The attention economy has become the de facto framework for measuring loyalty in the entertainment industry. However, not all attention is equal. While an hour spent scrolling videos on TikTok may compete with an hour spent playing a £70 video game, the depth, value and quality of that engagement a...

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From destination to departure point: Legacy IP as a gateway

Laura Fisher

24 Feb 2026

Marketing Strategy Engagement Entertainment

Whether it be the 1940 film, the 1995 television series, the 2005 film, or the recently announced 2026 Netflix series – each generation has its own Mr. Darcy. While this pattern endures, the relationship between intellectual property and audience attitudes is changing.

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