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 and social.

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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From fans to superfans | What’s missing from the games industry

Brandon Sutton

27 Jan 2026

Business Strategy Audience Insight Gaming

The games industry is experiencing a moment of turbulence. A growing list of high-profile, high-budget titles, such as Mindseye and New World , have failed to meet commercial expectations. Increasingly, even investments in the hundreds of millions are no longer enough to guarantee a successful title.

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Why audience ownership is the driving force behind creator IP expansions

Ben Woods

10 Dec 2025

Business Strategy Video Creators

Distribution is the tie that binds all creators together. Most successful creators use social media platforms as a springboard for turning their creative idea into a career. Social platforms have enabled creators to forge deep connections with audiences, while mastering the nuances of algorithmic di...

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ARC Raiders is disrupting the games industry: What developers can learn from its success

Brandon Sutton

27 Nov 2025

Business Strategy Social Gaming

ARC Raiders has quickly become one of 2025’s standout releases. Developed by Embark Studios, founded by former EA-owned studio DICE leaders, the game has quickly exceeded commercial and critical expectations for smaller developers.

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Why ignoring creator wellbeing is a financial risk for the creator economy

Ben Woods

20 Nov 2025

Audience Insight Video Creators

Each day, millions of hours of video content are uploaded onto social video platforms. The stream of creative output is so vast that it can be easy to forget that behind each one of these videos there is often a creator putting in a significant amount of work.

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Amazon winding down New World may signal the end of Western-developed MMORPGs

Brandon Sutton

13 Nov 2025

Business Strategy Amazon Gaming

Amazon’s announcement that it will wind down support for its flagship title, New World , raises major questions about the future of Western-developed Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) and about Amazon’s own role in the gaming industry (via Amazon Game Studios ).

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Why digital natives and data science are key to embracing the creator economy

Ben Woods

17 Oct 2025

Cultural trends Creators Creator economy

Social platforms and the creator economy have been re-writing the rules of audience engagement for some time now. Together, they have accelerated the fragmentation of entertainment and made niche the new mainstream.

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Saudi Arabia’s $55 billion EA acquisition: What it means for gaming and global investment

Brandon Sutton

16 Oct 2025

Video Entertainment Gaming

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will purchase Electronic Arts (EA), alongside private equity firms Silver Lake and Affinity Partners – a move which sent shockwaves through both the gaming and investment worlds (via Electronic Arts ).

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Forget catalogue; creators are the new valuable IP

Hanna Kahlert

16 Oct 2025

Business Strategy Streaming Fandom

The value of entertainment catalogue and content has shifted over the last decade. Licensing usage and distribution used to underpin the system, but challenges arose as digital consumption became the default.

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Gen Z social habits spell trouble for music discovery

Olivia Jones

23 Sep 2025

Fandom Business Strategy Music

Social media is king among Gen Z and may seem to act as a hotbed for viral hits. However, social media’s impact on music streams and fandom is not as strong as it appears. MIDiA’s new report All eyes, no ears | Why virality is not building fandom highlights where social media is lacking when it ...

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All eyes, no ears: New MIDiA data shows why virality is not building fandom

Tatiana Cirisano

16 Sep 2025

Business Strategy Fandom Music

Over the past five years, social video has crept its way into nearly every aspect of music, from talent scouting to new release marketing. But the buzz around these platforms often obscures a more complicated reality.

Cover image for All eyes, no ears: New MIDiA data shows why virality is not building fandom

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