The Breakdown
Trend · Brands are becoming entertainment studios
Why brands are turning into TV studios and record labels
In one week: KFC launched a game show, e.l.f. released an album, and Cakes set up its own media company. Here's what's driving the shift from ads to entertainment.
The TL;DR (too long; didn't read)
- Attention is harder to buy, so brands are making things people choose.
- Owned formats build a relationship; ads rent a moment.
- The risk is making content nobody asked for.
01
The attention squeeze
People skip, scroll and block ads. Entertainment is the thing they seek out. Brands want to be on the ‘chosen’ side of that line.
02
What makes it work
A real audience need (fun, music, stories), consistency over time, and distribution: clips, creators, partners. KFC's superfans, e.l.f.'s artists and Cakes' founders all bring built-in reasons to watch.
03
The trap
‘Brand content’ that's really an ad in disguise. If you wouldn't watch it without the logo, neither will anyone else.
Read the original reporting
- KFC Superfans Prove Their Devotion to Chicken in 30-Minute Game Show ↗
Adweek · 30 Sept 2026
- E.l.f. jams to second music album under entertainment marketing arm ↗
Marketing Dive · 28 Sept 2026
- Beauty brand Cakes wants to turn its TikTok virality into an owned media strategy ↗
Digiday · 30 Sept 2026
The theory bit
The academic ideas that explain what's going on, with the full reference for your assignments.
Uses & gratifications
Audiences actively choose media to satisfy needs: entertainment, information, identity, social connection. Media that meets a real need earns attention rather than interrupting.
Here: Brand entertainment works only when it satisfies a real audience need.
Katz, E., Blumler, J. G. & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and Gratifications Research. Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4).
The long and the short of it
Short-term activation (offers, direct response) drives quick sales spikes; long-term brand building (broad-reach, emotional work) drives lasting growth. Their IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) analysis suggests roughly a 60:40 brand-to-activation budget split as a starting point.
Here: These are long-term brand-building bets and should be judged over months, not days.
Binet, L. & Field, P. (2013). The Long and the Short of It. IPA.
Over to you
No right answers here. These are to get you thinking. Jot your ideas down or chat them through.
- 1
Name brand content you've watched on purpose. Why?
Need a nudge?
What need did it meet?
- 2
When does brand entertainment feel ‘cringe’?
Need a nudge?
Forced, salesy, out of character.
- 3
Who should own the budget, the brand team or the media team?
Need a nudge?
It's both an ad and a product.
Optional · about 10 minutes
Your mini task
In 60–120 words: pick a brand that doesn't make entertainment yet. Suggest one format, the audience need it meets, and one reason it's more than an ad in disguise.