As TV has progressed from ephemeral programming delivered via wires to on-demand catalogs in the ether, the bottleneck has moved from demand to supply. Distribution wars turned into content wars.

This opens the door for brands to become studios (another word for media company).

Imagine Sour Patch Kids is now the new Nickelodeon.

The beauty and benefit of that is, every asset you create can be exploited across everywhere and anywhere but you’re starting with the creation of the product first.

Think Amazon and Apple vs. Max and Paramount+. (& think about the differences in the first-party data these two groups can collect and use.)

The studio becomes a function of marketing, bankrolled by the core product business. Instead of being the primary revenue stream on its own.

Return of the 80s?

The gatekeepers are no longer suits and ties in boardrooms but time and recommendation algorithms. Your brand may not be the next 20th Century Fox but it can become a trusted curator and connector. Or a patron in the Medici mold.

via Future Forecast