Content drivers for global brands: new innovative paths for your branded content strategy

%
of brands have a standalone budget
for content marketing
_

The need for authenticity & agility
INTRODUCTION
3
/ The pace at which our world evolves is getting
faster and faster. The pandemic keeps speeding
up the processes of digital transformation.
NFTs, algorithms, Bitcoins, Artificial Intelligence…
Diversity, Inclusion, Gender Fluidity…
Climate change, Circular Economy…
Live social shopping, Metaverse, XR*…
/ This means we need authenticity
and agility to remain our true selves
while empowering our businesses
and our planet both.
* Extended Reality

The pandemic kept further connecting the world
INTRODUCTION
4
It caused an increase of 61% in social media usership
>3 hours / day
Most Latin American countries, Asia-Pacific, Egypt, South Africa and Turkey
< 2 hours / day
Most European countries
40% of French citizens created a social media account
during the pandemic.
Internet use was multiplied by 1,6 in Japan
between 2019 and 2021.

Social Media became a psychological support system
INTRODUCTION
5
Social media became a real
support system and their
number 1 entertainment
touchpoint.
Studies show gen Z was more
psychologically impacted than
others during the pandemic.

Wi-Fi versus lockdown
INTRODUCTION
6
Millennials and Gen Z enjoy playing sports more than
watching sports games, unlike their elders.
If life gives them a pandemic, they make lemonade…
By using their digital tools: “43% of Gen Z who exercise do so from
home, with 65% using fitness apps”.

2021: We keep getting « smarter »
INTRODUCTION
7
In many countries, digital video has overtaken broadcast TV. 75% of internet users watched subscription video
on demand during the last month (including Argentina, China, India, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and South
Africa, as well as the UK and the US).
In USA, 1 out of 4 households is now equipped with a vocal assistant device.
According to the Global
Media Report, there is a
global trend in smart
equipment purchases
such as smart televisions,
watches and home
devices.

AGENDA
01/ Key values of a new era:
diversity, authenticity and inclusion
02 / News Influenceurs
03 / Trending Platforms
04/ Trending Content Formats
05/ Trending Engagement Amplifiers
06/ Awarded Content Content Case Studies
07/ Ecosystems Case Studies
We explored and analyzed the newest trends

Diversity
Authenticity
Inclusion
The universal values of a globalized world.

01/ KEY VALUES OF A NEW
ERA: DIVERSITY,
AUTHENTICITY AND
INCLUSION
And how brands embody these values through content

Diversity and inclusion were key values and topics in 2021
01/ DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
11
According to the Deloitte 2021 Global Millennial and Gen Z
Survey:
/ “Millennials and Gen Zs aren’t just resilient— they’re
channeling their energies into holding themselves and
others accountable. They’re the people most likely to call
out racism and sexism, and to shun companies and
employers whose actions conflict with their personal values.
/ Millennials and Gen Z are actively seeking to influence
policy and business actions on matters that are important to
them, including environmental issues, inequality, and
discrimination”

Beyond culture and race Diversity and inclusion mean culture, skin color, gender,
body shapes, neurodiversity, disability…

A generation more open to hearing diverse voices
13
/ 63% of American Gen Z believes they have
more freedom to be their authentic selves than
previous generations.
/ On average, 60% of Millennials and Gen Z agree
that “as a culture we’re more open to hearing
diverse voices than ever before”.

Time to “free” healthy masculinity
14
Man Enough: Book published in 2021 in USA, in which
Justin Baldoni redefines masculinity.
Entre Mecs: A French podcast in which young men discuss
masculinity.
HeForShe: An alliance of men supporting gender equality
/ For the past 5 years, feminism, gender, sexuality have
more and more been freely discussed, documented and
redefined* by women and LGBTQ+ leaders.
/ It is now men’s turns to question their limiting
behavioral and mental conditioning and to allow their
vulnerabilities and emotions to be expressed.
.
*Femininity, gender non binarity, transgender redefined by three influent authors.

LET’S HAVE A LOOK
at how brands embody these leading global values
into their expressions and content strategies.

Movie-like documentaries filmed with hosts.
When the community…
becomes the brand
Damon Lawrence is an Airbnb host. He
works hand in hand with New Orleans’
communities to design experiences that
include black owned businesses and reflect
the authentic local culture.
Through these videos, the company allows
its community to “become the brand”, by
giving voice to their aspirations. Experiences
are thus shaped by the hands of different
hosts, different cultures. At Airbnb, the
community influences both service design
and content.

But brands must avoid
« wokeism* »
Victoria’s Secret was long known for one-
size-only models.
When such a brand orchestrates a fashion
show including diverse body types after
being attacked for not being inclusive
enough, the action doesn’t feel authentic
and is often harshly criticized.
Brands cannot simply apply best practices
overnight and expect their content to be
accepted. Content engagement is a
relationship. Trust and legitimacy require
time and tangible proofs to build up.
*Brands surfing the trend of « being woke », engaged with diversity for marketing purposes only, without a legitimate reason to engage.
“When the world was changing, we were too
slow to respond,” said Martin Waters, the
former head of Victoria’s Secret’s
international business

Because legitimacy is
not an option
On the other hand, when an unapologetic
disrupter such as Rhianna creates a fashion
show with Fenty for her lingerie brand,
Savage, all genders, personality types and
body sizes are represented in alignment
with the artist’s already proven boldness.
The show is only available on Amazon Prime.
This positions the branded content as a high-
quality piece of entertainment and culture.

A brand can be an ally and help
sensitize its audiences
⁄ Insight: When you are invited
for the first time to meet your
loved one’s family, it is always
quite stressful. Even more so, if
you are an LGBT+ couple, as
you don’t know how well all
members of “the tribe” will
accept you.
⁄ Creative Idea: How better to
show acceptance than
anticipating the new boyfriend’s
arrival and buying a gift tailored
for him?
⁄ Brand Identity &
legitimacy: Etsy is a
marketplace where most
sellers love to create
personalized gifts. This
message totally fits the
brands’ well-known image
and position.
Etsy is an online e-commerce platform for handmade gifts and
objects.

A brand can be an ally and help
sensitize its audiences
⁄ Brand Identity: At Starbucks, each client gets to choose which
name they want written on their coffee cup.
⁄ Insight: People who are transitioning through their gender
identity may experience discomfort with their “birth name”. They
may choose to legally change it, but until the process is
completed, many institutions keep calling them by their former
name. Even after the change has occurred, their friends and
family have a hard time adjusting to the new name and keep
calling them by the former, inappropriate name. This experience
is hard and hurtful.
⁄ Creative idea: “At Starbucks, we ask you how you want to be
called.” This movie shows the wrong behavior of the rest of the
society and positions Starbucks as showing “the right” habit to
develop.

But who does this generation trust?
Who are the new influencers?

02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
And why they are inspiring

Micro-influencers: our beloved authentic anti-heroes*
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
23
/ In the era of diversity and inclusion, not
being cool becomes cool (or being
normcore*), vulnerability a strength and
failures experiences to be proud of.
/ New influencers are unapologetically
themselves: sometimes minimal, sometimes
maximal in their self-expressions. They are
fun, creative and often bravely transparent.
* “An antihero or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional
heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality.”
Micro-influencers on Instagram
boast an average engagement
rate of 3.86%. This declines for
every level of influencer before
hitting 1.21% for mega-
influencers.

« Be average and unafraid today »
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
24
The hashtags cherished
by a Gen Z:
#Basic
#Average
#Celebrate

Relatable and inspiring
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
25
A few things you can read about TikTok’s
number one influencer in the media:
⁄ “Charli is simultaneously a completely
ordinary teenager and a complete anomaly.”
⁄ “Charli D’Amelio is TikTok’s biggest star. She
has no idea why.”
⁄ “As with most TikTok stars, Charli creates all
kinds of videos, but dancing is her specialty.
Goofy dances. Choreographed dances. Solo
dances. Group dances. Trending dances.
Original dances. She mostly films them in
ordinary spaces like her bedroom. Her dad
makes sure she makes the bed first.”
Being both ordinary and extraordinary: the
secret to Gen Z’s heart.
Link

They are worldwide digital creators
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
26
Born in 2000, Khaby is a
Senegalese TikTok
Influencer who lives in
Italy. He is famous for
mocking unnecessarily
complicated hack videos.
His strengths:
⁄ Authenticity
⁄ Humor
⁄ Mixing high quality
animations with
exaggeratedly simple
takes
In most of his videos,
Khaby is reacting to
content that make him
laugh. Watching his
content is like watching
a friend having fun,
only this generation
does so with worldwide
digital co-creators,
bouncing on each
others ideas and
concepts.

Co-creators… « from another mother »*
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
27
75% of brands who have content marketing budget intend to
dedicate a budget to influencer marketing.
⁄ 67% of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing.
⁄ 45% of survey respondents indicated they're using TikTok for
influencer marketing.
⁄ Like TikTok, Twitch also broke out of the “Other” category this year
with 8% of brands reporting a penchant for influencer marketing on
the platform.
⁄ Facebook use has decreased by 3% to 43%.
⁄ YouTube stayed steady at 36%.
⁄ Twitter use dropped by 7% to 15% this year, and LinkedIn stayed the
same at 16%.
*Adaptation of the expression « brother from another mother », expressing proximity.

Bold, beautiful and loving
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
28
Bretman is another influencer who we saw
growing up and developing his personality
before our eyes.
His gender fluid identity and style, his
unapologetic self love, limitless creativity
with clothes and make up, his sweet
“quality times” with his niece, made
followers fall in love.
His sense of fashion and photography are
maturing through time, which gives the
followers the sense of being a part of his
story, witnesses but also supporters of his
growth.

Their own studios and partners
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
29
Vik is a Hungarian TikTok celebrity
dancer.
He makes new videos every day and
cocreates with other talented dancers to
cross-pollinate their followership.
The quality and sceneries of the videos
keep improving as these young talents
turn into micro-studios.

Well accomplished slashers with balanced lives
02/ NEW INFLUENCERS
30
Actress, producer, entrepreneur…
Fitness instructor, body-builder,
entrepreneur…
Millennials tend to be inspired by those
who prove that one can live multiple lives all
at once and keep it in balance, keep smiling,
living their dreams… and making money.

Where are today’s
communities gathering?

03/ TRENDING PLATFORMS
And how brands integrate them into their content strategies

Interactive live streaming platform
03/ PLATFORMS & TOOLS • TWITCH
34
⁄ Purpose :
A live streaming platform where you can watch anything from cooking to music, Q&A
sessions, but first and foremost people playing and commenting video games.
⁄ Origins:
Launched in Beijing China in 2016 under the name Douyin. It was renamed TikTok for
global launch in 2017.
⁄ Primary user target:
65% of Twitch users are men and 73% are below the age of 35.
⁄ Usership:
140M monthly visitors in 2021.
⁄ What’s new ?
During the pandemic Twitch was able to turn live streaming into a great alternative for
real life branded events. From community activations to live shopping Twitch became a
trendsetter.
Statistics
Links
Key figures:
Top 5 countries in % of users in 2020 were:
United States – 23.69%
Germany – 6.22%
Russia – 4.86%
Canada – 4.26%
Brazil – 4.15%

Key figures
35

Interesting facts
36
Douyu, Chinese streaming platform, is making it hard for
Twitch to enter Asian markets.
Itshafu logs between
60-80 hours per week
for her 570,000 followers!

Gamers mostly, but not only…
37
Artists also use Twitch to
live stream the step-by-
step progress of their
creative projects.
Mirggles has 5,2K followers
and is documenting his
filmmaking process.
Christopher Notbusch streams the
process behind his art since 2011.
He has 95K followers.

Twitch x Lexus • Codesign with an influencer’s community
38
For the first time Lexus installed a performance gaming
system into one of its cars. The company’s RTX technology
enables clients to digitally preview how the car will look with
the options they chose in a hyper realistic rendering.
A double purpose:
1. Lexus IS aims to be seen as the ultimate gamers’ car.
2. The brand also wishes to demonstrate the RTX
experience.
The Idea:
Instead of creating its own Twitch channel and trying to
grow a community, the brand partnered with the influencer
Fuslie. She asked her community to vote live for the cars
design elements.
Results:
554K live views
Video

Wendy’s, Xiaomi • Feeding your channel with guest influencers
39
Other brands such as Wendy’s that see gamers as a key
target for their brands, choose to create their own channels
and invite influencers to create content for them.
114.5K followers is quite impressive for a branded Twitch
platform.
Xiaomi invites its community on its channel for live shows every
Thursday: from 8:50 pm until often later than midnight. The hosts speak
about brand related news but also about tech trends and receive guest
experts from the company itself or from other big companies (like Fnac’s
product manager).

Twitch • Playing games live with influencers
40
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeals to a young voting
demographic. By playing a game called “Among Us”
with two Twitch influencers, she embodied her
« positioning » and associated her image to theirs.
The game was strategically chosen to convey a key
message. It invites the players to act as a team against a
common enemy: the impostor.

Chat platform for communities
03/ PLATFORMS & TOOLS • TIKTOK
42
⁄ Purpose :
Short form video streaming social media app
⁄ Origins:
Launched in Beijing China in 2016 under the name Douyin. It was renamed
TikTok for global launch in 2017.
41% of users are aged between 16 and 24.
⁄ Usership:
500M active users worldwide
⁄ What’s new ?
TikTok Live Studio was launched to compete with platforms such as Twitch.
⁄ Key figures:
Americans have spent 23,1 million on in-app TikTok purchases so far.
Link

A creative community
43
%
of TikTok users have uploaded their own
content

TikTok x Asus: Challenge your community
44
To announce the launch of its new computer Vivobook S14, Asus organized a
“hashtag challenge”.
The users were invited to copy the dance moves of the campaign video or to
come up with their own. The music played in the background was developed
using Vivobook, therefore displaying the capacity of the new product.
250M views 82K participants 24% Click rate

TikTok x Dunkin’: Playing around with popular hashtags
45
The famous doughnut brand
Dunkin’ is launching a new line of
clothes.
As the colors used in the design
are an obvious reference to the
brand, they decided to play
around with the popular TikTok
Hashtag with 1,8 billion views:
#tellmewithouttellingme.

TikTok x LinkedIn: Inspiring job searchers with influencers
46
LinkedIn launched a new content campaign
called « The Colleagues » on TikTok in
December 2021. Partnering with influencer
content creators active in the theme of
professional development, LinkedIn aims to
generate motivating content for job searchers.
The chosen cocreators are mostly the same age
as the young target of the campaign.
The purpose:
Making sure they are relatable and able to
understand and find answers to the concerns
of the audience.

Remake: High quality user generated content
47
⁄ To showcase the potential of its platform for
brands, TikTok launched a campaign called
ReMake.
⁄ Creators were invited to produce their takes
on iconic ads from the past from brands
such as Skittles, Old Spice and Sneakers.
Win-win:
Such campaigns are great ways for creators to
attract followers and a perfect strategy for brands
to stimulate high quality User Generate Content.

Live audio conversation app
03/ PLATFORMS & TOOLS • DISCORD
49
⁄ Purpose :
Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat application, mostly used to hang
out with their communities and friends
⁄ Origins:
It was initially designed in 2015 by Jason Citron for gamers, to allow them to
communicate orally while playing.
Gen Z
⁄ Usership:
Over 200M frequent users. The app is progressing from “niche” to
mainstream.
⁄ What’s new ?
The concept of semi-private communities is once again “in”.

Key Facts and Figures
50
⁄ According to Business Insider, in France, 15% of 15- to
24-year-olds used Discord daily in 2020.
⁄ During spring 2020, Discord has been n°1 downloaded
app for over a week
Creative use:
During the pandemic, some teachers used it to
connect with their classrooms virtually.

Discord & Chipotle: A virtual recruitment fair
51
The fast-food brand Chipotle used Discord to
launch a virtual recruitment fair. One could find
content about the company’s employee culture
and policies, and chat with corporate ambassadors
already working at Chipotle.
Results:
In over a week, Chipotle received over 23K
applications (+70% versus traditional medium).

Live audio conversation app
03/ PLATFORMS & TOOLS • CLUBHOUSE
53
⁄ Purpose :
A live conversation app where people can schedule rooms to discuss
topics. The main speakers are on “stage” and may invite people from
the audience to join them and speak up. All they need to do is to “raise
their hands”.
⁄ Origins:
Originally called Talkshow and designed in 2019 with the idea of
hosting podcasts, the founders renamed it Clubhouse and launched it
in March 2020 as a live conversation app.
>50% of American users are between 18 and 34 years old.
⁄ Usership:
In only one year, Clubhouse attracted 13 million users worldwide. 2
million users each week in 2021
Link

The perfect focus group for your brand
54
On Clubhouse, conversations
can last for hours. People meet
in “clubs” with specific themes
(health, entertainment, dating,
philosophy, business, etc.), start
getting to know each other and
having deep conversations.
Brands can use such platforms
to gain insights on the every
day life experiences,
preoccupations and emotions of
their audiences and consumers.
“More intimate than text
and less polished than
video, social apps such as
Clubhouse aim to return
conversation and intimacy
to online communication.
But that intimacy – and the
relative newness of the
social audio space –
presents a challenge for
brands looking to reach
audiences.”
The Drum

Clubhouse x Feed: 6 hours/day with your key target
55
Results:
⁄ 10K participants
⁄ 2,3K members
⁄ 3,5K followers
The French functional nutrition brand Feed organizes 6 conversation rooms
everyday from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm. That represents 6 hours of live each day. 4
experts were hired for this project: two journalists, one data analyst and one
logistics expert.
⁄ Purpose:
Reaching young adults who don’t have time to cook
⁄ Concept:
Feed does not talk about its products during these live interactive
talks. The brand aims to build relationships with its community while
nurturing its identity. The shows are co-animated by guest experts,
employee ambassadors and members of the room who are invited to
suggest ideas. Most conversations are about pop culture and tech
trends.

To be continued: -71% of downloads since April 2021
56
Clubhouse was “invitation
only” for a long time and only
available in iOS, playing on an
exclusivity-based pull strategy.
This increased the desirability
for a while but lasted for too
long and people who couldn’t
get in eventually lost interest.

Substack: Hybrid blogging x newsletter platform
03/ PLATFORMS & TOOLS • SUBSTACK
58
⁄ Purpose:
Substack enables creators to monetize their blog and e-
mail content
⁄ Origins:
Founded in 2017 by Chris Best (co-founder of Kik
Messenger) and Hamisch McKenzie (tech reporter),
Substack is headquartered in San Francisco.
Journalists, experts and media sites. High profile writers
such as Pulitzer winner Glenn Greenwald are amongst
its content creators.
Substack Influencers To Follow:
“Not Boring” by Packy McCormick (Financial Strategies)
“The Dispatch” by Stephen F.Hayes (Politics & Culture)
“Margins” by Ranjan Roy and Can Duruk (Business & Tech)
31% of B2B marketers believe
newsletters are the best approach
to nurture their prospects with
engaging content.

Substack: Hybrid blogging x newsletter platform
59
Substack influencers such as Patrick McCormick
partner with brands to insert contextual
advertisement within their content.
McCornick integrates brands into his daily topics
and co-creates branded sections.
“Featured answer” and “Brought by” are sections
specifically designed to insert branded content.
The writer’s style and penmanship is thus lent to the
brand, generating a positive value association.

Using your data for personalization
60
Preply is a digital platform that connects language
teachers to internet users willing to improve their
skills.
The company's main goal is to maintain a frequent
interaction with its audience and motivate them to
book lessons with their teachers.
Based on the language they are studying and the
number of classes they took, Preply generates
personalized newsletters to engage the audience
with useful content and develop a sense of
proximity.

Platforms come and
go but some formats
are here to stay.
Here are the latest figures and inspirations in audio, video and live content.

04/ TRENDING CONTENT
FORMATS
And how to keep engaging audiences through video, audio and text

Livestream e-commerce is here to conquer
04/ FORMATS • LIVE CONTENT
64
⁄ The live streaming industry is believed to have
reached $70 billion in 2021 and will reach
$223.98 billion by 2028. (link)
⁄ In China, 100K live-streamers use the platform
Tmall for live-shopping.
Awareness of online shopping platforms or physical stores that offer
livestream e-commerce sessions worldwide in 2021, by country or
region.

A chinese digital trend amplified by the pandemic
65
⁄ According to YouTube, viewership of live content
on television screens recorded a +250% in March
2020.
⁄ Live streaming doubled on Instagram and
Facebook since the first lockdown took place.
Artists, celebrities and brands kept reaching out
to their audiences through this format.
⁄ Facebook users spend 3x more time
watching live videos than uploaded videos

Live calls (with friends and family) had their moment during the pandemic.
Their huge success also ended up generating a new expression: Zoom fatigue, which explains the ups and
downs of the progress curve.
A hype that generated its own « fatigue »

Instant social shopping
67
Callen Shaub has 3.3M followers on TikTok. As
shops closed during the lockdown, Levi’s asked
him* to design his own pair of jeans and to
share the complete process on his page, using
laser-powered Future Finish 3-D denim
customization technology.
He is famous for live performances and
improvised colorful creations. This brand
activation was therefore a perfect fit.
The “buy now” button included into TikTok
enables fans to purchase immediately if they
like what they sea. The brand activation
therefore becomes a live commerce event.
*Amongst other creators such as Cosette Rinab, Gabby Morrison and Everett Williams.

560 Million Chinese consumers have attended online live shopping events
68
The influencer Wei Ya
is 33 years old. She
sold a space rocket for
570 M dollars during a
live shopping session
which attracted 2M live
viewers
On Weibo, the
#WeiYaSellsARocket
had over 620,000
tags, with more than
two million online
viewers tuning in to
watch the impressive
sale.

Global live shopping revenue should reach 413 billion$ by 2022*
69
Austin Jiaqi Li (40 million followers on TikTok) sold
15K lipsticks in only 15 minutes on Taobao.
*According to Frost & Sullivan
Taobao actively helped local shops and producers
survive through the effects of the pandemic by
letting them use its platform to reach customers.

Live shopping also conquered France
70
The French house tools and furniture
brand Leroy Merlin partnered up with
Caast Tv, which allows brands to
integrate live shopping on their e-
commerce platforms.
Leroy Merlin invited DIY experts to
demonstrate their favorite tools during
live shopping sessions.

To each brand, its own live content platform of choice
71
Walmart USA organized a live shopping event
on TikTok for the first time in December 2020,
in partnership with gen Z influencers.
In February 2021, Lancôme France partnered with
Livescale TV (social shopping company) to
organize the first one of its Happiness Nights with
celebrity talks and concerts.
At the end of the event, the audience could buy
products and experts were there to answer their
questions.
Results:
⁄ +25% followers
⁄ Viewership was 7 times higher than
expected by the brand.

Video content is still the winner
04/ FORMATS • VIDEO CONTENT
73
⁄ 68% of boomers (+55 yo*) watch videos on YouTube for
entertainment purposes
⁄ 70% of millennials watched YouTube videos (23 to 39 yo*) to learn
something new.
⁄ In France, 2 out of 3 Facebook and Instagram users watch and
create stories
⁄ As of 2022, an average person is predicted to spend 100 minutes
per day watching online videos (link).
⁄ A video shared on social media generates 10 times more
engagement than any other type of content.
⁄ A post containing a video receives 30% more interactions than a
photo and is twice as shared.

Good to know…
of users said they’ve become more interested in a brand after
seeing it in a Facebook story
of users purchased from a brand after watching their YouTube ad
of Instagram users say « how to » videos are their favorite
Mobile-shot stories have a 63% chance of outperforming studio-
shot ones
62%
70%
80%

Audiences do not want to be interrupted
75
⁄ YouTube premium allows audiences to watch videos
without being interrupted by advertisement. The
company’s strategy responds to global internet users’
insights: they want direct access to content and services
without having to wait or lose time, they are digital
multitaskers, they increasingly enjoy gaming, music…
In 2022 more than ever, brands must create content that can
seamlessly be integrated into consumers’ lives, by
responding to their true interests and needs
➔ Content that doesn’t feel like a disruption.

Immersive technologies are gaining terrain
76
The global shipments of virtual
and augmented reality
headset shipments in 2020
amounted to 5.5 million
units and it is projected to
reach 11 million in 2021 and
43.5 million by 2025 (Statista,
2020).

From augmented and virtual to meta
77
“While definitions of the metaverse vary, most proponents agree it
involves more than just putting on virtual reality goggles or
augmented reality glasses and interacting with avatars. It implies a
bridging of countless smaller digital worlds and experiences
through technical standards that allow users to move between them,
carrying their virtual identity, social connections and possessions
as they go. The word itself — coined by author Neal Stephenson in
the 1992 science-fiction novel “Snow Crash” — implies that it’s not
just one app, device or experience, but an overarching system of
apps, devices and experiences.
(…) Zuckerberg, for his part, has described the metaverse as “an
embodied Internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking
at it.”
- Washington Post
Meta is here to expand our virtual universe and connect our experiences.
Watch the full video here.

As digital brand ecosystems expand, storytelling needs to be adapted
78
Studios often develop multiple trailers to
advertise a new movie, enabling the
audience to discover different angles of the
story.
This approach called Sequential
Storytelling is very efficient for brands on
their digital ecosystem.

Integrated campaigns allow a cross-media storytelling
79
Louis Vuitton celebrated its 200th anniversary by celebrating the brand’s history through a beautiful
documentary film, but also by imagining its future through a colorful video game in which players can collect
NFTs.

Content partnerships help integrate brands into popular culture
80
Having an episode of the Simpsons dedicated to Balenciaga’s fashion show was a real word of mouth “coup”.
In only 2 months, the video reached 8,9 million views on YouTube and had impressive PR coverage and
earned media engagement.

Creating series with guest stars
81
On its Instagram page, Dove shares lots of video content to bring women to talk about their self-love
related challenges. The diversity of the content formats increases the chances of engagement.

A content strategy with multiple editorial subthemes
82
How can brands bring their audiences to subscribe
to their channels? Lego seems to have the answer.
The last episode of Ninjago hit 139K views in less
than 2 months.
Lego creates:
⁄ Animations to allow us to enter its imaginative world
⁄ Designers’ videos to share the passion of building
objects with its iconic blocks
⁄ And videos in which it brings celebrities together with
kids to imagine a better world
3 different ways of nurturing one main
editorial line built around “inspiring
creativity”.

Going where the story is
83
GoPro videos allow the audience to feel immersed
in the athletes’ out of the ordinary nature and
sports related experiences. They are often similar
to short documentaries, and filmed with a real sense
of script, mastering the emotional engagement.
Partnering with these “story owners” who are out
there living unique moments allows GoPro to
nurture and embody its brand identity and values.
GoPro also collaborates with nature and sports
loving brands and nonprofits to always remain
legitimate and inspiring.

Immersive 360° content
84
With its 18,6M followers on Instagram, GoPro has a
dedicated “highlighted stories” collection for each of
its product ranges. One out of two posts is a content
captured in a different part of the world, reposted from
each country's GoPro account.
UK Alaska
India

Brands are the new documentary makers
85
Patagonia wishes to educate its clients to
become more responsible consumers and
aims to stimulate activism.
High quality content (mostly videos) help
serve these goals highly embodied by the
founder.
The texts “Patagonia Films” and “Full film
starts now” at the beginning of the
documentaries create a cinema-like
immersion and emphasis on the brand being
generously gifting a “full film” on streaming.

Audio content for stress management
04/ FORMATS • AUDIO CONTENT
87
⁄ “83% of Millennials and 69% of Gen Zs in the U.S. agree
that they use audio to reduce their stress levels.
⁄ Podcasts about mental health increased their listener
by more than 200% between Gen Z and Millennials,
followed by “health” and “self-help” topics that
increased respectively by 105 % and 95 % on average.
⁄ 69% of American Gen Zs feel “more centered and
generally happier” when listening to their favorite
music on a daily basis.”
Spotify Culture Next 2021

Podcasts: steady increase expected over the next years
88
“Which countries have embraced podcasts the most?
The US leads the world in podcast listenership across every
category. In 2021, 117.8 million people in the country will be
monthly podcast listeners, representing 40.0% of all internet
users. Coming in second in terms of penetration is Sweden,
where 34.6% of internet users will listen to podcasts this year.
Adoption will be similarly widespread in Norway, Australia,
Canada, and Spain. In absolute terms, China and Brazil will rank
second and third in total podcast listeners (85.6 million and 39.2
million people, respectively), due mainly to their huge
populations.
Where is podcast adoption growing the fastest?
Latin America will produce standout growth. Brazil will increase
its podcast listenership by 19.8% this year, Argentina by 17.9%,
and Mexico by 13.6%. Collectively, the average growth of these
three markets will exceed that of both North America and
Europe. The individual country with the fastest growth in 2021,
however, is China (25.1%), thanks largely to its extremely low
podcast penetration to date.
Where is the enthusiasm for podcasts still lagging?
Asia-Pacific will trail the rest of the world in podcast adoption by
a significant margin. China will have the lowest podcast
penetration rate among the countries we track (8.7% of internet
users), followed by Japan (11.8%) and South Korea (12.2%).
Further, although China is growing its listener base quickly,
adoption in Japan and South Korea is also increasing relatively
slowly.” LINK
in audio content listening in
Europe since the pandemic
started. Audio content is most
listened to when travelling,
and second comes while
working. source
+

Podcasts: A love story in France
89
⁄ In average 8 out of 10
downloaded podcasts are listened
to until the end of the program
⁄ In November 2021, the winning
podcast was a general
knowledge show with 3,1M
downloads.
⁄ 71% of listeners admit they were
inspired to buy something after
listening to a podcast
million active listeners in France in
2021
,

Latest example of a branded fiction podcast
90
BMW targets next generations through a
sci-fi story in which the future can only be
saved thanks to sustainable new
technologies.
As most podcasts are listened to during
transport or while driving, this format fits
perfectly the brand’s target audience.
“HYPNOPOLIS 2 – the thrilling sci-fi podcast series:
This exciting futuristic adventure once again takes the listeners into the world of HYPNOPOLIS.
Humanity is cleaning up the planet – thanks to the use of sustainable new technologies. Just in
time to save it. Efforts are tireless. Any hesitation would mean complete failure. When
murderous eco-terrorists free their imprisoned leader, though, the future of humanity is
threatened. Special Agent Glyph Frieden is assigned to track down the group but needs help
from Jason Lin – who just happens to be a criminal. Can these disparate heroes save the world
with the clock already ticking?”
15 December 2021

Connecting consumer insights with expert content
91
Eucerin was the first dermatology brand to launch its
podcast.
⁄ Purpose:
34% of women aged between 20 and 35 have acne
problems. Eucerin wants to generate brand engagement
with them.
⁄ Idea:
Experts share statements of women with acne problems
and discuss solutions.
⁄ Results:
1M listeners in 2020.

Responding to employee’s expectations
92
⁄ When American Airlines realized that
employees did not always understand the
decisions made by their managers, the
company decided to launch a podcast.
⁄ Leaders and managers are invited to explain
their visions and choices.
⁄ The podcast is also accessible to the general
public, thus serving also a branding purpose.

Storytelling and nurturing the brand’s identity
93
The name of the podcast, “The Road Less Travelled”, immediately speaks to the target audience’s key interest:
travel and adventure. Belstaff creates emotional connections by inspiring them with authentic explorers’ stories.
While we don’t have a chance to escape to such experiences in our day-to-day lives, audio content offers a chance
to escape through multitasking.

The pandemic accelerated
digitalization.

05/ TRENDING ENGAGEMENT
AMPLIFIERS
Or how to use social goods and algorithms to your advantage

Enabling personal expression
05/ ENGAGMENT AMPLIFIERS • SOCIAL GOODS
97
Gifs, memes, animated filters, stickers… These are digital
and social “goods” . They enable internet users to express
emotions and personality throughout their digital
conversations, and they are gaining importance as social
and professional interactions occur more and more
through virtual platforms.
Key figure: Over 2,4B messages containing emojis are
sent each day on Messenger.
Why is it interesting for brands?
By inviting themselves in these
“metaverses” brands can give tools to
users to express their engagement and
interest in their brands.

Entering conversations through keyword related branded gifs
98
Etoro (social trading and investment
platform) anticipated that young
people will often look for the right
animated gif to insert into a
conversation.
They created a whole collection of
Gifs that helped them appear first on
search engines, on keywords related
to trading and cryptocurrency using
Gifs.

Emojis: augmented with sound
99
What’s new?
Soundmojis contain short sound clips
(clapping, crickets, drumroll, evil
laughter, to audio clips from your
favorite artists…).

Avatars & 3D Objects: Bringing brands to life
100
⁄ Insight
The virtual representation of a person is becoming
as important as their physical appearance.
⁄ What’s new ?
That’s why brands are now directly designing,
selling and retailing to avatars through platforms
such as D2A (Direct to Avatar).
⁄ Creative use
The Fabricant is an early adopter who allows
users to create digital garments as NFTs. (Source:
Link)

NFTs: a digital authenticity certifications
101
⁄ What is it ?
NFTs allow to certify the authenticity of
valuable digital goods.
⁄ Creative Use :
Pringles launched its first digital chips:
crypto crisps. Limited to 50 editions, they
were sold through auction with bids that
went as high as 2K $.
The first tweet ever
posted was sold 2,9M $.
Robert Mondavi uses NFTs to
authenticate the wine from its
vineyards to differentiate from
counterfeit vintage. There will
be 1,966 NFTs and bottles in
the series.

Artificial Intelligence puppet masters
05/ ENGAGMENT AMPLIFIERS • ALGORITHMIC CONTENT
103
Deep Fake is an artificial intelligence
technology based on deep learning
processes, which enable the making of videos
in which one can take control over someone’s
face, actions and voice… like a puppet master.
User insight: Deep Fakes can generate
anxiety as it becomes hard to differentiate
what’s true versus what’s fake. Therefore,
brands need to be very transparent about their
use of this technology, in order to maintain
consumers’ trust.
Tom Cruise’s deep
fake videos on TikTok
viewed millions of
times.
In the successful Netflix series, Lupin
blackmales someone using Deep
Fake as a tool to make them say
whatever he wants.

MIT Labs show the way towards an ethical AI-creativity
104
Researchers suggest AI characters should come
with a watermark, signaling that they are not actual
humans but programmed technology.

Are we ready for immortal influencers and for ever young celebrities?
105
Paul McCartney “deepfaked himself” to summon his younger
self in his last musical clip, “Find My Way”.

Are we ready for immortal influencers and for ever young celebrities?
106
She made 10M€ in 2020.
Lil Mikela is a 100% artificial
intelligence- based character.
Her inventor, Trevor McFedries,
explains that she is more similar to
Mickey Mouse than to Dixie Damelio.

Design your influencer
107
Deepfake technology allowed David Beckham
to speak in hundreds of languages to spread
the message of “Malaria No More”, a
charitable campaign. (link)
H&M uses a digital Maisie Williams to
communicate about its Loop garment recycling
technology (link).

Artificially generated content and scripts
108
NLP stands for “Natural Language
Processing”. This technology enables AI to
receive a brief based on which it can further
develop content, write articles, imagine
scripts for movies…
GPT-3 and Wu Dao are amongst the leading
companies with this expertise.
Why is it interesting for brands?
NLP can be used in social listening or customer
services to determine important data and help
brands design tailored content or services, smart
assistant bots, etc.

Tailored marketing content
109
Anyword is an American startup using NLP to
create tailored marketing content for brands:
baselines and copywriting for Facebook, for
Google ads…
Based on your existing content, the
algorithm helps generate score cards
and projections on efficiency
probabilities for alternative texts and
content amongst which you can make
your choice.

Robots discussing their humanity, what else?
110
Although there are still margins of error when it
comes to making sense, these GPT-3 Ais are
having a very interesting conversation about
becoming human.
At some point, one of them actually responds: “You
were built by humans. You are already part
human.” Yikes ?

AI characters will be teaching classes
111
MIT researchers are creating an
open-source platform to help
create AI characters for
educational content.
Example: Albert Einstein teaching
physics classes.

Emotional dependence to AI bots may become an issue
112
“For 12 months, Oli kept company with
about 500,000 students from the high
school class of 2021, more than half of
them low-income, minorities, or aspiring
first-generation college students.
Beginning in October 2020, it texted them
twice a week, week after week, as they
started their applications, then considered
financial aid packages, decided where to
enroll, made plans over the summer for
getting to campus and settled into their
routines as freshmen.”
One problem:
Students were very sad when Oli
completed its task and stopped
texting them as they reached
College.

A global first in New Delhi: Ordering an Uber via Chat Bot
113
“Built on the WhatsApp Business Platform,
the partnership will expand access to
Uber’s mobility services in one of the
company’s largest international markets.
WhatsApp users can book an Uber ride by
messaging to Uber’s business account
number, scanning a QR code or by simply
clicking a link to open an Uber WhatsApp
chat.
They will then be asked to provide pickup
and drop-off locations. Users will receive
upfront fare information and the driver’s
expected arrival time.”
Services are becoming frictionless day by day thanks to smart
technologies. Chatting with an AI is undeniably easier than using an app.

06/ AWARDED CONTENT
CONTENT CASE STUDIES
Key learnings from Cannes Lions 2021

Warner x Saylists
Personalized – Fun & Useful
Creative Technology - Simple
⁄ Communication Purpose:
Warner Music wished to develop
brand love and usership with
generations G and Alpha (youth), be
seen as a soulful, creative, love
brand.
⁄ Insights:
Young generations want design
solutions to help them avoid having to
compromise between fun and useful.
One in 12 children in the UK
experience some sort of speech
sound disorder (SSD).
⁄ Concept:
Playlists that help you say the words
you usually find difficult to pronounce
→ “SAYLISTS”
An algorithm was designed to scan
millions of songs and find the ones
containing the lyrics that fit the
learners’ difficulties. Instead of
listening to boring therapeutic
exercises, they can now find music
which they enjoy and seamlessly train
their brains, listen and repeat.
Results:
42 million views in one week • 150M € of earned media • Media spent: 0 €
CANNES LION CREATIVE DATA GRAND PRIX

Nike & Dream Crazy
Risk taking – Reactivity to live
trends Proving Brand Identity –
True stories
Reinforcing Nike’s position as a love
brand by millennials and gen z.
⁄ Insights:
Truth, justice, diversity, inclusion,
activism are strong gen Y and Z
values
⁄ Concept:
BELIEVE IN SOMETHING, EVEN IF IT
MEANS SACRIFICING EVERYTHING.
Colin Kaepernick refused to stand
during the national anthem and took a
knee to protest police brutality. While
this meant risking his whole career
and being harshly attacked in the
media, Nike showed support, created
content with him. First, Nike was also
boycotted and saw its stock market
plumet, but slowly, supporters’ voices
got higher than the haters’.
Results:
It resonated throughout the world. 163MM$ Earned Media, +6B$ Brand Value,
+31% sales increase
CANNES LION CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS GRAND PRIX

Cheetos & Can’t Touch This
Product drawback turned into a
storytelling idea
Generating a reason to communicate
and rejuvenate the brand, renew the
brand’s desirability
⁄ Insights:
Eating Cheetos gets messy due to
the orange Cheetos dust.
Gen Y and Z value being
unapologetic about one’s drawbacks
and embracing it with humor and fun.
⁄ Concept:
“IT’S CALLED CHEETLE”
A short video gave a name to the
Cheetos dust: Cheetle. The hashtag
caught on and was translated into
countless languages on web
dictionaries.
Murals were created using cheetle,
social media filters, songs… and a
superbowl commercial giving
everyone a good excuse not to do
chores: “I have Cheetle on my fingers,
I will mess things up if I touch
anything”.
The use of the iconic song “can’t
touch this” of the 90s helped engage
audiences even further.
Results:
2x sales goals achieved on the new product, +13% in overall sales, 4B Media
Impressions
CANNES LION CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS GRAND PRIX

Spinneys & Lebanese Breast Cancer
Foundation
Cultural taboo-hacking • Influencer
activation
Spinneys is an online grocery
delivery company. Their key target to
engage are female digital shoppers.
⁄ Insights:
Highly educated women in Lebanon
wish to transcend taboos and free
their rights. Anything related to their
bodies is censored by the culture and
the media.
⁄ Concept:
THE BREAD EXAM
The gesture used while kneading
bread is very similar to the one applied
when doing a self-palpation to detect
breast cancer.
Spinneys partnered with the Lebanese
Breast Cancer Foundation to use a
very popular content category often
produced by grocery brands (culinary
recipes) and hacked it into a female
empowerment content.
A hashtag was put on all bread
packages to educate women without
breaking any taboos or being
insensitive to female intimacy.
Results:
175M media impressions, awarded by the government, shared worldwide (Middle
East, Europe..)
CANNES LION PR GRAND PRIX

Burger King & Stevenage Challenge
Blue Ocean content strategy •
Indirect promotional incentive
Burger King is known as a marketing
prankster who loves to hack its way
to social buzz. The brand is always
looking for simple ways to generate
Earned Media and social
engagement.
⁄ Insights:
There is always a team that no one
knows or wants to pick when playing
football games. Big brands pay the
high price to put their logos on the
famous clubs' players’ uniforms.
⁄ Concept:
THE STEVENAGE CHALLENGE
Burger King chose to sponsor the
“loser” club, Stevenage, and paid the
cheapest price to be present in a very
famous video game. The humorous
approach brought attention to the
underdog. Everyone started playing
with “Burger King’s club”. For every
goal shared on twitter, Burger King
offered consumers rewards and
promotions. Gamers started choosing
world’s best players for Stevenage in
order to earn these advantages.
Results:
25K goals shared online, Stevenage shirts sold out for the 1st time
CANNES LION SOCIAL & INFLUENCER GRAND PRIX

Bodyform & Pain Stories
Use of art to express a key
message • User Generated Data
Bodyform (towels, liners and daily
intimate care products for women)
wished to develop brand notoriety
and engagement.
⁄ Insights:
1 out of every 10 women have a
disease called endometriosis. It
affects as many women as diabetes. It
is a highly painful condition which is
often dismissed by society as an
exaggeration or a lie. In average, it
takes 8 years to be diagnosed.
⁄ Concept:
PAIN STORIES
Bodyform asked women who have
endometriosis to use metaphors to
describe their pain. Their words were
turned into an artful “pain dictionary”
to help other women self diagnose.
The second purpose was to sensitize
the general public. An online pain
museum was designed to create a
more immersive experience.
Results:
Shared worldwide on social media and by endometriosis influencers.
CANNES LION TITANIUM GRAND PRIX

07/ ECOSYSTEMS CASES
STUDIES
Content strategy and channel planning: two different strategies

An experiences’ brand
07/ ECOSYSTEMS • AIRBNB
123
Airbnb’s is here to make us live expériences both online
and IRL.

Hosted in 11 languages, simple and global
124

Airbnb.org: Doing good = Good stories to tell
125
The brand is highly engaged towards diversity and
inclusion. Hosts can support the cause and welcome
refugees and immigrants. Airbnb adopts a journalistic
approach and tells these stories through photography and
articles.

Proving through actions and programs
126
The brand joins
preexisting legitimate
initiatives with civil rights’
organizations by its side.

Video series: made possible by hosts
127
Hosts send their photos
and Airbnb generates
musical montages: a great
marketing tool to attract
guests.

High quality photos, community - generated stories
128
“The best way to arrive at this lakefront cottage is by taking a boat to its private
dock. (Lily, your host, will help you arrange it.) Once you’ve settled in—and maybe
allowed yourself some time to be mesmerized by the volcanos—you can figure out
which of the very different villages around the lake to visit first.
Link in bio for sunny sanctuary in a remote cove.
Photos: @alyssaya”
“For their 5th anniversary—traditionally the “wood” anniversary—Josie and Jared
gave each other a getaway in the woods. Their stay at Superhost Jeremy’s cabin
featured stargazing from the hot tub, waking up to a dusting of snow, and some
world-class tail wagging. No word yet on plans for their 6th, the year of candy or
iron. Maybe a trip to Hershey, PA?
Link in bio to give your partner a totally subtle hint with an Airbnb gift card.
Photos: @engelhartdesigns”
Airbnb adopts the same strategy on Instagram: curating
the best photos taken by its “superhosts” to help
advertise for their homes and experiences. The brand’s
owned media becomes it’s B-to-Small Business clients’
main marketing channel.

Facebook: Traditional community management
129
On these secondary touchpoints, the brand’s aim
is to keep the conversation active with its audience
and stay top of mind through questions, news,
curations....

Twitter: Traditional community management
130

An ecosystem to showcase the community
07/ ECOSYSTEM & CHANNEL PLANNING SUMMARY• AIRBNB
131
⁄ The website is mostly an e-commerce platform.
The main editorial line: “Experiences are worth
more than possessions”.
⁄ There are also online worldwide experiences:
live visits and cultural events in multiple
languages.
⁄ Airbnb takes action: by helping community host
refugees, and also by fighting discrimination. The
brand collaborates with multiple civil rights’
organizations.
⁄ The stories of the community are told through
high quality articles and photos.
⁄ Beautiful photos of the houses of the
hosts and souvenir photos of those who
visited > these are ads but don’t feel so
because the faces we see belong to the
community and not to corporate figures
⁄ Content curation and community
management to generate conversation in
brand’s topics
⁄ Mostly commercial content, tv ads and
brand related news
⁄ Video montages of photos sent by hosts
to market their offers in an emotional,
souvenir-like way

A personal brand, a designer’s brand
07/ ECOSYSTEMS • REBECCA MINKOFF
133
Rebecca Minkoff is a personal designer brand. She fully represents
her brand, and her communication ecosystem is therefore built as
an influencer’s ecosystem.
Key words of the brand identity: edgy, accessible, feminine, bold
Website purpose:
Generating e-commerce and
expressing the brand identity
Her cause:
Female Founder Collective (a
network of businesses led by
women that invests in women’s
empowerment across the socio-
economic spectrum by supporting
female-owned businesses)

Fashion, attitude, visual inspiration
134
On Instagram, the photos are high Fashion poses with models.
Rebecca herself appears every ten to fifteen photos posing
with the products. Overall, this touchpoint is used to generate
desirability.

Social shopping
135
Mainly the same content as
instagram, only on Twitter, it
is possible to see the price
tags and purchase the items
through the app.

An influencer/designer/mogul’s life
136
TikTok is the one place where Rebecca will truly invite us,
into her professional and personal life both. On this
touchpoint, she is playful and tries all kinds of content
formats and hashtags that are trending on the social media.

My closet, my inspirations, my tips
137
Rebecca mainly shares short videos adapted to Pinterest’s
format and gives snack styling advices.

Linktree: Everything at one glance
138
Brands don’t usually have Linktree accounts. This is something influencers do to gather all their content
links in one place. This choice of touchpoint once again strengthens Rebecca’s choice of being a
“personal brand”.

Immersive NFT Experience with Yahoo !
139
The first link of her Linktree drives to her current campaign: an NFT auction
experience created with yahoo!, to finance her women’s empowerment
movement.

An author, a thought leader
140
Rebecca is a leader with a
voice. She wrote a book
and creates a podcast
series called “Super
Woman”, always in
alignment with her
statement-making,
empowering personal
brand.

The touchpoints of a leader
07/ ECOSYSTEM & CHANNEL PLANNING SUMMARY• REBECCA MINKOFF
141
⁄ Website use: e-commerce +
expressing the brand identity
⁄ Rebecca has founded the
Female Founder Collective and
supports women in business at
every chance she gets
⁄ Short videos (sometimes live) of
Rebecca sharing styling tips from
her closet
⁄ NFT treasure hunt
⁄ Auction to support women in
business
⁄ Rebecca sharing her personal
and professional life as an
influencer, playing around with all
kinds of TikTok trends and
hashtags
⁄ Instagram is used to generate
desirability for the brand +
products. Here Rebecca is only in
1/10 photos: the rest are high
quality fashion shoots with
models
⁄ The same photos are displayed
on twitter and Facebook where
every item is purchasable
⁄ Links to all of her touchpoints
⁄ Her book: “Fearless”
⁄ Her podcast: Super Woman
further confirming her cause

KEY LEARNINGS
1. Brand Ecosystems
2. Storytelling
3. Artificial Intelligence
4. Multiculturality

1. Brand Ecosystems
KEY LEARNINGS
143
In today’s hyper connected world, brands and their markets
represent an ever evolving organic global “village”.
It is therefore crucial to define the right touchpoints and to build
an efficient communication ecosystem.
Content has become the “mobile seeds” of your brand:
- Navigating through networks, algorithms and devices,
- Able to grow relationships and engagement where it lands,
endlessly sharable
- And able to bring insights back home to help the brand evolve
in the right direction.
These “smart seeds” need to be tailor-designed to act as brands’
vehicles across touchpoints and social platforms.
Your owned media (website, app, shop, etc.).
Your content reaching your audiences

1. Brand Ecosystems
KEY LEARNINGS
144
Generation Z is a digital native
community of creators. The
platforms that see light under their
reign rely heavily on users
creating for other users.
Gamers have inspired at least two
of these high engagement arenas:
Discord, Twitch…
Entering their worlds is therefore
requiring higher levels of
legitimacy for brands than ever.
They have 3 options:
⁄ Creating their own channels and
their own content and having to
prove their authentic alignment with
the subject matter (and be judged by
a passionate and verbose jury)
⁄ Creating their channel to invite
influencers and experts as guests,
creating a scene to give voice to
those who have the legitimacy
⁄ Partnering up and sponsoring
influencers to co-create content
without creating an owned media
touchpoint on the new platform
Content & Owned
Media Creator
Owned Media
with guest
content
Partner
Co-creators

WE ARE TOGETHER
Authenticity, vulnerability, diversity & inclusion, relatability, subjective points of views &
“docutainment*” formats, GoPro / drone cameras, live content, stories, cocreations, non-stop /
always on creators…
Although audio content is gaining ground, video is still the big winner of our hearts.
Trends are showing we wish to feel closer than ever to each other.
We want to understand each other's truths, witness the lives of content creators as if
we were there, be updated with new “snack” content frequently, but also take time to
immerse ourselves in true stories through longer formats with movie-like quality.
2. Storytelling
KEY LEARNINGS
145

BORDERLESS & FRICTIONLESS
Quick response, deep learning, deep fake, NFT, NLP, chatbot, AI…
The borders between virtual and real are getting thinner and thinner.
We could soon be making videos without actors thanks to Deep Fake technology,
wearing designers’ clothes that we can only afford in virtual worlds…
Artificial Intelligence allows us to invest in learning curves: the more machines spend
time in a field, the closer they get to satisfying the needs of clients. Customer service
chat bots, language tools, automated content creations, bot influencers and
educators… the future of content will clearly be personalized. Next step: making sure
we respect the codes of ethics applied to these fields of innovation.
3. Artificial Intelligence
KEY LEARNINGS
146

A GLOCAL WORLD
Internationally translated pop culture and entertainment content, Normalizing everyone (body
types, neurodiversity, gender identity, etc.)…
Everyone with a decent internet connection can binge watch the series of any well
exported country on platforms such as Netflix and train their minds to empathize
with different cultures.
Social media and gen Z are undoing our cognitive social and cultural biases and
allowing us to see each person’s beauty.
Translation tools have never been more efficient. Soon, we will be able to have live
translated conversations.
As a result, multiculturality has gained a very broad meaning. In today’s world, it
requires an open mind, the ability to be an active listener and a precise
communicator.
4. Multiculturality
KEY LEARNINGS
147

NOW THE QUESTION IS…
How will you be impacting the world through your content in 2022?

Nesem Ertan
CREATIVE STRATEGIST
mail: nertan@vanksen.com
Lucile Gouvernel
CONSULTING DIRECTOR
mail: lgouvernel@vanksen.com
Cécile Lorenzini
PARTNER & CCO
mail: clorenzini@vanksen.com
THANK YOU
for your attention, feel free to contact us

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Content drivers for global brands: new innovative paths for your branded content strategy