The media landscape is shifting fast, and the smartest brands aren’t just buying placements, they’re becoming broadcasters. We sit down with Simon Shelley, former BBC Studios leader and advisor to media and tech companies, to unpack how audience habits, platform formats, and funding models are changing what effective brand storytelling looks like. From MSNBC’s live events to Mattel launching a full-fledged studio, the writing is on the wall: the path to attention runs through programming, not sporadic posts.
Simon shares a practical, viewer-first framework forged inside newsrooms and studios: lead with a strong character, ground the viewer in a clear setting, and take them on a real journey with obstacles and payoff. We explore why emotional connection is a prerequisite for recall, how “solutions-focused storytelling” avoids puff pieces through transparency and evidence, and where long-form content on YouTube can outperform legacy ad buys. For the automotive aftermarket, we connect this to right to repair—showing policymakers the stakes through human stories that resonate beyond a fact sheet.
We also dive into the role of AI. Generative tools can speed workflow, but audiences still detect when a voice lacks human texture. That’s where Natter comes in: thousands of simultaneous one-on-one conversations, instantly synthesized into themes, actions, and verbatim quotes. It’s a new way to capture collective wisdom from members, employees, and customers—fuel for content that feels true, useful, and scalable. As streamers tighten budgets, brand studios have a rare chance to make programming that genuinely entertains while advancing core values. Start with the viewer, measure what moves them, and build a catalog worth returning to.
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