Issue #55: Emerging media platforms are redefining the media landscape
How our definition of trust is fueling the shift – featuring Praytell’s new report.
Hi everyone! I skipped the Brand Bite on Sunday because I took a 2-hour long nap on Saturday afternoon and my brain simply could not form coherent sentences after that. Sometimes you just need a nap where you wake up and forget what day it is, ya know?
Also – I’m watching season two of Severance right now and can’t stop thinking about the amazing marketing stunts that the Apple TV+ team has been pulling off. First the Grand Central pop-up, then Lumon Industries on LinkedIn, and now the Severance Employee Handbook. It’s just all too good.
This week, I’m writing about trust, and specifically, trust in the media. I know, it’s a hefty topic. But it’s also one that feels really appropriate and timely in the wake of… everything… over the past few months. The thing is: Trust has changed. The central motivations that used to drive our sense of trust and loyalty in people, institutions, organizations, etc. have shifted drastically over the last few decades.
Where we once trusted authority, legacy, and reputation, we now find feelings of loyalty from authenticity, relatability, and connection.
And what’s one of the key contexts where this shift can be observed? Our media preferences and consumption habits. Specifically, how have our media consumption patterns changed in recent years? Why do we religiously consume that podcast each week, or watch every single Instagram Story from that one influencer? Why do we trust our favorite influencers to inform what we purchase or wear or watch?
After the recent chaos of a short-lived TikTok ban, the presidential inauguration featuring a line of tech CEOs in the first row, and increasing disillusionment with social platforms like Meta, X, and TikTok, social media is in a weird place right now. But if you’re anything like me, you’re still going to these channels to consume your content. I’m left wondering: why?
Communications agency Praytell recently partnered with YouGov to publish The Remix Era, a whitepaper all about the rise and growing impact of emerging media, defined as digital-born and digital-first platforms like social channels, podcasts, and newsletters as opposed to traditional, legacy outlets like The Wall Street Journal and CNN. The report surveyed 1,300 consumers about their relationship to media, digging into preferences around traditional media versus emerging media.
They found that emerging media is on the rise, with 25% of Americans saying that emerging media informs their purchasing decisions, compared to 24% who identified traditional media, and 51% who rely on a combination of both.
But what caught my attention in the report most was who is preferring emerging media over traditional media. We tend to think of Gen Z and younger generations as the biggest users of up-and-coming, digital-only platforms, which is somewhat true, but the data is actually a bit more nuanced. Both Gen Z as well as older, religious conservatives in rural America prefer emerging media. And the reasons for both demographics’ preferences are actually pretty similar: both groups value authentic conversations around key issues – whether those issues be progressive or conservative – and emerging media creates space for those genuine, relatable, intimate voices.
I spoke to Nate Jaffee, Head of Strategy at Praytell and an author of the report, and he shared a really key insight:
“The fact that [conservatives] can find a voice that matches them is really what draws them to [emerging media]. And so that's one of the reasons why, if you look at the podcasts out there on Spotify or Apple, a lot of them are conservative podcasts.”
Conservative audiences seek creators and content who are aligned with their own values. And where do these creators and types of content live? Often in emerging media sources such as podcasts and social media. These channels and platforms are home to unfiltered, independent voices that conservative audiences feel they can relate to.
Furthermore, the nature of these platforms provides an opportunity to connect directly with audiences through interactivity, live content, and real-time conversations. These platforms foster direct, personal, and oftentimes casual connections that traditional media just doesn’t offer.
As Nate said so aptly, “I think that one of the big advantages of emerging media is the connection between the creator and their audience. It is this one-to-one human connection.”
Where historically expertise, credibility, and longstanding reputation might have been of the utmost importance in garnering the public’s trust in media, those values no longer hold so strong. Now, media trust lies in authenticity, relatability, values-alignment, and cultural relevance – for conservatives, liberals, younger generations, and older generations alike.
And Trump understood this well. He sat down with independent creators like Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman, trusted podcast hosts that reach wide audiences. These creators are considered to be authentic and real. And even though Harris attempted the same strategy with appearances on shows like Call Her Daddy and Unlocking Us with Brené Brown, she didn’t reach the same widespread audience that Trump did. Perhaps this is because conservatives tend to feel more ostracized from society and podcasts provide them an opportunity to feel connected to creators and other listeners, more so than liberals (but that’s just a theory). Regardless, the 2024 election cycle was defined by creators on emerging media platforms, whose authenticity and intimacy with their audiences became a wildly powerful campaign tool.
Now, I’m not saying that traditional media is dead. Not at all. But if you want to connect with diverse audiences in a direct, intimate way – whether you’re a traditional media outlet or a brand – you need to do a few things:
Create authentic, relatable content for your audience. Which leads us to #2 and #3…
Invest in creating content on emerging channels. Think: Spotify, YouTube, Substack, etc.
Work with influencers and independent creators on those channels.
Go check out Praytell’s full report on emerging media HERE and let me know your thoughts.
Today’s post was sponsored by Praytell.
Part of me thinks the shift to emerging media is positive and the other part of me is concerned. If we're all just searching for voices that sound like our own, we'll stop exposing ourselves to differing opinions and become even more rooted in our beliefs. Depending on the topic, that's not inherently a bad thing but if it's about policies and government, we're going to become even more isolated. A scary thought...