When social media meets Hollywood: the new rulebook for social entertainment

The Drum took some time out with Kenner Archibald in Cannes to explore how shifts in consumption, budget and attention signal the re-birth of content and commerce. She also discusses how brands need to change their thinking and overhaul their approach to unlock the real magic of TikTok and elevate their game in this new world of social entertainment.

Watch the full interview with Kate Kenner Archibald above.

The marketing industry is experiencing a renaissance of content and commerce as digital consumption shifts from stylized to authentic content, much like we saw between the Medieval and Renaissance time periods. Consumers crave entertaining content, which is driving more and more people to video-first social entertainment platforms like TikTok.

“We’re going through a similar transition today,” says Kenner Archibald. “And what’s most interesting is that transition is happening primarily because of video content, because of TikTok, and shifts that are happening in the marketplace – shifts in attention, budget and consumption.”

TikTok has been at the forefront of this renaissance, and it’s upturned what marketers thought they knew about social media marketing. But the rules are very different on TikTok, due to the way the algorithm works and how the audience engages with the content.

To be successful on TikTok, marketers “have to put yourself out there and test and learn to identify how you’re going to perform in the future,” says Kenner Archibald. “You need to ensure that you’re not putting the same content from other channels but really focusing on what entertainment looks like for your brand – because every brand is going to be different.”

Virality doesn’t equal success

Dash Hudson is one of a few global partners who are part of the TikTok Marketing Partners Program. The company has since been innovating with a range of tools, including the Dash Hudson Entertainment Score, which aims to help marketers ensure that they are measuring true engagements and the true value of entertainment for their brand.

“Through a study we discovered that if a brand gets more than 250,000 views, you actually start to disconnect from entertainment, because you’re starting to reach consumers who are not necessarily interested in your product or brands and it’s not the most useful engagement with customers,” says Kenner Archibald. “Looking across all our channels and identifying how important social entertainment is to the industry, we discovered that virality does not equal success.

“Virality just focuses on views, but we want to focus on how long someone’s actually viewing your video, focusing on clicks, comments and engagements. Our Entertainment Score has really helped brands see how they’re entertaining their customers, not just getting views.”

Entertaining content matters

Kenner Archibald also offers insight into brands that are getting social entertainment right and really pushing forward in the social entertainment space. They understand that “to be successful, you need to have the right people to deliver the right content”.

“We’re excited to see that this is not just us believing that entertaining content matters and is important, but the fact that this is truly making an impact on people’s business,” she adds.

Offering her closing words of advice for how brands can get ahead of the game in this social entertainment era, Kenner Archibald says: “Join the renaissance, get excited about the opportunity to entertain your customer. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for any marketer. Make sure you have the right insights and guardrails in place to be successful and ensure you’re driving commerce and always measuring how this is impacting your overall business. If you’re doing it right and taking the right insights, you’re always going to see an impact.”