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For decades, brands and media companies had clearly defined roles.

Media companies produced content.

Brands bought access to audiences that content attracted.

That arrangement worked well when consumers had a limited number of channels competing for their attention.

Today, that's no longer the case.

Consumers scroll through endless feeds, subscribe to creators, watch podcasts, binge YouTube channels, and spend hours each day consuming content on their own terms.

In that environment, simply buying attention has become more difficult.

Some brands have responded by creating it themselves.

And in the process, they've started behaving less like advertisers and more like entertainment companies.

Few companies illustrate this better than Red Bull.

At its core, Red Bull sells beverages.

Yet much of the brand's visibility and notoriety comes from content, events, athletes, documentaries, and cultural moments that have little to do with energy drinks themselves.

The most famous example remains the Red Bull Stratos jump, where Felix Baumgartner parachuted from the edge of space before millions of viewers worldwide.

The event wasn't a product demonstration.

It was pure entertainment.

More importantly, it reinforced the ideas Red Bull wanted consumers to associate with the brand:

The content became the marketing.

Another company that understood this dynamic early is Lego.

For years, Lego was primarily known as a toy manufacturer.

Then came The LEGO Movie.

What could have been a simple product promotion became a global box office success, generating hundreds of millions of dollars and introducing the brand to new audiences.

The movie worked because it was genuinely entertaining.

It wasn't asking consumers to buy a toy.

It was giving them a story.

The result was something much more powerful than an advertisement: cultural relevance.

The brand became part of the conversation.

A more recent example comes from Airbnb.

While the company certainly advertises, some of its most effective brand-building efforts have centered on storytelling.

The brand consistently highlights:

Rather than focusing exclusively on booking accommodations, Airbnb often focuses on the experiences surrounding them.

That's an important distinction.

People may not wake up excited to book lodging.

But they do get excited about adventure, exploration, and memorable experiences.

Airbnb understands that.

The story is often more compelling than the transaction.

Part of what's driving this shift is simple economics.

According to eMarketer, global digital advertising spend continues to climb year after year, creating greater competition for consumer attention.

At the same time, consumers have become remarkably good at ignoring traditional marketing.

They skip ads.

Scroll past promotions.

Install ad blockers.

Tune out interruptions.

Content operates differently.

When it's done well, people choose to engage with it.

That's a powerful advantage.

Most startups don't need a film studio, a sports team, or a media division.

But they should pay attention to why these brands are investing in entertainment.

The common thread isn't content for content's sake.

It's creating value before the sale.

A founder today has more tools than ever to build an audience through:

Each interaction creates familiarity.

And familiarity often becomes preference.

The brands becoming entertainment companies aren't necessarily trying to enter the media business.

They're responding to a reality of the modern attention economy.

When consumers can ignore almost any advertisement, earning attention becomes more valuable than renting it.

And increasingly, the brands that win aren't just the ones people buy from.

They're the ones people choose to spend time with.

Best,

Edwin