This may seem like an eternity ago in the age of social media, but in 2020, when Friends left Netflix, it seemed like one of the biggest cultural moments. Everyone from Variety to Time magazine covered it like a national tragedy.
How to Build a Successful Brand Through Social Media in 2023
But it was especially on social media that it took on a life of its own, becoming a reminder of the power of the platform within the entertainment ecosystem, where the value of intellectual property lies not just in licensing but in holistic brand positioning.
The entertainment industry has long tried to tap into that potential, making social media more central to the way it thinks about creating, distributing and promoting movies, TV shows and other content. And while there have been individual successes over the years — the movie “Barbie” seemed tailor-made for social success — the effort has largely fallen short.
The reason for this misstep is simple: most entertainment companies are legacy media brands that still think about “entertainment” within the confines of legacy platforms. Even modern TV companies, for example, start by creating shows for broadcast and promoting them there.
