Everything is Entertainment
Gen Z are drunk on clips, Buzzfeed's odd YouTube Comeback, Apple wins 22 Emmys & Steven Bartlett made waves on Fallon
Issue #2 | Wednesday, 17th September
Hello friends, welcome back.
Firstly, wow. THANK YOU. The response to Community Service has been overwhelming. Really means the world and we’re both so excited to be able to bring this to you every week.
Our aim is to keep you dangerously informed, whether you’re a creator, founder, brand builder, or a marketing nerd like us.
We really lifted the industry curtain in today’s debrief.
Today we’re covering:
Why 71% of Gen Z discovers content through clips - and what most people are getting catastrophically wrong about their clips
BuzzFeed's comeback strategy - a masterclass in how NOT to approach algorithm-driven platforms in 2025
Where have all the formats gone? - who’s building the next Chicken Shop Date? Why aren’t you?
Apple's cultural capital play - how treating entertainment as long-term brand investment is winning Emmys and mindshare
Plus: Grace’s hot take on Steven Bartlett's Jimmy Fallon moment and what it signals about the creator / podcasting landscape as a whole
Today we're writing from different sides of London. Jordan’s twins are due in 10 weeks and the VW ID Buzz van has been ordered, and Grace just crushed back-to-back speaking gigs at Ideas First and the Marketing Midlands Awards before she heads to New York this week.
Jordan: I had a great conversation with a major film studio this week. What struck me most is how quickly the ground is shifting beneath traditional media when it comes to reaching Gen Z and younger audiences. The old playbook just doesn’t work anymore.
Grace: Which is a perfect segue into our first story today… shall we get into it?