Disney just made a move that I think every media executive, brand marketer, digital publisher and entertainment company should be paying attention to.For years the biggest brands tried to control every image, every video and every story told about their intellectual property. The instinct was simple: protect the brand at all costs.Disney just did the exact opposite.
By partnering with TikTok to give creators access to their beloved assets across Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars they are recognising something that many traditional companies are still struggling to accept. Some of the most valuable marketing you will ever receive will not come from your own internal teams. It will come from the creator economy and the fans who genuinely love what you do.
Bringing fan created videos directly onto the Disney+ platform is a fundamental shift in thinking.Traditional media has spent years chasing polished campaigns, tightly scripted broadcasts and perfectly curated content. Meanwhile audiences have been telling us exactly what they trust. They trust real passion. They trust authentic voices. They trust creators who live and breathe the culture.
The smartest brands and media networks are going to stop asking how they can create more controlled content and start asking how they can empower their communities to create alongside them.That does not mean giving up control. It means understanding that influence is no longer something you simply own. It is something you earn through community collaboration.Imagine treating every fan, creator and partner as a potential storyteller instead of simply an audience member to monetise. Imagine giving them the tools to build upon your stories instead of just feeding them campaigns designed to impress them.That is where the massive opportunity lies in the creator economy today.
Modern publishing is in the business of creating ecosystems where stories can travel at the speed of the social feed. Disney empowering best in class creators with special rewards and increased visibility reinforces this idea on one of the biggest stages possible.The companies that stand out over the next few years will not be the ones shouting the loudest. They will be the ones that communities cannot stop talking about because they were invited to be part of the story.
That is a very different way of thinking. As we continue to build out our next generation media network at WAVELENGTH I believe it is exactly where the entire industry is headed.
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