The fight has shifted. And it’s a much harder battle.
The new battle isn’t about who can sign up the most customers. It’s about who can keep them. Loyalty is fragile. Churn is a click away. And attention, once the most abundant resource in digital entertainment, is now the scarcest. This new phase is the Relevance Wars, and scale alone won’t save you.
The shift from acquisition to engagement
You can see the shift in the biggest industry moves:
- ESPN is finally going direct-to-consumer, signaling the old cable-bundle economics are no longer enough. The move isn’t about mass reach; it’s about cultivating a paying audience willing to stick around.
- Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier, carefully designed to feel low-intrusion and high-control. It’s not chasing every possible eyeball; it’s targeting the right new viewers without alienating existing fans.
- YouTube is diversifying into Shorts, Premium, and TV, building a content ecosystem that keeps audiences cycling through different formats, all under one brand umbrella.
These aren’t just product decisions. They’re survival strategies in a market where acquisition without retention is a dead end.
Why scale is losing power
For the last decade, streaming strategy was built on scale: acquire as many subscribers as possible, as fast as possible. Investors rewarded growth above all else. But the economics of scale only work when the cost of acquiring a customer is outweighed by their lifetime value. And in an environment where churn rates are climbing, content costs are soaring, and consumers have dozens of alternatives, the math is getting ugly. Worse still, loyalty now often lasts only as long as the licensing window. In a hit-driven, rights-fragmented market, the same show can migrate from one service to another, taking its fans with it. That means you may “own” a customer for a single season, only to watch them vanish when the content does. For many platforms, it’s no longer a battle for subscribers; it’s a battle for the right moments in a consumer’s viewing cycle.
Here’s the hard truth:
- Reach without relevance bleeds value.
- Brand salience without brand meaning doesn’t last.
- Presence without purpose is invisible.
The blueprint for winning the relevance wars
Kantar’s Blueprint for Brand Growth offers a framework for thriving in this new era. Across hundreds of brands and categories, we’ve identified three Growth Accelerators that consistently separate the winners from the rest.
Predispose more people
Being noticed isn’t enough. The brands that grow don’t just appear in consumers’ minds they appear there positively.
Netflix’s ad tier launch is a case in point. Rather than flooding screens with disruptive ad breaks, Netflix opted for a measured rollout: fewer ads, more viewer control, and clear value trade-offs. This approach didn’t just attract viewers; it created goodwill and built trust with both audiences and advertisers.
And Kantar’s Media Reactions 2024 data backs this up: brands with strong, positive, predisposition enjoy higher pricing power and faster market share growth. The connection is clear, when people want you in their lives, they’re less likely to leave you for the next shiny alternative. In 2024, roughly 47% of consumers were positive toward ads (up from 19% in 2016), as platforms have addressed oversaturation and repetition; even historically intrusive online-video formats at the bottom of the list are now tolerable (5–12%).
Be meaningfully different
Difference is the engine of growth, but it only works when tethered to relevance.
YouTube has grown its brand value by 431% since 2017 by evolving without losing its essence. Shorts, live TV, and premium tiers are all extensions of their core purpose: giving people a platform for both creation and consumption, in formats they actually want.
Disney+ has followed a similar path; leveraging the emotional equity of the Disney brand but customizing offerings for local tastes in global markets. This combination of emotional connection and cultural tailoring has deepened loyalty worldwide.
The lesson: innovation that feels aligned to your brand’s DNA creates staying power.
Be constantly present
In an attention-fragmented world, presence matters most at the moments of choice. It’s no accident that point-of-sale (POS) advertising is now the most preferred ad channel among consumers. It shows up at exactly the right moment when people are deciding. For streaming brands, this translates into intentional touchpoints:
- Subscription renewal ‘nudges’ that highlight recent favorite content.
- Timely notifications that hit during habitual “binge hours.”
- Contextual ads placed around relevant cultural events or seasons.
Being “always on” is not the same as being “always relevant.” The winners will be those who show up with precision, not just frequency. Brand impact is seven times (7x) higher when ads appear in environments that audiences are respective to.
The next growth frontier: personalization at scale
The battle for relevance will be won or lost on the ability to make every interaction feel personal. We’re not talking about “because you watched…” recommendations. True Customer Value Management (CVM) combines first-party data, predictive analytics, and behavioral insights to create next best experiences. That means tailoring:
- What you offer (content selection)
- When you offer it (timing)
- How you frame it (messaging and context)
Kantar’s Media Reactions research shows that rising receptivity to digital ads isn’t because consumers have suddenly fallen in love with advertising, it’s because ads are becoming less intrusive and more integrated into their experiences. Done right, personalization moves you from interrupting your audience to enhancing their experience.
The risks of getting it wrong
Fail to adapt, and the consequences are immediate:
- High churn rates erode profitability faster than any content investment can fix.
- Brand sameness makes you interchangeable in a sea of competitors.
- Missed moments mean your audience’s attention (and spend) goes elsewhere.
In short: if you’re not a brand people are predisposed to choose, meaningfully different from alternatives, and intentionally present at moments that matter, you’re a candidate for the unsubscribe button.
The growth mandate for media brands
To win in the Relevance Wars, media brands must:
Connect emotionally—be Meaningful
Build positive mental availability so your brand is not just known but wanted
Stand out contextually—be Different
Innovate in ways that are relevant, consistent, and true to your core promise
Show up intentionally—be Salient
Use data and insight to appear at the right moments with the right message
This isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a survival strategy.
Your competitive advantage is coming this fall
Kantar’s Media Reactions 2025 report will reveal exactly where consumer receptivity meets brand growth potential. It’s your roadmap for aligning media investments with what your audience values and what drives lasting engagement.
- Don’t just chase scale
- Build brands people are predisposed to choose
- Stand out with meaning
- Show up when it matters most
In the Relevance Wars, you don’t win by shouting the loudest. You win by being the one your audience wants to hear from.
The clock is ticking...before your audience rethinks you, rethink your strategy.
