The Intimacy Economy

The Era of Mass Media is Over!

The era of mass media and mass brands is fading fast, if it hasn't already vanished completely. In a world where hyper-fragmentation has sliced attention into thinner and thinner pieces, reaching people at scale is no longer viable. 

But there’s a silver lining: the real opportunities lie in the niches. Savvy brands are realising that they can achieve scale not by spreading themselves thin, but by deepening their connections with specific, relevant audiences. They’re building rich, layered engagements with niche communities that resonate on a personal level.

In this new landscape, success belongs to those who understand that the path to scale is no longer a straight line, but a series of targeted, meaningful connections. The future isn’t about reaching ‘all the eyeballs’; it’s about reaching the right ones, in the right way.

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A Shift Towards Privacy

Apple’s introduction of App Tracking Transparency (ATT) has been a game-changer. By requiring apps to ask users for permission before tracking their activities across other apps and websites, Apple has put control back into the hands of the users. Unsurprisingly, most users opted out, effectively cutting off the data stream that platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat relied on to serve targeted ads. 

The result? A dramatic reduction in the effectiveness of these ads, hitting brands hard around the globe.

We can already guess how this will play out - users will likely opt out en masse, leaving brands with less targeting ability, less relevant data, and fewer opportunities to reach the right customers. This shift marks another blow to the idea of achieving mass reach in digital advertising. 

With diminished targeting capabilities, brands will find it increasingly difficult and expensive to
connect with broad audiences. As privacy concerns grow, the old strategies are crumbling, and the road ahead is one where brands must adapt or risk irrelevance.

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The Intimacy Economy

The intimacy economy is quietly emerging as the next evolution, signalling a profound change in how creators, brands, and platforms engage with their audiences.

For years, the attention economy dominated, with success measured by clicks and likes. The primary goal was to capture and sustain as much attention as possible, often through algorithms designed to keep users hooked. This created a fast-paced digital environment where quantity i.e how many people you could reach was king, even if those interactions were fleeting and superficial. 

But now, the intimacy economy is pushing back, prioritising deep, meaningful connections over broad reach. In this new model, trust, credibility, and emotional resonance are the cornerstones. It’s a move from transactional interactions to relational ones, where the emphasis is on long-term connection rather than short-term engagement. And it’s yet another nail in the coffin for the old playbook of chasing mass attention because, in the intimacy economy, success isn’t about the number of people you reach but how deeply you resonate with them.

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Tying It All Together

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At Team Hydro this is all music to our ears! This broad shift in culture is playing right into our business model. We urge all publishers, websites, apps to adopt this mindset. By curating more meaningful and quality content we can foster the intimacy economy and pave the way for creators online to earn what they deserve and earn based on time spent on site.

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