I found this post on substack by Derek Thompson called “Everything Is Television” and initially thought it would a retread analysis of the 1961 Newton Minow address to the National Association of Broadcasters where he coined the now famous “tv wasteland” meme. But it wasn’t. (BTW – read to the end of this post for a bit of trivia about Minow’s address and the Show Gilligan’s Island.)

The post did touch on some familiar themes as were surfaced in the 1961 address, but one key thing in this post stood out to me and it is something we marketers should may want to pay attention to.

But let’s begin at the start of this story with my poor summary of Thompson post:

Everything from Facebook feeds to podcasts and now AI chatbots morph into endless streams of short videos, bombarding us like the most relentless autoplay. THEY want us glued to the scroll, binge-watching random strangers instead of texting grandma, and the platforms are happy to oblige our FOMO addition. Our media diet is now all TikTok, all the time, whether we admit it or not. Social media isn’t social anymore – it’s TV with bagzillion channels of garbage. And we LOVE IT!

We think we’re social but we’re not.

We think what we’re doing is being social…

“It’s not TV. It’s Facebook, where I catch up on Aunt Evelyn’s bunion surgery.”

But it isn’t.

Heck, even Facebook says it isn’t a social media company. Thompson quotes data from a Facebook FTC filing:

“Today, only a fraction of time spent on Meta’s services—7% on Instagram, 17% on Facebook—involves consuming content from online “friends” (“friend sharing”). A majority of time spent on both apps is watching videos, increasingly short-form videos that are “unconnected”—i.e., not from a friend or followed account—and recommended by AI-powered algorithms Meta developed as a direct competitive response to TikTok’s rise, which stalled Meta’s growth.”

But sure… call it social media. It’s TV. Very, very discontinuous and minimalist – but TV none the less.

But that wasn’t my AHA!

Drama Drive Decisions

Want to succeed in marketing today?

You better turn every product launch into a binge-worthy streaming moment.

The goal? Hit your audience in the feels before they hit ‘next.’ Find the drama and exploit it. Funny isn’t enough. You need tension!

Sure, facts are cool. Discounts are fine. But if your brand doesn’t have a scene, a sound bite, or a story to stick in someone’s head during their subway ride, it’s basically background noise in the algorithm’s endless scroll.

And consumers not only buy for themselves, but they buy for their companies as well. So this isn’t just a B2C issue – it’s also a B2B issue. Maybe more so since the “wasteland” of B2B marketing is vast and empty of any drama right now. (Hint: be a first mover – or second mover in the B2B Housewives of SaaS revolution. Think of all the spinoffs!).

B2B: Boardroom, Meet Reality TV

B2B marketing used to be about suits and spreadsheets. Now, even business buyers want drama. Product demos? Try animated TikTok reels. Want to pitch a new SaaS platform? Better have a plot twist. Snackable webinars and punchy LinkedIn clips are the only way you’ll cut through. Facts and stats still matter, but you’ve got to wrap them in a rapid-fire, emotionally sticky package—think “Shark Tank” more than Harvard Business Review.

  • Animated case studies steal more attention than twenty-page reports.
  • Webinars: fast-paced, meme-infused, even AI-generated if you’re feeling spicy.
  • Spray urgency, drama, and emotion all over your sales funnel.

If you can’t make your business look bingeable, your competitors will.

“Did you see our security patch update?” just doesn’t land unless it’s got plot, tension, and maybe even a cameo from a robotic dog doing the Macarena. Think, “Bob at ACME got fired for this security patch disaster… you won’t believe what he did….” versus “our security patch finds 99.9999999% of security problems.”

It’s Time to Master the Stream (or is it master the “scene”)

In today’s reality, marketers must become directors, story tellers, show-runners meme-generators, and scene-stealers all at once:

  • Slice your messages short, sweet and totally viral.
  • Make your brand emotionally memorable with mnemonic hooks (see Apple Vision Pro ads or anyone trying to ride the “Barbiecore” wave).
  • Optimize for algorithms—if your campaign can’t be remixed, dueted, or shared, it’s basically invisible.
  • Replace specs and spreadsheets with iconic demos and interactive stories.
  • Build FOMO-filled communities—let customers create their own branded “episodes.”

In the age where even AI wants to be a TV star, your brand isn’t just a product it’s a mood, a meme, and a miniseries.

Whether selling skincare or cybersecurity, if you’re not thinking in scenes, you’re playing catch-up. Make your message bingeable and you’ll own the flow in 2025, it’s not just what you say, it’s how memorable you make it in the stream.

Bonus Drama: Gilligan’s Island Trivia:

It is said that producer Sherwood Schwartz satirized Minow’s stance by naming the shipwrecked boat in his show Gilligan’s Island the S.S. Minnow.

The more you know.

And…SCENE