The Modern Playbook For Growth In Entertainment

"For many decades, growth marketing has followed a similar pattern: build cool stuff, launch the product and get marketing to introduce it to the masses. If you've done it right, the audience will be receptive to the product. This is still important. Your audience needs to find you. However, now, with so many channels fighting for attention, you need to create relevance and connection with your audience."

"PR is evolving. Traditional media is shrinking. Meanwhile, non-traditional media is gaining more credibility. Former journalists are starting their own outlets on platforms like Substack and Beehiiv, and many have large, valuable followings. Targeted outlets can help reach your audience and should not be ignored. These types of platforms are also adding podcasting and video formats, enabling multiple approaches to one story."

"Earned media also plays an incredibly important role in how your company shows up in LLM search. According to 2026 Muck Rack research, which was based on analyzing over 1 million links from AI responses, 82% of links cited by LLMs (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) come from earned media, while 94% of links cited by AI are from non-paid media."

"When our company expanded into new markets, strong media positioning didn't just drive immediate awareness; it continued to deliver value through long-term discoverability and credibility. A well-placed feature in a trade publication or technology outlet can influence how your brand is perceived for month"

Growth marketing has long relied on building a compelling product, launching it, and having marketing introduce it to broad audiences. Audience receptiveness still matters, but attention is fragmented across many channels, so relevance and connection must be created. A viral Unreal Engine 5 streaming product launch showed that wide coverage can drive success, and a modern version would add influencers, marketing communications, social media, and partnerships. Public relations is shifting as traditional media declines and non-traditional outlets gain credibility. Earned media also affects how companies appear in LLM search, with most cited links coming from earned and non-paid sources. Strong media positioning supports both immediate awareness and long-term discoverability and credibility.

Read at Forbes