Why you want to be a "slow brand" right about now

As the internet gets faster, smart brands get slower.

For years, brands have treated the internet like a slot machine. Pull the lever, Kronk (aka launch a campaign) and hope for the flashing lights of virality. A million views, a billion likes, a moment on the trending page. Jackpot. But here’s the thing about jackpots: they’re addictive, they’re unpredictable, and they don’t ever build anything lasting.

Lately, you can feel the shift. The internet just doesn’t hit like it used to. Algorithms chew through viral moments faster than ever. Culture moves at the most insane of speeds. Memes, trends, even controversies have a 24-hour half-life. Gone are the days where these things defined decades. Now we’re lucky if they define anything. 

We’re reaching the burnout stage of constant content churn. And brands chasing quick hits are finding themselves with a lot of empty calories and very little actual loyalty. This is why smart brands (omg, that’s you!) are starting to quietly, steadily bet on something else: the slow, sexy, steady power of earned media, storytelling, and actual community building.

Virality was never the endgame; it just felt like it.

When the internet was newer and we were all a little naiver, virality felt like validation. If people were talking about you, you were winning. The problem is, most viral moments are just that. Moments. They don’t leave roots. They don’t build memory. They don’t foster real relationships between a brand and its audience. (And the ones that do usually weren’t designed in a boardroom.)

Today’s audiences are savvier and more fragmented. They can spot a "made-for-viral" campaign from a mile away. And they know when a brand is just trying to trend instead of trying to connect.

The future isn’t going to belong to whoever can shout the loudest for a second. It’s going to belong to whoever can matter for a long time. Now, earned media and storytelling matter more than ever.

Here’s why the pendulum is swinging:

• Trust is the new currency. People trust what their friends recommend, what their favourite creators genuinely love, what feels earned (not what shows up in an ad carousel).

• The algorithm is too chaotic to rely on. Your reach today means nothing tomorrow. You need relationships, not just reach.

• Memory compounds. A good story told well sticks around. It gets passed on. It grows. That’s long-term brand equity, not a blip on the trending page.

Earned media, like organic mentions, genuine PR, word-of-mouth, creator love that wasn’t bought, builds the kind of brand reputation that doesn’t dissolve when the algorithm changes. Storytelling—real storytelling, not just “here’s our founder’s struggle in a LinkedIn post”—is how you make people care.

What smart brands (yes, you) are doing right now:

• Investing in creator relationships, not just influencer ads. (I.e. ongoing partnerships, not just one-and-done #spon.)

• Building content ecosystems. (Owned media, like podcasts, newsletters, video series, that nurture audiences over time.)

• Prioritising depth over breadth. (Better to matter deeply to 10,000 people than be a passing thought to 10 million.)

• Telling better stories, not just posting more stuff. (Stories that tap into emotions, community, aspiration, not just product features.)

So, we should stop trying to go viral, right?

Not necessarily. There’s still power in having moments. Duh. But the brands that will thrive are the ones who treat virality as a bonus, not the whole damn business model.

So build the slow burn. Tell the better story. Win the marathon, not the sprint. The internet isn’t slowing down anytime soon. But your brand should. The way I look at it, you can either trend for a month or matter for a decade. Which way do you think icons are built?

-Sophie, Writer