Brave brands aren’t afraid to be entertaining

Welcome to Spark, a newsletter from Vivace Content. We curate the most interesting thinking and ideas from our community on themes ranging from business and finance to culture and creativity. Send tips and feedback to [email protected].  

Hello Spark readers,

This is a very special week for Vivace, three times over:

1. It’s Ryan’s birthday!

2. It’s Vivace’s birthday!

3. Ryan and I are in London this week!

Please join me in wishing my co-founder, collaborator and close friend a very happy birthday – or if you are part of our lovely London community, we’d love to see you in person to celebrate this Thursday evening, October 3rd, at our Vivace happy hour! Reply to this email for further deets.

And speaking of entertaining; this week we have a fantastic follow up to our last feature from Rob Sartain, who called on brands to be “unapologetically bold in a world of bland”, via special contributor Lauren Denowtiz who is here to tell you how you can do just that using the power of entertainment.

I met Lauren through a mutual connection and have loved following her on LinkedIn ever since, given her unique expertise and point of view on this exciting area of brand-lead marketing. I wrote about Barbie being last year’s greatest content play, but B2C brands began have been investing heavily in brand entertainment for years. We think it’s about time B2B got a piece of the action (or drama, comedy, romance…).

Here’s to another year of bravery and boldness at Vivace!

Joel

Bravery through brand entertainment

Guest essay by Lauren Denowitz

Bravery is essential for today’s brands to thrive. The modern consumer is discerning; tuned in to high-quality content from streaming platforms, social media, and traditional media outlets. Brands seeking to capture attention and inspire loyalty need to do more than just show up—they need to be bold, innovative, and fearless in their efforts.

For years, brands relied on traditional advertising to engage consumers, often interrupting rather than entertaining. But the landscape has shifted dramatically. The rise of premium entertainment––TV shows, movies, podcasts, and other long-form digital content––has opened new avenues to connect with audiences in meaningful ways…for those brands who are brave enough to try.

Brave enough to take risks, tell deeper stories, and engage with creative and distribution partners in unconventional ways.