Reilly Newman | Entertainment is a broad category. Whether it’s a movie, concert, video game, comedy show, or sports event, it is often categorized by genre or format. But what we’re really choosing is our mode of experience (passive or active) and our tolerance for the unknown.
When we choose to go to a movie or a concert, we typically know what we’re signing up for. We’ve seen the trailer, heard the album, or read a friend’s review. We are somewhat familiar with it. These are content-driven experiences. We’re not surprised by what will happen, only how it unfolds. The story arc of a rom-com, the jump scare in a horror flick, or a band’s rendition of a favorite song are all known-unknowns—we anticipate the moment, but not the exact delivery. These are largely passive experiences, though emotionally engaging.
In contrast, events like comedy shows, magic acts, and sports games lean more heavily on unknown-unknowns. These are special moments of genuine surprise. You don’t know what the comedian will say, how the magician will fool you, or which team will win the game (hopefully yours). These experiences require active engagement because the outcome is uncertain.
Both forms of entertainment involve degrees of anticipation and payoff, but they differ in how much control and certainty we surrender. Passive entertainment is about the comfort of the familiar with slight variations that make it memorable and unique. Active entertainment invites unpredictability, creating memorable spikes in emotion when the unexpected occurs.
As you can tell, the difference is a matter of uncertainty. This is all good, but what does this have to do with your business? Your brand is not in the entertainment business…. or are you??
Interestingly enough, the word “entertainment” goes back to an original meaning that really meant “to keep someone in a certain state” or perhaps in-between states.
When we apply this to business – and better yet brand – we see how these modes of entertainment do directly align with business. Uncertainty is a very crucial ingredient to the decisions we make. Whether that is for entertainment, the car we buy, or the brand we decide to purchase or hire. We are always struggling with the unknown and managing our tolerance for such. The brand of your business should be assisting in this uncertainty management.
To start, your brand should understand the mode your audience is wishing to experience. Like the examples above, we expect different experiences from different forms of entertainment. We then willingly subject ourselves to this experience. The experince of your brand is very similar in that it must determine the expected mode of the audience then provide that for them.
For example, buying artwork that is already framed is a much different experience than commissioning a new piece. One is known while the latter is very unknown. The audience is in a different mode, paying a different price, has different expectations, and will bond differently with the end outcome.
Although these two options are both art, they are drastically different. Now even if you chose just one of them, it can be individually divided into different experiences. Just as a commissioned piece of artwork can vary in the involvement of the buyer and their input or how a product like framed artwork can be created and delivered in several different ways that balance the known and unknown variables.
We have discussed in our weekly podcast show “Brandy” how brand is theater and this relates just as much.
→ “Brandy: Theater of Brand” Podcast Episode
The way I see it is that for passive experiences we knowingly enter the known and active events we knowingly enter the unknown. We choose the kind of uncertainty we’re in the mood for. This same model can be applied to your business and the “entertainment” you offer. You may even offer several forms of entertainment based on the state(s) that you are to hold them in or help them transition between.
Your brand is full of uncertainties for your buyer. They don’t understand the full scope of your business or this may be their first time buying a product or service like yours. Determine which uncertainies you must address to provide clarity and securiity. Then leverage those that help suspend the buyer in their state or help them transform to the state they wish to achieve. Contrarily, the uncertainty may be the best part of the experience and actually improve the value you provide.
You don’t not sell products or services, you sell entertainment.
