COMMUNITY > AUDIENCE

It's not about size, it's about depth

Happy Monday Peaceniks. Ready to hear about an unhinged celebrity death?

Since 2021, Duolingo has produced some of the most ingenious, “unhinged,” and effective social media content in history. Greenlit by internet legend Tim Shey and performed, curated, and lived by Zaria Parvez and Michaela Kron, Duo has become the living representation of the Duolingo mascot. He has also trolled social media followers for being lazy, expressed his nearly unhealthy obsession with Dua Lipa, and attended the Met Gala. Duo takes all the risks that every brand handbook tells you to absolutely never do.

As proof, last year, Duolingo “killed off” this enormously popular cult figure of a mascot, announcing that it had been struck by a Tesla Cybertruck.

The reaction was enormous and global.

Duolingo’s CEO went on TikTok to announce the death, then engagement around the campaign went viral , sparking countless homages and a significant amount of commentary.

Duolingo told users they could “save Duo” by taking language classes on the app. App installs skyrocketed. Yes, this was a stunt. But this was a stunt about a mascot potentially faking its own death, under the wheels of another brand. This was a ridiculous and dangerous move for most, if not all other brands. But Duolingo had done more than build a following on social media over the last five years - they had built a community. Duo had previously earned the love and trust of his fans. So Duolingo had the courage to do something truly weird and bold.

The years of work, the authentic voice, the love and trust - combined with the results of this campaign and the data about Duolingo’s model - show you precisely where media (and commerce) are headed this decade.

Duo has an actual story. One that his fans love to follow. This relationship goes far beyond brand and customer. Duolingo generates more than a following, they have more than an audience - they have built a true community. And that community, not “marketing,” is what powers their business.

The average rate of organic customer acquisition for consumer apps is between 50%-60%. With years dedicated to community growth and retention, Duolingo consistently achieves 80% or better organic customer acquisition.

That’s what made the death of Duo more than a stunt. Duolingo didn’t just raise awareness, the way that most marketing stunts and Super Bowl ads are supposed to. The story sparked more than conversation, the goal of most viral campaigns. It generated engagement, it ignited action. Existing community members took more classes. Duo’s fans - fans, not followers - campaigned for others to do the same. New users didn’t just download the app, they used it - repeatedly.

We often use phrases like “digital-first versus broadcast-first,” but this misses the larger point, creating an inaccurate hierarchy of audiences by platform. All Fans matter, regardless of how they get to you. All voluntary, organic engagement is equal, regardless whether it originates on broadcast, YouTube, TikTok, or live IRL.

The entertainment business that Gen X and Boomers grew up with has not been replaced by “digital media.” The time and value of traditional Media from last century have spliced into an infinite number of channels and outlets, distributed by big tech, entirely controlled by the end-users. Fragmentation is no longer a bug. It is the operating system.

Publishers and brands are not just competing against other television or media outlets for attention and revenue, but also competing with 100 million YouTube channels, 5 million podcasts, 7 billion people with smartphones and access to the internet. The best way win that battle - for the vast majority of us - is to not fight it. If you are only playing to win the most attention from the most people, you will almost always lose to someone else with a bigger platform or more money.

In a world of infinite choice, limitless competition, and limited attention, the most key of performance indicators is not size of audience, but rather depth of community.

There will always be brands who can afford to sell to broad, mass audiences. But increasingly, total reach will no longer be a true measure of market value. Instead, the loyalty and lifetime value of your community, the depth of engagement and earned value per fan, will be the currencies on which successful new business models - big and small - will be built.

In this new age of Media, the goal is no longer building the biggest channel, but operating the most cherished channel possible for the people who love you and your content. The most powerful platforms and brands in the world won’t have the biggest reach - they will engender the greatest loyalty and trust.

Recently TF1 - France’s largest broadcaster and news organization - announced a collaboration with Gaspard G, one of the most important and trusted news creators in France.

TF1 launched TF1 Info four years ago, as the unified brand for all TF1 News, and with the goal of bringing quality news to wherever the audience for quality news is. Gaspard G started creating content at age 10 and shifted his full attention to news analysis in 2021, creating long-form content that’s attracted a sizable and young community in France, who actually help Gaspard choose what news to cover.

With far few resources, Gaspard G competes very ably with TF1 for total reach on social video platforms.

But it’s Gaspard G’s engagement that sets him apart and undoubtedly got the notice of TF1. Despite one-third the following on Instagram, Gaspard G reaches three times as many people per post - because the depth of his engagement multiplies the scale of his reach. TF1 has leaned into social video - with more subscribers on YouTube than Gaspard. But with deeper engagement, the YouTube native consistently outreaches TF1 News. On TikTok, Gaspard has smaller than half the follower count, but more than one-third more engagement - therefore reach - per post. Perhaps even more importantly for the future of news and journalism, 68% of Gaspard’s community of news consumers are Gen Z 18-34; and 86% are Gen A, Gen Z, and Millennials 13-44.

In many countries and with many legacy news outlets, the reaction to this data might be - and often is - “well that’s social media, that’s not serious journalism, those users are not real news consumers.” And that is why BBC News now reaches less than half the British public each week.

In France and with TF1, the reaction has been very vive la différent! TF1’s Chief Digital Officer Julien Laurent established TF1 Info to meet news consumers where they consume news, embracing creators and creator platforms (exemplified by their Gaspard G collab), using YouTube to distribute their long-form factual programming, and creating digital originals on all platforms, including social video and podcasting.

Because TF1 realized that reach was not enough, because their senior management understood that all news consumers are equal, no matter where or how they consume…

TF1 Info is building a community of loyal news consumers, of all ages, across all platforms. TF1 now reaches 98% of all 15-34 year olds in France, commanding an average share of 33.8% among Gen Z each week.

The TF1 case study personifies one of the most powerful forces in Media right now. Bigger brands and legacy companies are doing more than play-acting on creator platforms, they are thinking and acting like Creators.

You don’t get a bigger brand or legacy than FIFA’s World Cup. In Brazil, FIFA is collaborating with LiveMode, a sports studio for the Creator age, to broadcast every single 2026 World Cup Match on CazéTV - a Creator-led YouTube channel that is the biggest sports channel on social video in Brazil. CazéTV will “air” twice as many 2026 World Cup matches as Brazil’s national broadcaster, Globo.

Brazil has much higher social media engagement per citizen, among all generations, than most other countries. Yet, Globo failed to recognize or chose to ignore these trends for far too long, only launching their Global Esporte YouTube channel last year. This was the whitespace LiveMode and CazéTV used to build their community.

Globo has recently leaned into Creator Economy platforms and tactics, but as with most brands who have ignored consumers on these platforms, they still have much more to learn - often utilizing them more for marketing and brochure-ware than for syndication and community building.

Meanwhile, LiveMode and FIFA are taking their partnership global, bringing CazéTV and live-streamed matches from the 2026 World Cup on YouTube to Portugal - including every Portugal team match and a top match for each day of play.

Duolingo and the evolution of the mascot; TF1, Creators, and the transformation of quality journalism; FIFA, CazéTV, and the generation of the next generation of live sports fans - these are all perfect case studies in adapting Media models for the Affinity Economy. These are not stories of Creators conquering Corporations, nor of Companies abandoning their legacies for greener pastures.

Each of these are examples of model metamorphosis - from traditional customer acquisition to organic community; from TV News to omni-platform journalism; from broadcast TV to the redefinition of broadcast; from seeing people only as consumers or audiences, to treating them like fans and community.

Next week, on stage in Lisbon, I will go through each of these case studies. I’ll talk with the Chief Content Officer of LiveMode about how they’re transforming live football. I’ll walk through the TF1/Creator strateggy with TF1’s Chief Digital Officer, Julien Laurent, and Gaspard G himself. Tim Shey, who was present at the origin story of both Duo and YouTube, will be on stage with Shira Lazar and other big brains working at the intersection of Company and Creator Media.

At the first-ever StreamTV Europe, we will present a slate of additional case studies on changing Media models in The Affinity Economy:

• ITV Studios on their fandom-first business in “digital primetime” with Love Island.

• A case study on worldwide fandom and distribution transformation at Eurovision, with Portugal’s broadcaster, Merzigo’s founder, and EBU’s Commercial Director.

• How ZDF Studios is redefining syndication on reaching new audiences.

• Banijay lays out their plan to entertain consumers directly, collaborate with Creators, and reimagine entertainment, as social and television experiences merge.

• Marion Ranchet and I will interview Holywater/MyDrama founder, Bodgan Nesvit, live on stage, for our podcast and ask him everything you always wanted to know about the reality of the microdrama model.

• My StreamTV Keynote will focus on these case studies and more, laying out the case and the model for community over audience.

If you can, join me in Lisbon for the first StreamTV Europe. This is only a fraction of the content - and it will be next-level. The conference is also an incredible market - for ideas, for partnerships, for careers, and for business. Register here and get a discount with the code SHAPIRO10.

If you can’t get to Lisbon, I will post nearly all the content from the StreamTV main stage, right here on Media War & Peace, for you to stream, soon after the conference.

The lessons we need to learn to transform, survive, and thrive as Creators, producers, studios, platforms, channels, advertisers, and brands are all around us. We simply need to choose to read them, try them, test and learn them. Next week in Lisbon and right here thereafter, I’ll bring them to you.

I’d love to hear what you think.

Enjoy the week!

ESHAP