Six Seasons and a Movie

Everything you need to know about building a brand in 2024 and beyond can be learned from sitcoms.

Let’s keep this light. Come along for the mellow laughs, tender moments, and jumped sharks. Fame, fortune, and unfortunate haircuts to follow.

Aim for widespread appeal

Not everything needs to connect with everyone, but most people should find a character, situation, storyline, or message that resonates with them. Brands have to reach more people to grow, but you don’t appeal to everyone by trying to appeal to everyone – you write for something or someone specific. The brand management principle here is to build for a specific group, culture, audience, or moment, but then repeatedly expand beyond that and add to it to collectively reach the widest possible audience.

Think episodically

You won’t launch with a full series. You release new stories, catchphrases, twists and turns over time. You can learn as you go and react to the audience reaction. BUT a show that is 100% repetition in every episode is boring as hell. Inventive consistency is the goal – it should “feel“ familiar and yet new at the same time. The brand management master class is about long-term orchestration here: How do you give a season connective tissue around a theme or a plot point but then manage progression over the course of multiple seasons? Don’t solve it all at once; think episodically.

Make a cast of repeatable characters

You don’t always need to build a story from scratch – use characters who are recognizable (some tropes exist for a reason) so that you instantly know which show you are watching (e.g., distinctive brand assets). These characters should create positive associations over time.

Stay at home base

You don’t want to waste your budget building a new set every week. You need a home base that’s recognizable, but over time it should just become (literally) window dressing. Protect your budget for better things: talented writers, performers, and people who can tap into the zeitgeist; that’s the investment in “craft“ that will help you succeed. Brand management parallel: Don’t spend time color-correcting the tomatoes. Nail the biggest possible idea at the core.

Draft on low-stakes cultural tension

The storyline needs tension to create attention. Drama is essential, but the stakes should feel relative; the “situation“ in the situational comedy needs to reference reality – real moments, real conversations, real people’s passions, real issues – but you want to keep it light, not get preachy. Brand management parallel here: Focus on real people and how your brand can positively influence their lives to find what can resonate. You don’t have to live in Pollyanna positivity; the traction requires texture and tension.

Lean into your catchphrases

When you land a zinger that catches fire in culture, that ignites the zeitgeist, double down hard. When you’ve got a hit, milk it. Take the cheap laugh. Build the merch around it. Make it a callback in future episodes. Even though your early adopters may have seen it before, it’ll be new to many, many more people the longer you use it. Brand management note: Consistency is exponential – if you’ve got anything you can use as a shortcut for brand meaning, use it. You never know how long it’ll last when it’s first launched.

Fuel the fan service

Worldbuilding for your superfans happens outside the core show. It lives in the reaction shows, the podcasts, the subreddits, the teaser posts, the stan accounts. Fuel the fan service, but don’t confuse it for the thing that drives fame – maintain your focus on being broadly appealing, and if your biggest fans help evangelize your show for you, amplify them. Just don’t assume they’re the norm. Brand management principle: Growth happens from light category users.

Use crossovers sparingly

Collaborations matter. You bring a new, tuned in audience to the party. But they rarely advance the story for either show – don’t mistake them for something that helps the plot. Brand management parallel: Collabs with celebrities, influencers, or other brands can help ignite some attention and cultural currency, but they rarely accrue long-term brand value. Use them, but don’t rely on them long-term.

That’s it – the master class in brand management, from the school of Chandler Bing, Leslie Knope, Jerry Seinfeld, and Troy & Abed in the Mooooorning. Go forth and giggle.