Brandweek 2026: Earn the view before pitching the brand

By Grace Kim

Recorded live at Brandweek 2026, an Adspeak by ADWEEK conversation with creator Anthony Po set a clear standard for brand campaigns: earn the view before introducing the brand. In the episode, “Avoiding the Ick Factor,” Po argued that audience attention must come before brand messaging.

Po, a performance artist and co-founder of Pufferfish, has spent 10 years creating content across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. He also led short-form creative at MrBeast, and his company specializes in creator-led brand activations and cultural storytelling. Lauren Probyn Aouad, UTA’s vice president of entertainment and culture marketing, hosted the conversation.

The episode put cultural understanding ahead of strategy alone and warned that copying a viral format rarely works. His guidance is practitioner experience, not an announced platform policy. The summary includes no reach study, ranking test or algorithm documentation supporting its claim that copied campaigns can trigger algorithmic punishment, so teams should test the argument against their own audience data.

Culture, not a copied format

At 05:20, Po said brands should recreate the feeling rather than merely the viral stunt. Using the Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest as an example, he explained how copying the visible format can miss the emotion that made the original moment resonate. The practical target is a fresh idea built around that feeling, not opportunistic imitation.

Po calls the audience warning sign the “ick factor”: a sense that a brand is exploiting culture rather than participating in it. That judgment can apply to small execution choices, including typography, or to a copied campaign premise. He also warns against treating the next viral moment as the objective; the stated goal is genuine connection.

Put culturally fluent people in the room

At 06:37, Po and Aouad argued that brands need people immersed in internet culture, not researchers assigned to imitate it. They cited Duolingo and Wendy’s as brands whose social presence reflects digital fluency, although the discussion supplied no engagement or conversion figures. Small execution choices, including typography, can expose whether a brand understands its audience.

At 16:01, Po’s principle was “earn the view first.” Content should lead with entertainment, education or practical value before custom fonts, brand guidelines or a corporate message enter the frame. Po also identified growing business opportunities for creators, but gave no revenue, audience-size or deal-value data to quantify that growth.

Give each campaign one clear job

At 17:03, the discussion separated two jobs that brands often assign to one asset: driving immediate sales and building long-term brand equity. Po recommended choosing the objective before deciding the format and measurement framework. Straightforward ads may suit conversion, while culturally resonant work can build favorable associations, but the episode did not provide comparative results.

At 19:21, Po and Aouad described testing early cuts with engaged fan communities through Patreon and YouTube memberships. Creators can collect feedback in real time, revise work when outside perspectives challenge their instincts and reduce the risk of a public misstep, offering an alternative to traditional focus groups. The episode did not compare response rates, testing costs or sample sizes.

What does this change for marketers?

It changes the sequence: define the campaign goal, involve culturally immersed talent, build something useful or entertaining, and test it with a small engaged audience before seeking broad reach.

For budget planning, that means treating community feedback and production as separate work from scaled distribution, rather than assuming one polished asset can deliver sales and cultural buzz at once. It also means measuring whether attention rose, sales followed or brand associations strengthened, instead of declaring authenticity from campaign comments alone.

The episode offers a usable operating model, not proof that authenticity guarantees reach or revenue. Brands should pressure-test Po’s advice with their own performance data, and creators should keep the distinction clear between earned cultural relevance and a lookalike format. The next useful evidence will come from campaign results showing whether pre-tested, culturally fluent work earns attention without sacrificing conversion or long-term brand equity.