We are in an age of modern content consumption. There is insatiable appetite for content to watch and scroll with creators stretching their creative limits to grab the attention of a population whose attention span is dwindling rapidly.
Then there is meta-content. Content made around the delivery of the actual content. When delivered in the right way it can be the best hook to keep the audience interested until the main course. There were 2 approaches to meta-content which caught my eye this year -
TBPN
TBPN is a live-stream done by Jordi and John, couple of guys deeply interested in tech in a very refreshing presentation with insightful questions woven within the conversation. What started as a live podcast like structure now sees some of the most powerful leaders and orgs in the world choose to appear on TBPN to discuss media compared to traditional news
It's not that the TBPN has a lot of views, however the net-worth of the few thousands users it has is what makes it one of the most appealing shows to see how leaders envision the future.
What makes it meta-content though? Because of it being a livestream, you see Jordi and John discussing and providing live product ideas and content around the topics discussed creating marketing for the companies being shown. The audience love the non-scripted nature of the show and their sponsors definitely love them because they keep getting more each day
ESLCS
ESLCS is a tournament organizer for professional Counter Strike tournaments. Now promoting a competitive video game should seem easy - show some clips, hype the players, make a montage etc. But ESLCS is different.
The gameplay is the main event of course however for each tournament ESL releases short video skits which are often jokes on the internal dynamics between the teams or theatrical ripoffs of famous cinema moments.
But then again, what makes it meta-content? Because the actors in the skits are the players themselves! I have no idea how they managed to convince the players but it makes it insanely funny when a player is involved in a skit about them being potentially kicked from the team but doing it for fun.
It is by far one of the clear indicators of what future sports content could look like.