算法时代的制胜之道

1 1 2We are living in a time when the way people experience brands is being shapednot only by creativity and culture, but by algorithms and automation. The medialandscape has continuously evolved, but never with this level of machine-driveninfluence. What we see, the content we engage with, even the choices we makeare increasingly guided by AI-powered curation.For brands, the Algorithmic Era presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Thechallenge? Staying relevant in an environment where algorithms dictate attention.The opportunity? Using those same technologies to create experiences that feeldeeply personal, culturally attuned, and undeniably human.The brands that win today are those that move beyond mere visibility to createexperiences that spark connection, emotion, and action. This requires a new kindof strategy. One that challenges convention, embraces creativity, and balancescultural pertinence with algorithmic intelligence. By rethinking how media, content,and technology intersect, brands can break through automated filters and buildconnections that last.In this edition of Beyond, we explore five ways brands can win in the AlgorithmicEra, through creativity, authenticity, platform mastery, data maturity andunderstanding communities.In this era, it’s not just about being seen, it’s about being remembered.SHENDA LOUGHNANESHENDALOUGHNANEGlobal Brand President, dentsu XLETTER FROM THE EDITOR 3TABLEOF CONTENTSCREATIVITY: THE RETURN OF THE TASTEMAKERAUTHENTICITY: THE IRRESISTIBLE APPEAL OF WHAT’S NOT PERFECTPLATFORM MASTERY: MASTERING PLATFORM ALGORITHMSDATA MATURITY: BETTER OWN THE NARRATIVE WITH DATABUILDING BRANDS ONLINE COMMUNITIES CARE ABOUT 11-1214-1517-182021 GOING BEYONDREFERENCES BEYOND 20254BEYOND 20254BY AURELIA NOELHead of Digital Transformation, dentsu X Global 5But eventually, that abundancebecame a burden.We’ve all felt it—that quiet frustration ofspending 30 minutes scrolling throughNetflix, only to end up watching Fleabagagain. Over time, recommendationfeeds stepped in to ease the fatigue.But instead of expanding our horizons,they started narrowing them.Kyle Chayka, in Filterworld: HowAlgorithms Flattened Culture,1arguesthat recommendation engines don’tfoster discovery, they amplify what’salready popular. The safest, mostengagement-friendly content isamplified, while everything elsequietly disappears into the abyss.This pattern happens across all culturalareas of interest:Australia’s Triple J Hottest 100 wasonce a showcase of global and localmusical talent, a reflection of diversetaste. This year, three artists accountedfor 25% of the entire list: Charli XCX,Billie Eilish, and Gracie Abrams.At one point last year, you couldn’t walkthrough London without seeing a pairof adidas Samba sneakers. Sambaswere everywhere. Even politicians (yes,Rishi Sunak) got involved, and predictably,that was the tipping point for thefashion phenomenon status.A limited series about a real-life internetscandal? A gripping HBO drama aboutrich people behaving badly? A Netflixthriller with a snappy title? Despiteinfinite TV shows on hand, people stillend up watching the same stories inslightly different packaging.BookTok may have revived readingculture, but it also flattened theaesthetics of literature: the rise ofromantasy has made entire shelvesindistinguishable one from another,taken over by a flood of Sarah J. Maasknockoffs embossed in gold foil.CREATIVITY:THE RETURNOF THE TASTEMAKERBY JIMMY DIAMONDJIMMYDIAMONDGlobal Head of Strategy, dentsu X Global 2 BEYOND 2025Brands that act astastemakers, rather thancontent machines, will thrivein the Algorithmic Era.The Why: The Flatteningof CultureOver the last years, the stellar growthof social media and streaming hasdemocratized access to content.Spotify brought to listeners every songever recorded (or, if you prefer, everysong re-recorded by Taylor Swift).TikTok turned content creators intoovernight sensations. Instagram madeniche brands instantly discoverable andshoppable. After decades of top-downculture-making, the arbiters of tastewould finally be shaped by the people,not the industry.A free-for-all of infinite choice, infinitecontent, infinite voices. where deep-dive communities still actas the best recommendation engine foreverything from skincare to services. Wesee it in Letterboxd, which has grown tomore than 17 million registered users3because people want to engage in filmdiscussion, not just passively consumewhatever is fed to them.With infinite content, what peoplechoose to consider, consume, or creatematters more than ever. This signals ashift for brands: how can they adopt atastemaker mindset to stand out in analgorithmic world?CONSIDERATIONSFOR BRANDSIn a world shaped by algorithms and sameness, standing outdoesn’t mean shouting louder, it means showing up sharper.The classic levers of brand growth; Salience, Difference, andMeaning, still apply, but how we activate them has evolved.Visibility is no longer about ubiquity. Differentiation is mo