Archive - Zero Draft

The synthetic influencer has arrived.

Marketers have never believed more deeply in the value of real humans, yet 2025 may be the year that AI takes over every step of the marketing process.

Jun 18 •

Patrick Crawford

May 2025

What Substack Teaches Us About Media in 2025

Voice wins. Brand takes a backseat & the inbox still rules.

May 28 •

Patrick Crawford

The Trouble with Scale

AllGear Digital's model shows that intent and loyalty may trump scale in the next generation of media.

May 12 •

Patrick Crawford

April 2025

March 2025

Here Comes Chaos

One of the world's biggest advertisers will spend half its budget on creators. We're not ready.

Mar 28 •

Patrick Crawford

The Future of Ski Media is Already Here — And It Looks Like This

Nick Reimer’s journey from gaming streamer to skiing’s top YouTube channel hints at the future of action sports media.

Mar 14 •

Patrick Crawford

February 2025

Creators are the New Founders

The next generation of the creator economy isn’t in brand deals. It’s in owning the whole brand.

Feb 28 •

Patrick Crawford

The Case for Ignoring the Algorithm

Maybe 5 hour podcasts and arcane newsletters are telling us something about human interest.

Feb 14 •

Patrick Crawford

January 2025

Flipping the Script on the Brand Film

Most of the audience will only see the social cutdowns. So why aren’t they the star of the show?

Jan 24 •

Patrick Crawford

Media is decentralizing. Do we still care about reaching big audiences?

Jan 10 •

Patrick Crawford

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