By Michael Bürgi  •  February 3, 2026  •

Social media has now been around long enough to know it can be an extremely powerful marketing channel, notably for lower-funnel advertisers. Even in the face of eroded signals on what gets them to click.

So the timing is right to understand social platforms from a 2.0 point of view — at least that’s the thinking behind Gale agency’s research work into what it considers “emerging media.” And what it found is that the more a platform can deliver the feeling and growth of community, the more success brands can have marketing on that platform. 

The report essentially found that brands need to assess such elements as platform momentum, ability to capture and hold attention and the ability to establish trust. The channels that delivered best on those attributes were community-centric spaces where brands can seek deeper connections with the authoritative voices on those platforms — think the moderator of a subreddit on Reddit that’s relevant to your brand, or an appropriate server on Discord. 

“There’s a huge amount of value in like audience insights from Reddit,” said Ben James, Gale’s chief innovation officer. “Marketers sometimes are even known to launch programs in other spaces, and then to measure the quality of their impact by how are people talking about it on Reddit. … This study that we did is meant to create the confidence for clients to believe in these emerging media spaces as proven grounds to reach people and convert them into customers.”

Among the study’s conclusions: 

• When marketers find a community endorses or supports them, it can be a powerful tool — they just need to tread carefully when in an environment where they don’t have messaging control;
• Marketers should consider spreading messaging across various community touchpoints, rather than a single “hero” channel, including creators, events, games and AI-powered experiences, especially when these touchpoints feel authentic and community-grounded;
• Humanity wins the day, in that people tend to gravitate toward content and spaces that feel real, human, and community-driven — especially as AI seems to pop up in every corner of our lives.

“When the brand respects what’s happening [in emerging social channels] and creates forums for people to gather and speak to each other, the quality of those interactions is better and can lead to greater effect for them,” said James. “And a lot of that is trying to understand these emerging spaces beyond the traditional metrics.”

Gale clients are paying attention to the findings.

“We’ve seen firsthand that when we show up in ways that feel participatory and authentic to the brand, we don’t just drive engagement, we build real connections,” said Erin Silvoy, svp of global marketing & channel development at Starbucks, who pointed to the coffee chain’s digital game, Pumpkin Spice Land that built loyalty (but didn’t offer specifics). “These emerging spaces can act as a strong extension of the community-centric aspect of our brand, which we bring to life each day.” 

Longtime Gale client MilkPEP, a pro-dairy industry association, has also taken some of the guidance to heart, and among its more social efforts cultivated a community of thousands of women runners with a campaign called Team Milk that executed mainly via channel-native, “relatable” content on creator-first platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

“We’re always looking for new places to build and strengthen community and connect with consumers,” said Miranda Abney, vp of consumer marketing at MilkPEP. “What started digitally has translated into real-world community at Team Milk’s Every Woman’s Marathon … As the ways people discover, connect, and participate continue to evolve, identifying new channels and spaces to engage our community will remain a smart investment.”