Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

IMDB’s new What to Watch app offers Amazon Fire TV users personalized recommendations across several streaming services. There’s a growing demand for tech solutions that unite cross-platform streaming preferences as current fragmented media makes for inefficient and expensive viewing.

With an increasing desire for community engagement, people are turning to discussion-based platforms that cater to their individual interests. Letterboxd’s online platform has become a haven for cinephiles, showcasing how brands can appeal to passionate users with the right approach.

While people are streaming content more than ever, they want brands to provide bundling services that create a more convenient viewing experience and focus on relevant content, pointing to opportunities for seamless streaming subscription offerings that bundle according to needs and interests.

E-commerce giants have seen profits skyrocket in the past two years, but brands are launching flagship platforms to take consumers beyond mere transactional relationships. Canvas8 spoke to Dr. Julian Wichmann about the benefits of brand platformisation and building flagship communities online.