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‘Content creep’ is not exactly new territory. Overt product placement in Hollywood blockbusters has been happening almost since the dawn of the silver screen. What is new, however, is the way that storytelling has evolved into a soft sell for global brands. No longer a prop or the getaway car, done well, a brand’s entire ecosystem and offering becomes the site for the story itself.
For marketers, this is like having a genie in a bottle granting you a limitless number of wishes. If anything can be branded content, the opportunities to get in front of consumers to sew the seeds that lead to contemplation, engagement and conversion become infinite. What more could a marketer or brand want? Here, Bynder head of global PR and communications Manisha Mehta explores how ‘content creep’ is rewriting the customer experience (CX), one tropical resort at a time.
There was a moment, somewhere between the rustle of palm trees and a pan across the hotel pool at the Four Seasons Koh Samui, when it hit me: this wasn’t just a TV show.
It was content.
Not just the prestige kind that large television production companies are known for, but the kind that quietly sells you a fantasy while you’re busy watching the plot unfold. Season three of The White Lotus may be a razor-sharp satire about privilege, but let’s be honest: it’s also the best ad that the Four Seasons hotel never had to run. By the time the credits rolled, you could almost hear global hotel marketing teams scrambling to pitch their properties for season four before the final episode had even aired.
Because this is what content is now. It’s not just what we consume, but where we want to go, what we want to wear, and who we want to be. When The White Lotus picks a location, it doesn’t just set a scene; it sets a trend. After seasons in Hawaii and Sicily, tourism soared. Now, with Thailand in the spotlight, luxury resorts are preparing for their close-ups.
From storytelling to soft selling
As marketers, we used to look for ways to interrupt a viewer’s experience. Now, we look for ways to inhabit it.
This isn’t just about product placement anymore. It’s location as aspiration and set design as brand identity. A beachfront suite becomes a Pinterest board. A spa scene becomes a TikTok travel guide. And the consumer? They’re not watching a show. They’re mentally booking a holiday.
It’s a seamless and seductive blur, one that raises a new, essential question: Are we enjoying a narrative or experiencing a luxury brand campaign in disguise?
The creep of content marketing
The rise of this genre, let’s call it “ambient aspiration”, signals a broader shift in how marketing operates. Content used to support the brand. Now, it is the brand.
Hotels, fashion labels, even tourism boards aren’t just sponsoring media; they’re embedding themselves within it. This “content creep” has redefined entertainment. The line between plot and placement has been smudged so artfully, it’s often imperceptible.
What’s fascinating, and maybe even a little unsettling to some, is how quietly this has happened. We talk about AI changing marketing, which is something we’re all aware of, but the shift may also be psychological: audiences being conditioned to see lifestyle marketing not as an interruption, but as entertainment itself.
When everything is content, what do we trust?
Consumers are in on the game, sort of. They know influencers are paid and that fashion, for instance, isn’t accidental. But prestige television? That still feels like neutral ground, and this is where it gets complicated.
When everything is content and all content is potentially marketing, the issue isn’t noise, but trust. People aren’t naive, but they don’t want to feel manipulated. They want to enjoy the story and still believe it stands on its own.
That’s where customer experience (CX) comes in.
Every brand touchpoint, even a fictional one, shapes how people feel. And those feelings drive decisions. That’s why one poolside scene can spark more bookings than a full ad campaign. Experience is emotional.
But emotions can be exploited. And if we’re not careful, seduction replaces substance.
Great CX isn’t just about desire, it’s about trust. It’s not just about making people want the experience. It’s about making them feel good about how they got there.
Transparent creativity is the next big disruption
Here’s what I believe: the future of content marketing won’t be about being invisible. It will be about being more intentional.
Imagine if shows were transparent about partnerships without compromising the story. What if hotels leaned into the collaboration, not as a quiet backdrop, but as an acknowledged co-creator? Done well, it could elevate both the art and the brand. Done poorly and it erodes the audience’s trust.
Transparency isn’t a risk. It’s a creative edge. In a marketplace where stealth marketing is the norm, honesty might just be the most unexpected, disruptive move a brand can make.
The future of CX is conscious
So yes, that villa in Koh Samui is stunning. Yes, you’ll probably look it up and maybe even book it. But as consumers, let’s ask ourselves: Did we choose it, or were we sold it through a storyline? As marketers, what do we do with this power?
We wield it consciously. We build content that earns trust, not just clicks. We design customer journeys that start with honesty, not just allure. We embrace transparency not as a legal checkbox but as a design principle.
Because in a world where everything is content, the brands that win won’t be the ones who trick the audience, but the ones who respect them.
And the most powerful CX we can deliver today? A story worth watching, an experience worth remembering, and a truth the customer can feel, even if they never quite see it coming.
Based in the United Kingdom, Manisha Mehta is a seasoned communications leader with more than a decade of experience in public relations and digital strategy across a number of industries, including technology, ecommerce and retail.
