Can You Have Too Much Attention?

In this episode of Influencing Outcomes, Nathan Powell is joined by Terri Owens and Nina Drakalovic to examine one of the most talked-about campaigns of the year: Sydney Sweeney's provocative partnership with sports prediction platform Novig. The campaign generated enormous attention, but it raises a deceptively simple question: if everyone remembers the celebrity but nobody remembers the brand, has the advertising actually worked? Using the campaign as a starting point, the team explores the difference between capturing attention and building brand recognition. Drawing on research from System1, they discuss why creator-led advertising can be exceptionally good at attracting audiences but less effective at making brands memorable. Have marketers become so focused on authenticity that they've forgotten some of the fundamentals of advertising? And how do you make a brand central to the story without losing what makes creator content worth watching in the first place? The conversation then turns to creator credibility and the commercial value of exclusivity. When a creator promotes a different favourite product every few months, does their endorsement eventually lose meaning? Should brands pay a premium for creators who rarely work with competitors, or are restrictive exclusivity agreements creating unnecessary costs? The team debates whether scarcity makes an endorsement more valuable and why protecting a creator's credibility might matter more than controlling who they work with. Finally, the discussion returns to Sydney Sweeney and the growing outrage economy. With social platforms rewarding content that provokes strong reactions, could controversy itself become a form of media distribution? The team considers the commercial benefits and reputational risks of deliberately provocative advertising, and whether brands are sacrificing long-term trust for short-term attention. Because while reach has never been easier to buy, trust has never been harder to earn. Timecodes: ● (01:11) Did Sydney Sweeney's Novig campaign actually work? ● (04:44) Does attention matter if nobody remembers the brand? ● (07:36) Why is creator advertising so good at attention but weaker at brand attribution? ● (11:09) Have marketers overcorrected on authenticity? ● (16:28) Do creators lose credibility when they promote competing brands? ● (21:43) Is creator exclusivity worth paying a premium for? ● (28:07) Is outrage becoming a new form of media distribution? Follow, Subscribe and Stay Connected. Enjoyed the episode? Follow Influencing Outcomes on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an update. For more insights, industry trends and behind the scenes content: Follow Fabulate on socials: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠| ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠ Visit our website:⁠⁠ www.fabulate.co