The team behind Marty Supreme know a lot.

That’s what we’re unpacking. Here in your inbox, and in Ep 4 of The Authority Shift Podcast: How Marty Supreme Killed Traditional Movie Marketing.

Sam:
Everyone's chasing the same audio. Same format. Same Zoom meeting aesthetic that worked three weeks ago. Then wondering why nobody remembers their name.

Look, I've done this.

We all have. You see something pop off, you think "right, that's the play," and you run with it. The algorithm rewards it. You get the views. For a second, it feels like you’re winning.

But then it's gone. And no one remembers you posted it.

Because you used the trend as the strategy instead of the vehicle.

We broke down this exact mistake (plus 9 others) commonly made by creators on The Authority Shift. One campaign just flipped the entire playbook on its head with a ping pong table and a blimp. There’s nothing we love to see more.

Let me show you what they did differently.

Kenzie:
Before Sam dives in… I want you to know.

When you chase trends without strategy, you're training your audience to expect nothing specific from you.

All they know? That you'll show up in their feed.

What you stand for? Well, they’ve got no idea.

This matters because if your audience can't predict what you're about, they can't build a relationship with you. They might follow, but they won't care. They might watch, but they won't convert.

The shift you neeeeed to make is probably staring you in the face.

*cough* those views that didn’t translate *cough*

Stop chasing trends for visibility. Start using them to build something that reflects who you actually are.

Your message, your value system, your IP.

Sam:
And that's exactly what A24 did with Marty Supreme.

Sam:
A24 dropped a campaign for Marty Supreme, that ping pong film with Timothée Chalamet, and it didn't just trend. It owned the feed.

What they did:

They rode trends without letting trends ride them.

Y2K nostalgia. Cool, cryptic branding. The "leaked Zoom call" format. All trending. But they didn't just jump on the bandwagon. They used these trends to distribute their IP.

The Zoom call? That was the bonfire. Then they clipped it into 30+ sparklers (shorts, memes, carousels) pulling people back to the source.

They built IP, not just content.

Exclusive streetwear. An orange blimp over NYC. Orange as the brand color. Kylie, Tyler, Hailey Bieber, Tom Brady all in the fit. A UK rapper (EsDeeKid) who may or may not have been Timmy - he dropped a remix with the guy in December, playing into the hype without confirming or denying.

Brilliant.

Every piece reinforced the same thing: This is different. This is ours.

Kenzie:
What I love about this most…

They gave people multiple ways to enter the story.

If you're a film fan, you saw Timmy train with a ping pong table for six years. Into fashion? The streetwear drops. Basketball? Him courtside with Kylie. Ping Pong? Well, you’re already there.

That's how you move from visibility to influence. You meet people where they already are. Then, you give them something they can't get anywhere else.

Sam:
I saw it Christmas Day. Solid film. Good performances.

But I’ll say it again: the marketing campaign was better than the movie.

And that tells you everything you need to know about what they built. The campaign was the IP. The movie was just the bonfire we all gathered around.

→ Interested in the Sparkler/Bonfire model?

We break it down, alongside other frameworks used in this campaign, on The Authority Shift, the podcast from our team at 1DS Collective.

John:
You’re probably chasing trends right now. It’s what most of us are doing.

We replicate. Copy what works, hope it sticks. It feels safe.

But it isn’t. Because it doesn't build equity. It just makes you one of many. And no one remembers one of many.

Translation is different. You filter the trend through your unique lens. Your message. Your audience. Your goals.

Starting now. Here’s what you do instead:

1. Define your IP anchor.
The one thing only you can own. A framework. A format. A POV. A stance. Find it. Build everything around it.

2. Trends = distribution. IP = retention.
Use trends to borrow attention. Use your IP to keep it.

3. Build the bonfire first.
Don't go viral before you know what you're converting people into. If someone wants more after seeing your content, where do you send them? What will they get from you that they can't get anywhere else?

Determine your answer, before you do anything else.

Sam:
That's the difference between chasing a moment and building a movement.

Just like Marty Supreme.

. . .