The Now Agency Opens Social Distribution Network As Brands Seek Control Of Content

EXCLUSIVE: As the worlds of entertainment and brands move closer together, The Now Agency has a plan to scale content.

The New York-based social media agency is launching a social distribution network (SDN), which is aimed at helping brands push their content towards a network of more than 50,000 third-party publishers.

“Great content alone is no longer enough to win on social,” said Gabe Feldman, co-founder and Managing Partner of The Now Agency. “Brands need to think just as critically about how that content is engineered to break through the discovery mechanisms that determine its reach, and how distribution can scale that reach beyond a brand’s owned channels.”

In effect, the social distribution network will allow content such as podcasts, interviews, live streams, YouTube programing and other types of long-form content to reach vetted third parties, who turn the content into social-native clips and distribute them through their own channels. The content will span the entertainment, lifestyle, sports and culture spaces.

The Now Agency says content discovery that was once tied to a creator or brand’s follower base, but that platforms are now sharing based on signals such as watch time, engagement, discussion and shares.

“The opportunity isn’t simply to produce more content,” added Jonathan Chanti, Co-Founder of The Now. “It’s to build a system that gives every strong piece of content more chances to find its audience. Social distribution should be treated as infrastructure, not an afterthought.”