Attention is splintering, attribution signals are fading, and the old measures of success don’t reflect how people actually experience brands anymore. Social time has dropped about 10% since its 2022 peak, and people are drifting to places like Reddit, Discord and Substack, where they choose to pay attention. Flora Paterson, Jamie Lennon and Lottie Webb look at what that means for planning: why context now carries as much creative weight as the message, how distinctiveness is coming from channel choreography, and why getting it right takes sharper judgement over broader reach.