What the hell is a Micro Drama, and should brands care?

In this episode, we unpack the fast-growing world of micro dramas for brands: short, vertical, highly addictive video series designed for mobile-first audiences. With episodes typically just two to three minutes long and built around constant cliffhangers, these bite-sized stories are engineered to keep viewers hooked and coming back for more.


The conversation explores why brands should be paying close attention. Despite their often melodramatic or “guilty pleasure” tone, micro dramas are proving incredibly effective at driving real action – from moving audiences off social platforms to encouraging app downloads, sign-ups and even direct purchases. It’s a rare format that blends storytelling with measurable conversion, and the numbers behind it are hard to ignore.


We debate whether or not more serious brands should get involved, and challenge the assumption that tone needs to perfectly align with brand identity. Drawing parallels to traditional soap operas and telenovelas, we highlight how brands have historically succeeded by showing up where audiences already are, rather than overthinking context. The soap opera comparison is more literal than you might think.


We also dig into how the model works commercially, from product placement and shoppable content to paid episode unlocks using tokens. While the format may appear low-budget, it requires a highly specific production approach, with hundreds of episodes, rapid turnaround and carefully crafted hooks. Getting it right demands real expertise.


Finally, we turn the discussion to the opportunity within Africa. While local adoption is still in its early stages, global demand is booming – and there’s a clear gap for authentic, locally produced content that resonates with regional audiences. For African brands, that gap represents a genuine first-mover advantage.
If you are thinking about attention, engagement and conversion in a new way, this episode offers a fresh perspective on where content, and brand storytelling, might be heading next.

EP 42.txt

English (US)

 

01:00:03.280 — 01:00:08.080 · Speaker 1

What the hell is a macro drama? And should brands cave?

 

01:00:09.960 — 01:00:18.360 · Speaker 2

Yes, they should absolutely care. Really? Even if they’re a serious brand? Yes. Okay. Even if they’re a serious brand. Okay, first of all.

 

01:00:18.760 — 01:00:21.320 · Speaker 3

What actually is a macro drama?

 

01:00:21.360 — 01:00:25.760 · Speaker 2

Okay. Micro drama. Mini drama. Vertical drama. Ooh.

 

01:00:25.840 — 01:00:27.760 · Speaker 3

Political drama. I haven’t heard that one before.

 

01:00:27.800 — 01:00:34.319 · Speaker 2

Yeah, yeah. So those are the terms that gets thrown around. Okay. Essentially what it is, is it’s a

 

01:00:35.440 — 01:00:44.960 · Speaker 2

a drama that’s been filmed in a specific way, and it’s always vertical. Okay. It is designed to have a very short

 

01:00:46.160 — 01:00:53.200 · Speaker 2

beat. So in other words, we get to the drama really, really quickly. Okay. Very addictive hooks.

 

01:00:53.240 — 01:00:53.680 · Speaker 3

Mhm.

 

01:00:53.920 — 01:01:03.120 · Speaker 2

To make sure that we can get a viewer hooked into the next one and the next one, the next one. So if you don’t like addictive algorithms this is what it’s.

 

01:01:03.120 — 01:01:03.680 · Speaker 3

Done for you.

 

01:01:03.720 — 01:01:06.920 · Speaker 4

Is it serialized or is everyone serialized?

 

01:01:06.920 — 01:01:07.440 · Speaker 2

So.

 

01:01:07.800 — 01:01:08.840 · Speaker 3

And they short.

 

01:01:08.880 — 01:01:18.440 · Speaker 2

They’re short. So 2 to 3 minute episodes. High drama. They work really, really well on specific genres. They’re often a little bit steamy or saucy.

 

01:01:18.720 — 01:01:21.560 · Speaker 3

That’s why I’m saying if you’re a serious brand, you really want to.

 

01:01:21.600 — 01:01:22.720 · Speaker 2

Well, I’ll tell you why.

 

01:01:23.040 — 01:01:24.120 · Speaker 3

The tone is.

 

01:01:24.280 — 01:01:28.880 · Speaker 2

I think you must absolutely get into it. So let me ask you a question.

 

01:01:28.920 — 01:01:29.560 · Speaker 3

Okay.

 

01:01:29.600 — 01:01:36.520 · Speaker 2

If you had an objective with the brand that said, I want you to take our Facebook audience and move them to our app.

 

01:01:36.640 — 01:01:37.240 · Speaker 3

Okay.

 

01:01:37.280 — 01:01:39.920 · Speaker 2

How successful would we be at doing that.

 

01:01:39.960 — 01:01:41.240 · Speaker 3

With the macro drama?

 

01:01:41.280 — 01:01:42.600 · Speaker 2

No, without a micro drama.

 

01:01:44.240 — 01:01:49.320 · Speaker 3

Yeah. Philip, I don’t know. I need at least 30s to come up with a Strat, so.

 

01:01:49.320 — 01:01:54.520 · Speaker 2

It’s really difficult to get audiences off of Facebook onto a bespoke download.

 

01:01:54.680 — 01:01:59.600 · Speaker 3

Okay. Yes, I was going to say so you’re talking about them, you deep platforming people? Yes. Okay.

 

01:01:59.640 — 01:02:04.570 · Speaker 2

Now micro dramas have got a massive success rate in being able to do that.

 

01:02:04.610 — 01:02:05.010 · Speaker 3

Okay.

 

01:02:05.050 — 01:02:14.810 · Speaker 2

So that’s why we need to pay attention. Okay. It’s the first time I’ve seen something that’s almost guaranteed to pull people off platform, download it app and convert them to another platform.

 

01:02:14.850 — 01:02:15.810 · Speaker 3

Wow. Okay.

 

01:02:15.850 — 01:02:23.010 · Speaker 2

And we’re talking high success rates. Right. So that’s why brands should care. There’s something in that that we need to learn about.

 

01:02:23.050 — 01:02:33.450 · Speaker 3

Okay. Is it specific to a target audience though? I mean, is this going to be successful at a particular age or demographic?

 

01:02:33.490 — 01:03:15.170 · Speaker 2

So yes, currently I think micro dramas. Really. Female skewed. Okay. But age wise, not really. Across the board. Okay. Um, where it started off was in Asia. Um, where, you know, those cultures, higher communities and cultures. Um, they’re very used to reading, uh, even manga and stuff like that. So high melodrama kind of content.

 

Yes. Um, and it really started there, but it is Exploded in the Western cultures. So if you had to do a quick survey in your office, which I have done 90%.

 

01:03:15.330 — 01:03:16.650 · Speaker 3

And I know the answer yes.

 

01:03:16.690 — 01:03:17.250 · Speaker 2

Is watching.

 

01:03:17.450 — 01:03:18.170 · Speaker 3

They’re addicted.

 

01:03:18.210 — 01:03:18.970 · Speaker 2

They’re addicted to.

 

01:03:18.970 — 01:03:23.770 · Speaker 3

Them. Is it similar to kind of like a TV in a villa kind of style?

 

01:03:24.410 — 01:03:28.930 · Speaker 2

Yes or no? Okay. Like a telenovela is also a very good telenovela. Yeah.

 

01:03:29.330 — 01:03:33.490 · Speaker 3

That’s what I’ve been calling a TV novela for, like, ever. Whoops.

 

01:03:33.850 — 01:03:43.490 · Speaker 2

Yeah. Telenovela. Thank you. It’s a very specific type of way of structuring a story. Right. Um, this feels similar because it’s also quite melodramatic. Yes, but the structure is completely different.

 

01:03:43.610 — 01:03:55.810 · Speaker 3

And if a brand isn’t interested in moving their audience from, say, Facebook onto an app, is there still a space that’s worthwhile participating in?

 

01:03:56.330 — 01:03:56.650 · Speaker 2

Rich?

 

01:03:56.690 — 01:04:00.010 · Speaker 4

Yeah. Well, I mean, there can be a commerce aspect to it.

 

01:04:00.050 — 01:04:00.650 · Speaker 3

Okay.

 

01:04:00.730 — 01:04:04.010 · Speaker 4

Okay. Um, the, uh.

 

01:04:04.370 — 01:04:06.010 · Speaker 5

Full stop, the draw. Yeah. Yeah.

 

01:04:07.010 — 01:04:07.290 · Speaker 3

Okay.

 

01:04:07.330 — 01:04:10.050 · Speaker 4

So drawing in this episode is that I’m completely redundant.

 

01:04:11.810 — 01:04:14.250 · Speaker 3

So are you talking like, product placement or something like that?

 

01:04:14.290 — 01:04:47.850 · Speaker 4

Yeah, there can be a combination. So like in the episode that rolls out, um, the you don’t have the platform people. It can be just on the native platform. Um, and it’s really just a form of content. I think there’s been a switch from scrolling to just bingeing. So like just watching one video after the next, and especially if this is like a serial last thing, that’s what people are doing.

 

But you can have like a in one of the stories. Someone using a product in certain apps will allow for the ability to actually click and buy that product. So it can have like quite a focused.

 

01:04:48.050 — 01:04:49.130 · Speaker 3

Commerce elements.

 

01:04:49.170 — 01:04:49.890 · Speaker 4

Commerce element.

 

01:04:49.890 — 01:04:50.450 · Speaker 2

To it. And I think.

 

01:04:50.450 — 01:04:51.770 · Speaker 4

This is if that answers your question.

 

01:04:51.770 — 01:05:10.660 · Speaker 2

Yeah, this is really important part of micro dramas as well is although they use traditional social media platforms, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram to promote themselves, their core businesses on their own apps, which they have customized, they have gamified. You normally have to buy tokens.

 

01:05:10.700 — 01:05:13.300 · Speaker 3

To taste coins and tokens. Yeah.

 

01:05:13.340 — 01:05:16.780 · Speaker 2

If you don’t buy these ad versions, it’s probably around.

 

01:05:16.820 — 01:05:18.820 · Speaker 4

Oh, so you pay to watch these things.

 

01:05:18.860 — 01:05:24.860 · Speaker 3

You pay. Maybe that’s another place for for brands to participate is in the advertising space.

 

01:05:24.900 — 01:05:56.100 · Speaker 2

Can you imagine if brands could unlock the same amount of viewership micro dramas are getting, which is massive worldwide? Yeah. To the point where Warner Brothers, Netflix, everybody is trying to get into the micro dramas thing. And yeah, and they struggle because of various reasons. But imagine a brand could harness the power of that.

 

Yeah. And when we do it in television with with with drama, why aren’t we getting brands involved with micro dramas yet? What’s the stumbling block?

 

01:05:56.140 — 01:06:01.900 · Speaker 3

Well, I mean, my gut instinct is because of the nature of the content and because it’s either

 

01:06:03.820 — 01:06:10.180 · Speaker 3

I want to almost say it’s like, um, it’s it’s the stuff that you don’t tell people you watch.

 

01:06:10.260 — 01:06:12.100 · Speaker 2

It’s guilty viewing pleasure.

 

01:06:12.140 — 01:06:12.700 · Speaker 3

Exactly.

 

01:06:12.740 — 01:06:13.500 · Speaker 2

Technical term.

 

01:06:13.540 — 01:06:36.380 · Speaker 3

Yes. Okay. It’s a guilty. It’s a guilty viewing pleasure. And I think for a lot of more sort of seriously toned brands, it doesn’t feel like a good match. You know, I don’t want to be seen to be present in that kind of content. And so it feels like you would have to be a very specific kind of brand in order for it to be a good fit.

 

01:06:36.420 — 01:06:38.260 · Speaker 4

Yeah, I can agree with you there.

 

01:06:38.420 — 01:06:53.420 · Speaker 2

I want to be the counsel arguments of that show. If you take a look at soaps. Yeah, right. Every brand from the most serious in this country to the most silly have got involved with them. Yeah. Why?

 

01:06:53.460 — 01:06:55.540 · Speaker 3

Because the broad appeal of the content.

 

01:06:55.580 — 01:07:22.100 · Speaker 2

Broad appeal of the content to get eyeballs on the brand. Yeah. But the characters do not reflect the brand values. Yes. And the audience understands that. Yeah. So if I was a big financial group and I wanted to get young professionals Into spending money on investments or whatever. I’d use the macro drama because.

 

You’ve got to meet your consumer where they are at.

 

01:07:22.540 — 01:07:28.540 · Speaker 4

Would you? You wouldn’t be platform people. Onto some app and charge them to watch your brand. No you don’t.

 

01:07:29.500 — 01:07:42.060 · Speaker 2

No, you don’t have to. You could create your own YouTube channel for this. You could do all sorts of things. But my. The the deep platforming thing is just an illustration of how powerful.

 

01:07:42.620 — 01:07:43.900 · Speaker 5

They can get content.

 

01:07:44.500 — 01:07:50.100 · Speaker 2

Yeah. So if I had a microsite that I wanted them to go to. I could absolutely do that.

 

01:07:50.100 — 01:07:50.460 · Speaker 3

Yeah.

 

01:07:50.500 — 01:08:06.700 · Speaker 2

And with a much higher success rate than asking, please click off of Facebook and go to mark my site. Yeah. So imagine if you get a person hooked on a story, which doesn’t have to be salacious. Let’s be honest. It can be. It can be brand matched.

 

01:08:06.740 — 01:08:07.340 · Speaker 3

Okay.

 

01:08:07.780 — 01:08:22.670 · Speaker 2

Um, I could get an audience hooked onto that storyline, then go to my microsite to complete some sort of function. could be for marketing research could be entering a competition. It could be signing up for a free trial to be able to see the next.

 

01:08:22.710 — 01:08:22.830 · Speaker 5

Thing.

 

01:08:22.830 — 01:08:27.030 · Speaker 3

You’re going to say. And they would need to do that in order to unlock the following year.

 

01:08:27.070 — 01:08:32.990 · Speaker 2

Currently, people are paying in South Africa between 1 and $5 per episode.

 

01:08:33.030 — 01:08:33.550 · Speaker 3

Wow.

 

01:08:34.110 — 01:08:39.070 · Speaker 2

And it’s a major threat to our broadcasting quality.

 

01:08:39.070 — 01:08:40.150 · Speaker 4

Are these things.

 

01:08:40.430 — 01:08:43.990 · Speaker 2

So that’s a complicated question.

 

01:08:44.030 — 01:08:44.229 · Speaker 5

Well.

 

01:08:44.590 — 01:08:45.390 · Speaker 2

What is quality.

 

01:08:45.430 — 01:08:49.350 · Speaker 3

Right. Yeah. Well, I mean, are they typically sort of a bit more low budget.

 

01:08:49.390 — 01:09:23.870 · Speaker 2

Yes. So, so it’s very specific to micro dramas that the way we produce them is incredibly high turnaround and it’s created a certain style. But if you’re not an expert in micro dramas, to recreate that cheaply is very difficult. So yes, they come across very low budget but incredibly effective. And there’s a lot of thought, a lot of work that’s gone into getting them to that point.

 

Yeah, but it’s not just something anybody can do. We’re talking hundreds to 200 episodes.

 

01:09:23.910 — 01:09:25.230 · Speaker 3

That’s insane.

 

01:09:25.270 — 01:09:25.910 · Speaker 2

Right?

 

01:09:26.630 — 01:09:27.790 · Speaker 4

Sorry. Of one.

 

01:09:27.790 — 01:09:28.510 · Speaker 5

Stone story.

 

01:09:28.550 — 01:09:32.310 · Speaker 2

One story with a with a climactic cook every 90s.

 

01:09:32.350 — 01:09:34.710 · Speaker 3

Yeah. That is. Yeah.

 

01:09:35.510 — 01:09:48.430 · Speaker 2

So it’s a very specific way of producing. Yeah. It needs a very specific team of people to produce it. It even rejects the idea of having recognizable characters. Yeah. Micro dramas do not work with famous people.

 

01:09:48.470 — 01:10:08.590 · Speaker 3

Yes. Okay. So let’s say now we have convinced a brand that, you know, this could work with whatever marketing objective they have within our country. Is there are there micro dramas that they can participate in now, either with product placement or advertising?

 

01:10:09.110 — 01:10:24.390 · Speaker 2

There’s definitely being produced. Okay. Um, we are definitely pitching it at the moment. Okay. Um, everybody’s talking about it. It’s incredibly early days. Okay. And I think what’s where the brands are at at the moment is.

 

01:10:24.470 — 01:10:24.990 · Speaker 5

This is.

 

01:10:24.990 — 01:10:25.630 · Speaker 2

Really.

 

01:10:26.270 — 01:10:27.790 · Speaker 3

Is it a wait and see story.

 

01:10:27.830 — 01:10:51.310 · Speaker 2

Are we not sure about this whole thing? And where I’m coming from is I don’t think the micro dramas have been produced for brands specifically. I think a brand needs to really go, we want to do this. We want to create a bespoke, um, series for our brand to achieve our objectives and design. It’s not good anymore.

 

01:10:51.350 — 01:10:53.710 · Speaker 3

Using that format that’s already tried and tested.

 

01:10:53.750 — 01:11:17.510 · Speaker 2

And it’s not good anymore. Just to hop on to some other brands, uh, other content. You need to own that content designer to work for your brand and your objectives. Then that’s the power. I think we need to unlock with micro dramas. Um, jumping on one that’s existing. I don’t think that’s the way to go. Yeah, unless you’re trying to.

 

Just pure product placement.

 

01:11:17.590 — 01:11:52.080 · Speaker 3

Well, I was going to say I think it’s it’s maybe in some cases an easy in. If it’s about, you know, just putting your product in front of a lot of viewers, then that makes sense to me. Um, and just in terms of content creators in our, in our country. Is there a format that looks similar to this that would maybe be kind of more business focused?

 

I mean, what is stopping a podcast from working in that format? Really short episodes,

 

01:11:53.360 — 01:11:54.880 · Speaker 3

a tremendous hook.

 

01:11:56.360 — 01:11:57.280 · Speaker 3

I don’t know what it would be.

 

01:11:57.320 — 01:11:58.320 · Speaker 5

I’m just, I suppose.

 

01:11:58.800 — 01:12:29.840 · Speaker 2

Possible. Yeah. And in the unscripted space and reality TV, there’s some experiments going on to do exactly that, because there’s just there’s just something magic about if you if you like them or don’t like them, something they’ve been able to do, which no other piece of content or studio or anybody else has been able to do, and that’s hold audience’s attention.

 

Day in and day out. Make them pay for it. Make them download apps. They don’t care what they have to do. They want the content.

 

01:12:29.880 — 01:12:42.840 · Speaker 3

Is it not though? Just a soap that is now reformatted to fit the current laugh of a cell phone in my hand, and they’ve monetized. I mean, it’s actually just bloody genius. I wish I’d thought of it myself.

 

01:12:43.760 — 01:12:44.440 · Speaker 5

I think it is.

 

01:12:44.440 — 01:12:45.440 · Speaker 4

Literally just that.

 

01:12:45.480 — 01:12:47.840 · Speaker 5

Yeah, because soaps have been.

 

01:12:47.840 — 01:12:48.680 · Speaker 4

Sort of cliffhanger.

 

01:12:49.080 — 01:12:49.360 · Speaker 5

Yeah.

 

01:12:49.400 — 01:12:49.840 · Speaker 3

And they’ve.

 

01:12:49.840 — 01:12:50.840 · Speaker 5

Been stories.

 

01:12:50.840 — 01:12:52.480 · Speaker 3

They’ve been working for.

 

01:12:52.520 — 01:12:53.120 · Speaker 2

I would say.

 

01:12:53.160 — 01:12:53.680 · Speaker 3

Decades.

 

01:12:53.720 — 01:12:54.160 · Speaker 2

It’s the.

 

01:12:54.160 — 01:12:55.280 · Speaker 5

Distilled.

 

01:12:55.800 — 01:13:05.240 · Speaker 2

Elements of telenovelas and soaps combined. Yeah. And remember a soapy. The reason we call them soaps is because they were sponsored by soap brands.

 

01:13:05.280 — 01:13:06.240 · Speaker 3

I didn’t know that.

 

01:13:06.280 — 01:13:17.040 · Speaker 2

It’s one of the oldest forms of branded entertainment. And we’ve kind of gone full circle. And I don’t think enough brands are considering.

 

01:13:17.080 — 01:13:17.720 · Speaker 5

Yeah.

 

01:13:17.880 — 01:13:20.560 · Speaker 2

Going back to the essence of eyeballs.

 

01:13:20.600 — 01:13:20.960 · Speaker 5

Yes.

 

01:13:20.960 — 01:13:26.840 · Speaker 2

And working out. And now there’s this affordable way to do it that’s accepted by a large group of people?

 

01:13:26.880 — 01:13:27.520 · Speaker 5

Yeah.

 

01:13:27.880 — 01:13:28.920 · Speaker 2

Why not get involved?

 

01:13:28.960 — 01:13:32.960 · Speaker 4

I think it’s I think currently it’s just quite new.

 

01:13:33.040 — 01:13:34.080 · Speaker 5

I think a lot of it’s.

 

01:13:34.080 — 01:13:35.280 · Speaker 3

Here in South Africa.

 

01:13:35.320 — 01:13:35.680 · Speaker 5

Yeah.

 

01:13:35.720 — 01:13:36.440 · Speaker 2

Very new.

 

01:13:36.440 — 01:13:42.440 · Speaker 4

And I only know about them because you’ve told me about them. I’ve never seen one or. Yeah, I’ve researched.

 

01:13:42.440 — 01:14:24.760 · Speaker 2

Them and you’re probably not the target market for it. Right. Neither am I, to be honest, but I was in London a few weeks ago at a seminar, listening to one of the chief creatives from Real Shorts, speaking about why do the stories work. Because they’re very simple stories. And he just made the comments as well in, you know, in people’s daily lives, they just sometimes want something simple that they can relate to escapism.

 

We don’t always need the complex, clever, Oscar winning, billion dollar piece of content we sometimes just need the comfort of.

 

01:14:24.800 — 01:14:25.440 · Speaker 5

Yeah.

 

01:14:26.050 — 01:14:29.450 · Speaker 2

Um, and that’s why it’s working in his opinion.

 

01:14:29.490 — 01:14:29.810 · Speaker 5

Mhm.

 

01:14:29.850 — 01:14:39.450 · Speaker 2

And I, I believe in Africa we’ve adopted this quite slowly. Um, the stats currently are that Africans are watching this uh, throughout Africa.

 

01:14:39.490 — 01:14:40.770 · Speaker 3

But it’s not local content.

 

01:14:41.010 — 01:14:41.330 · Speaker 2

It’s not.

 

01:14:41.330 — 01:14:41.890 · Speaker 5

Local.

 

01:14:41.970 — 01:15:00.770 · Speaker 2

It’s all Caucasian driven Asians and Americans acting like buffoons. I really believe there’s a big opportunity for Africa to get involved with this and African brands to to really be authentic voices in that movement. Um, because who wants to pay $5 to watch a two minute episode?

 

01:15:00.810 — 01:15:02.250 · Speaker 3

Apparently lots of people.

 

01:15:02.290 — 01:15:02.490 · Speaker 5

Yeah.

 

01:15:02.530 — 01:15:03.530 · Speaker 3

Well, yeah.

 

01:15:03.570 — 01:15:06.570 · Speaker 2

So if a brand could fund it, why not?

 

01:15:06.610 — 01:15:07.170 · Speaker 5

Yeah.

 

01:15:07.210 — 01:15:17.410 · Speaker 3

Okay. Well, watch the drama unfold. We will bring you a follow up episode. Um, as soon as one of these hits our shores. And in the meantime, if you’re a.

 

01:15:17.410 — 01:15:18.210 · Speaker 1

Brand, comment.

 

01:15:18.210 — 01:15:22.330 · Speaker 3

Below. We’d love to hear what your thoughts are on whether being involved.

 

01:15:22.330 — 01:15:24.130 · Speaker 1

In a micro drama would suit.

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