At the 2025 CMA Summit, we had the privilege of hearing from Neha-Tamara Patel, the Global Director of Audience Development, Social and Analytics for Condé Nast’s GQ Magazine.
In a compelling keynote, she explored why stepping away from the numbers and refocusing on genuine audience engagement is the key to long-term success.
Discover the people-first marketing strategies she used to re-energise GQ’s following and how you can bring the same approach to your brand.
Audiences in the Age of Algorithms: Adapting a People-First Strategy to Engage Readers
“When we focus too much on metrics, on growth, on navigating algorithm changes […] We lose the essence of what we’re trying to do.”
Social media and other digital platforms once felt like a gateway into a connected world. Post something and watch its reach transcend borders, cultures and languages. One fell viral swoop, and your brand could be seen by millions.
Although these values apply in theory today, the game has changed. Big social media platforms can’t promise the reach they once could. As everyone with a smartphone saw the potential to reach such heights, that abundance of opportunity soon saturated our digital space.
Now, engagement is harder than ever. But rather than sling out a wider net to catch as much attention as possible, Neha-Tamara shows us how focusing on the people who matter to your brand most can make all the difference.
“It comes down to building relationships with people and the content we create speaking directly to the people we want to consume it.”
Reimagining MOTY
GQ’s Men of the Year (MOTY) Awards has remained a prestigious award honouring the most influential people across society. However, even something as prominent as MOTY still requires a shakeup from time to time to re-engage its audience. And we’re not just talking about inclusivity with women included in the awards.
Taking place every November, MOTY was once very formal, with hundreds of people in attendance before a long-winded awards show. Despite the acclaim and glamour, most stars would opt to leave rather than stick around for an afterparty.
So, a rejuvenation was necessary, and with some sober self-awareness, GQ asked itself a simple question:
“Who is the event truly for?”
Well, the stars, of course.
Realising it’s not for the readers who cannot attend the event, MOTY should be about the talent everyone was there to celebrate.
Therefore, GQ asked the stars what they wanted, and the response they received was less grandiose and more real. Somewhere they could feel comfortable, let their hair down and feel like a normal person.
In evolving the event to the preferences of the guests that make it, GQ transformed the formal, black-tie occasion with a very short red carpet walk and open dress code followed by an intimate dinner and afterparty.
For GQ readers interested in the event, GQ laser-focused on fashion, making sure the stars look amazing on the red carpet with high-quality photography.
GQ also hired the comedian and presenter Amelia Dimoldenberg (famous as the creator and host of the web series Chicken Shop Date) as an interviewer capable of peeling back the formality and enabling the viewers to get to know the stars.
“It allows us at GQ to create really authentic content that resonates with our audiences, but it also means we reach the audience of the stars themselves in a manner that feels natural and engaging rather than forced.”
The result?
MOTY 2024 generated 100 million social media video views on the British GQ profile alone.
This all came from stripping things back and making it about the people who matter most.
How Can GQ Engage Readers and Generate Revenue at the Same Time?
“I don’t think it’s any longer relevant to have a CTA that demands readers to shop here or buy now. We have to engage with them first and do that across a range of channels.”
When confronted with engagement decline, have you thought to ask your audience what they want?
In another effort to re-engage its audience, GQ took the same direct approach and asked its audience what they wanted from GQ.
Their reader’s request was simple. They wanted clear, concise advice that they could trust.
In response, GQ launched a shopping newsletter containing fashion suggestions and insights with tried and tested product reviews.
What became an equal exchange with GQ readers received the valued content they asked for while GQ enjoyed an increased engagement in return.
“I don’t think in 2025 the traditional sales funnel is relevant anymore. There isn’t the mass scale at the top generating interest and acquisition and there isn’t effective bottom of funnel calls to action that drive that conversion to sale.”
The Search Content Pyramid
The arrival of AI in search has seen the low-hanging fruit swallowed up. High-volume, evergreen content has been targeted by AI, which has seen search results drop accordingly.
When the dynamic shifts, so should the approach of brands to stay ahead.
Neha-Tamara Patel states the importance of focusing on the more niche and interesting pieces.
“The top two segments are what publishers, brands, and content creators need to be focusing on when it comes to search strategies. […] Think less volume, more value.”
Content for humans, written by humans is the content that readers return to their favourite brands for. It’s expert opinions and evaluations on subjects that matter the most.
The Three Takeaways for Audience Development
Wrapping up her talk, Neha-Tamara left us with the following three takeaways.
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Measure your success not through scale but through engagement with direct relationships.
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A global perspective is important but think through a local lens.
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Put people back at the centre of everything you create. Good content will always find its audience.
Modern data and metrics can provide content marketers with incredible insights into their audience, market and industry like never before. But in all that data-driven obsession, it’s easy for brands to lose sight of their number one – their audience.
