All Things Video

Brendan Gahan is the Chief Social Officer of Mekanism, a full-service creative agency that specializes in social content. Prior to Mekanism, Brendan served as VP of Brand Strategy for Fullscreen and then founded social-first agency Epic Signal, which was acquired by Mekanism in 2015. Brendan and I pack a lot into this episode, focusing on why 2020 was a breakout year for short-form video. TikTok is the poster child for the short-form video movement, though it’s facing increased competition from clones (e.g. Byte and Triller in the U.S., Roposo and Moj in India) as well as established social platforms like YouTube (Shorts), Snapchat (Spotlight), and Facebook (Lasso, Instagram Reels, and Collab). So why the short-form video gold rush? Brendan argues the format’s popularity in China is a leading indicator for growth in the West. New platforms like TikTok offer creators a fun and easy approach to content creation and a chance to quickly grow their audience. And for tech companies, short-form video is the next bat