In Part 4 of the Red Pill series humari’s Joe Hildebrand explores what’s really blocking marketing teams from getting real value from AI - and it isn’t always fear.

Burnout, economic pressure and digital fatigue are reshaping daily life for Chinese youth. Today, cosy, low-pressure spaces such as craft circles and dazi buddying are making connection more modular, interest-led and easy to step into – less about commitment, more about emotional regulation.

The idea that TV advertising is a dead medium remains popular simply because digital platforms make it incredibly easy for cautious marketers to track immediate actions. In a challenging economic climate, the temptation to rely on instant metrics is understandable. However, real-world data from Uni-China Group shows that relying entirely on easily trackable digital data damages long-term business growth. Shifting budgets exclusively to low-attention digital formats costs companies billions in lost revenue compared to high-attention environments like TV.