Seasonal Shifts in Streaming and TV Viewing Patterns During Summer

Economic Insider Staff 2 on June 4, 2025

Seasonal changes significantly impact how audiences consume content, especially during summer. As outdoor activities increase, traditional viewing habits transform. For marketing professionals, understanding these shifts is crucial for optimizing advertising spend, refining content strategies, and capturing consumer attention.

The Summer Slowdown: A Reality Check for Linear TV

Summer has historically meant a decline in linear television viewership. With schools out and vacations underway, audiences naturally shift away from the TV towards outdoor pursuits and social engagements. This behavioral change directly impacts linear TV’s ad impressions, often reducing reach and increasing CPMs for advertisers who don’t adapt. While linear TV retains significant reach, particularly among older demographics, its summer dip necessitates a re-evaluation of media buys and campaign timings.

The rise of streaming services offers a more resilient alternative, though their consumption patterns also evolve. Marketers must recognize that a “summer slowdown” isn’t a complete halt in media engagement, but rather a redistribution of how and where content is consumed.

Nuances in Streaming Behavior During Warmer Months

Warmer weather alters the nature of screen time within the streaming ecosystem:

Mobile-First Consumption: Increased time away from home leads to a surge in mobile device usage for content. This demands that advertisers prioritize mobile-optimized ad formats—shorter video ads and non-intrusive display ads for smaller screens.
Genre Shifts: Audiences gravitate towards lighter, more escapist content like comedies, reality shows, and lighthearted dramas. This also includes a resurgence of “comfort viewing.” Aligning campaigns with these seasonal genre preferences can boost relevance.
Co-Viewing vs. Individual Consumption: Communal “big screen” viewing may decrease as individuals consume content on personal devices. This implies more personalized ad targeting based on individual viewer profiles.
Travel and Vacation Impact: Travel disrupts viewing habits, leading to fragmented sessions. Advertisers can leverage geo-targeting to reach consumers in specific vacation spots or with travel-relevant ads.
Kids’ Content Surge: With children out of school, demand for family-friendly and kids’ programming spikes, presenting a prime opportunity for brands targeting these demographics.

Advertising Implications and Strategic Adaptations

For marketing professionals, these seasonal shifts demand strategic adaptation:

Budget Reallocation: Shifting ad spend from linear TV’s declining summer impressions towards digital and streaming platforms, especially those with strong mobile presences, is paramount.
Targeting Precision: Streaming platforms offer data-driven targeting. Marketers can leverage this to reach specific audiences based on location, behavior, and device usage, leading to more efficient ad spend.
Creative Adaptation: Ad creatives must be tailored to the summer context. This means shorter, dynamic ads for mobile, and contextually relevant messaging for summer-related products (travel, outdoor gear, beverages). Interactive ad formats can also capture attention.
Programmatic Advertising: The fragmented nature of summer viewing across numerous services makes programmatic advertising indispensable. It allows marketers to optimize spend in real-time for precise ad delivery.
Connected TV (CTV) Opportunity: CTV bridges linear and digital, offering a “big screen” experience with digital targeting precision. It remains an attractive channel for summer campaigns, especially for brands seeking strong visual presence.
Sponsorships and Integrations: Summer-themed content offers prime opportunities for brand sponsorships and organic product integrations, allowing brands to become part of the content experience.

Beyond the Screen: Integrated Marketing

Increased outdoor activity means less screen time overall for many consumers. Therefore, an effective summer marketing strategy extends beyond digital ads. Integrating streaming campaigns with outdoor advertising, experiential marketing, social media engagement, and in-store promotions ensures a holistic approach. The goal is to meet consumers where they are.

Summer brings predictable shifts in media consumption. For marketing professionals, these changes are opportunities. By understanding how and why audiences alter their viewing habits in warmer months, and by strategically adapting advertising budgets, creative approaches, and targeting, brands can effectively navigate the summer landscape and capture consumer attention. Data-driven insights and cross-platform strategies are key to summer marketing success.

Human-Centered Marketing: How Sara Nay and Duct Tape Marketing Are Redefining the Agency Model

Economic Insider Staff on June 4, 2025

By: Brenda C. Holland

In a saturated world of digital marketing noise, Sara Nay stands out not just for her experience or leadership—but for her unwavering belief that successful marketing starts with trust, relationships, and emotional intelligence. As CEO of Duct Tape Marketing, she’s bringing a human-first approach to a field often overrun by automation and hype.

Marketing That Feels Personal

Under Sara’s leadership, Duct Tape Marketing isn’t just a service provider—it’s a strategic partner. Her philosophy is simple: stop selling tactics, start building trust. In a time when countless agencies promise “10x growth” through one-size-fits-all solutions, Sara’s voice is a refreshing departure. She champions strategy as the foundation of any effective marketing plan and prioritizes deep understanding over quick wins.

Sara believes the best marketing is invisible—it’s seamlessly integrated with a company’s goals, culture, and customer experience. Her approach encourages businesses to view marketing not as a megaphone, but as a listening device. The result? More aligned branding, stronger customer relationships, and higher-quality conversions.

“Marketing should solve business problems, not just fill a funnel,” Sara notes, echoing her core belief that real impact happens when you align marketing with the human side of business.

Redefining the Role of the Marketer

Sara has spent more than a decade at Duct Tape Marketing, rising from intern to CEO. She’s worn nearly every hat—community manager, consultant, COO—and now leads the company into a new era where marketers are no longer seen as vendors, but as advisors.

This perspective is reshaping how small businesses perceive marketing support. Instead of outsourcing execution and hoping for the best, they now engage strategic partners who understand their business inside and out. That’s a direct result of Sara’s influence on the agency certification model—a hands-on program that not only teaches marketing strategy but also reinforces business acumen and client empathy.

Empowering Agencies Through the Marketing Leadership Accelerator

Through the company’s innovative Marketing Leadership Accelerator, Sara trains solo consultants and small agencies to elevate their roles into that of the trusted advisor. This shift from task execution to strategic partnership is at the heart of Duct Tape Marketing’s growing influence in the industry.

Participants in the program are given the tools to create systematized offerings that bring clarity to their clients. They’re taught how to lead strategy conversations, align marketing with business goals, and create long-term plans that deliver measurable results. This certification is more than training—it’s a mindset shift. It’s about stepping into leadership, building client trust, and fostering scalable agency models rooted in clarity and confidence.

Rooted in Empathy and Leadership

Sara’s leadership is guided by empathy and a deep understanding of burnout, balance, and the psychological demands of entrepreneurship. She is also a Certified Mindset Coach, helping business owners scale not just their marketing, but their inner capacity to lead and grow.

Whether it’s through masterminds, speaking engagements, or coaching sessions, Sara brings a people-centric lens to every conversation. She emphasizes the importance of scaling sustainably—a value that resonates deeply in today’s fast-paced, pressure-driven business culture.

Her experience mentoring hundreds of consultants has given her unique insight into the emotional highs and lows of running a marketing business. She frequently addresses themes like imposter syndrome, delegation fatigue, and decision paralysis—challenges that are rarely discussed in mainstream business circles, but which impact daily agency operations.

Beyond Business: The Personal Side of a Marketing Leader

Outside of her professional life, Sara Nay is a mom, outdoor enthusiast, and lifelong learner. Her commitment to continuous growth, both personally and professionally, is the invisible engine driving the success of Duct Tape Marketing.

She often shares behind-the-scenes insights into her life—balancing parenting, business leadership, and her passion for reading and wellness. This transparency makes her highly relatable to other entrepreneurs juggling similar responsibilities.

Sara’s story is one of evolution—not just of her career but of an entire industry she’s helping to reshape. And in a world where marketing is often reduced to algorithms and ad spend, her human-first approach is a powerful reminder of what really drives connection.

From Global Hustler to Data Pioneer — Darren Goonawardana’s Unorthodox Path to Powering Collectiv

Economic Insider Staff on June 4, 2025

By: Debra L. Bosworth

Darren Goonawardana didn’t follow the conventional road to success. He didn’t climb a traditional corporate ladder or stay boxed in a single industry. Instead, his path wove through four continents, multiple startups, intense failures, and unexpected adventures—including a stint in jail in Africa. Today, he leads Collectiv, a 2x Inc. 5000-listed firm and one of the top-rated Microsoft Data & AI consulting providers on G2.

This is the story of a nontraditional entrepreneur who turned global grit into data-driven growth, and in doing so, has helped reshape how modern business leaders think about automation, freedom, and success.

A Rebel with a Cause

While many tech CEOs pride themselves on clean, linear paths through high-tier MBAs and Silicon Valley startups, Darren Goonawardana forged his leadership style in the trenches of real-world business. From founding firms across Australia, the UK, Asia, and the U.S. to navigating hostile markets and chaotic startup scenes, his background has given him a distinctive edge—one that books alone often can’t teach—resilience and perspective.

His business acumen comes not from theory, but from living through unpredictable, high-stakes environments where agility often made the difference. Whether navigating regulatory pitfalls in emerging markets or working with underserved business sectors, Goonawardana’s career has consistently been about challenging norms and reconsidering what’s possible.

His view? Consulting should evolve or risk becoming obsolete. He believes that the traditional professional services model is increasingly in need of change and innovation. With Collectiv, he’s not just offering services—he’s contributing to a shift in how data and AI are delivered to mid-sized corporations aiming to modernize swiftly.

Data Strategy with a Human Touch

The secret to Collectiv’s approach lies not just in technical skill, but in a human-first philosophy toward artificial intelligence. Darren’s philosophy centers around the “Cyborg CEO” mindset, aiming to empower business leaders to improve operational efficiency without sacrificing well-being. Rather than overcomplicating things with jargon, Collectiv translates complex AI and data strategy into language accessible to everyday executives.

This is about practical impact—helping CEOs, CFOs, and VPs make better decisions, faster. Not surprisingly, Collectiv has become a preferred firm for organizations seeking to connect data with meaningful business outcomes, not just dashboards.

It’s also about fostering cultures of empowerment. Goonawardana’s teams prioritize training and upskilling internal stakeholders, so clients don’t become overly dependent on outside consultants. This is a consulting firm that actively works to reduce dependency, enabling leaders to run data operations independently and with growing confidence.

The focus isn’t just on automation for productivity, but automation for clarity and creativity. By freeing up executives from manual reporting, Collectiv allows more room for visionary thinking, strategic pivots, and personal growth—hallmarks of sustainable leadership.

A Founder Who Doesn’t Worship the Hustle

Unlike many tech entrepreneurs, Darren Goonawardana doesn’t glorify burnout. He’s open about wanting a business model that enables a fulfilling life, not just a productive one. “How we do things today is not how we will do them tomorrow,” he says, embodying his belief that automation should aim to liberate, not overwhelm.

His company’s mission mirrors this ethos: build smart systems so leaders can step back, breathe, think, and focus on what truly matters. It’s about reclaiming time through intelligent automation, and Collectiv is actively contributing to this shift.

This mindset also resonates with modern executives who are redefining what success looks like. Rather than being tethered to constant meetings and reports, Collectiv’s clients are empowered to lead with purpose, supported by real-time insights and predictive analytics.

In an age where “busy” has become a badge of honor, Goonawardana offers an alternative: a potentially smarter way to lead, grow, and live. He champions well-being alongside business excellence, illustrating that innovation can coexist with mental health and balance.

What’s Next?

With an eye on growth and a foot firmly in the Microsoft ecosystem, Collectiv is positioning itself as a key player in business intelligence for modern enterprises. And for Darren Goonawardana, the journey is far from over. His next mission? Expanding his influence as a thought leader and speaker, and turning his “lazy CEO” philosophy into a broader conversation.

This means not just promoting services, but sparking ongoing dialogue around the future of leadership, automation ethics, and how AI can humanize business rather than mechanize it. Goonawardana suggests professional services will soon look very different, shaped by AI-driven insights, agile thinking, and leadership that values lifestyle as much as growth.

If you’re weary of consulting buzzwords and searching for practical transformation, Collectiv and its founder might be well worth considering. And if you’re an executive seeking more clarity and less chaos, Goonawardana’s approach could offer a thoughtful blueprint for a better way to lead—potentially smarter, freer, and on your own terms.