We Were Building a Media Brand — But Forgot to Build an Audience

When we started Unscripted Vani, our goal was big. We wanted to tell stories no one else was telling, spotlight voices often ignored, and create a platform that stood out from the noise. We threw ourselves into building a media brand—crafting a strong identity, refining our tone, designing the perfect logo, and creating content we were proud of.

It looked great. It sounded great. But there was a problem—we didn’t have an audience that was truly invested.

We thought if we kept putting out great stories, people would naturally show up. But content without connection is just content. And in our obsession with building a media brand, we forgot that the brand only matters if people care enough to engage with it.

In those early days, we were thinking like publishers, not community builders. We were chasing aesthetics over relationships, reach over depth. Sure, we got a few likes here and there, but there was no consistent conversation, no loyalty, no audience that felt like “this is my space.”

That’s when it hit us—building a media brand without building an audience is like opening a beautiful café in the middle of nowhere. You can have the best coffee, but if no one knows you exist or feels connected to you, the seats stay empty.

The Shift From Just Building a Media Brand to Building an Audience

We had to stop seeing our audience as a passive group and start treating them like collaborators in what we were creating. This meant asking questions, inviting responses, and making people feel seen in our content. We began measuring success differently—not just by views or reach, but by how many people commented, shared, and started real conversations with us.

Building a media brand is about identity, but building an audience is about trust. Without trust, the brand doesn’t stick. So we started listening more—tracking what resonated, which stories sparked replies, and what our audience actually wanted more of.

Slowly, the gap started closing. Our posts weren’t just floating in the feed anymore—they were being saved, discussed, and shared. We weren’t just a media brand people recognized; we were becoming a space people returned to.

Now, every piece of content we create runs through two filters:Does this fit our brand identity?And more importantly—will this matter to our audience?

Because we’ve learned that building a media brand without building an audience is just noise. But building both? That’s where the impact lives.