The Attention Economy: How Vertical Worlds and Branded Content Build Global Audiences
- Gold Stage (map)
Entertainment is no longer defined by a single screen, format, or business model. Mobile-first platforms, vertical dramas, creator-led content, branded entertainment, and AI-powered production are transforming how stories are developed, discovered, and monetized. As audiences shift their viewing habits, creators must rethink not only how they tell stories, but how they build audiences and sustainable businesses around them. This panel brings together leaders in vertical storytelling, platform strategy, digital audience growth, and global media to explore the convergence of creative innovation and commercial opportunity.
Speakers will examine why microdramas have become one of the fastest-growing entertainment formats, how platforms use audience insights to shape content, and how vertical storytelling can serve as a testing ground for new ideas, characters, and intellectual property with the potential to expand into film, television, and other formats. The discussion will also explore how creator ecosystems, educational media, branded partnerships, and cross-border strategies are creating new pathways for audience growth, financing, distribution, and global revenue opportunities. Attendees will gain practical insights into building audiences, creating sustainable content models, and developing stories that can travel across platforms and global markets.
CEO of Crave Global Inc.; EVP & Business Head, CreAsia Studio, a Banijay company
Charles Kim is the Founder and CEO of Crave Global, the first end-to-end platform built to convert Western celebrity influence into transactional revenue across China and the broader Asian market. He has spent more than two decades structuring cross-border capital and partnerships between the United States and Asia, with over 100 syndicated transactions across Korea, Japan, and China. His expertise spans asset finance, project finance, private equity, M&A, capital markets, and sales and trading, with strength in special situations that demand creative deal structuring. He is known for negotiating, establishing, and scaling international joint ventures in emerging markets, supported by an extensive network of banks and institutional investors across Asia.
Director, Lumberwitch Films
Dom Cutrupi is an Italian-Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2024, he began directing for the fast-growing vertical series format and has since directed around 30 verticals. His micro-drama Mafia’s Tender Torture became the most-watched vertical series in the world (outside of China) in 2025. His work includes series for ReelShort, DramaBox and DramaWave, establishing him as a leading voice in vertical storytelling.
Project Manager, Reelshort Canada, Crazy Maple Studios
As an experienced creator and writer, Keri Lee was invited to join Crazy Maple Studio soon after first publishing in 2018. Since then, she has worn many hats, notably in the past as their Community Stories Manager, curating and empowering a community of writers, and then as Director of Creative Strategies. Currently, she is the Canadian Reelshort Project Manager, with a focus on co-productions and brand integration.
Moderated by:
Director, Interactive, Digital, and Emerging Media, Canada Media Fund
Based in Vancouver, Janine is an experienced media producer and arts administrator with a focus on digital strategy and immersive technologies. She will help develop policy and programs to ensure the CMF’s mandate is fulfilled in consistency with the distinctiveness of Canada’s IDM market. Prior to joining the CMF, Janine held senior roles provincially with Creative BC and federally with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). While at the NFB, she was responsible for all their digital products and platforms, and managed award-winning collaborations with key partners, such as Google, the Guardian, imagineNATIVE, and VICE Media. Most recently, Janine was a programs manager at Creative BC, responsible for the Domestic Motion Picture Fund and the Interactive Fund. In that role, she designed several industry-leading funding programs, including the first digital media funding available in BC, and the first targeted funding for equity seeking motion picture creators in BC.
Supported by the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite, and IPTV distributors, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) is a not-for-profit organization that invests in Canadian creators and companies to tell stories that reflect and connect us all. We fund audiovisual and interactive digital media content—across all platforms—that builds a stronger cultural identity at home and on the world stage. The CMF puts stories front and centre, opening pathways to domestic and global markets and promoting a screen-based sector that is more resilient, more inclusive, and fuelled for growth. Visit our website to learn more about what we do: https://cmf-fmc.ca/
The Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC Creators (CISF) is Canada's only national fund dedicated to supporting Black and racialized creators by filling strategic gaps in the funding ecosystem and helping production companies build capacity, scale their operations, and access new market opportunities.
The Independent Production Fund supports Canadian creators, writers, and producers by providing development and production financing for narrative television and short form series.
Director, AylexTV Inc. / Aylex Academies
Bio +
Aylex Academies is on a mission to make world-class education free for everyone. Through our growing portfolio of YouTube channels spanning golf, badminton, pickleball, piano, tennis, and beyond, we bring expert coaching to over 20 million learners worldwide. Built on a simple teacher-and-student format, we turn complex skills into clear, accessible lessons with no tuition, no barriers. Our vision is bold: 100+ channels delivering free education across every discipline, so anyone with curiosity can learn from the best.