When the macro environment is challenging, marketers need to lean in and work harder to find shoppers interested in their product, according to Steve Nesle, Chief Marketing Officer at Bob’s Discount Furniture. So the retail chain is experimenting with a first: creating its own reality TV show on social media.

Bob’s is releasing six two-minute episodes of a reality TV show called “Till Decor Do Us Part” on TikTok, Meta and YouTube. Each episode features a couple designing a room with Bob’s Discount Furniture pieces. One picks the items while the other watches on the sidelines and makes comments in real time to the show’s host, comedian Gabby Bryan. Bickering ensues.

The goal is to connect with shoppers who are in the market for furniture where they are—and that’s on their phones. “This reality format that we launched is more in the entertainment space,” Nesle said. “So Bob's is not front and center. We are—you know I hate to say it as a marketer—but we're in the back seat,” he said.

But that choice is deliberate. “There's no shortage of appetite for content, but there’s certainly a finite amount of appetite for advertising content,” Nesle said. Here’s a look at the series’ marketing goals, engagement and next steps.

According to a new report from PartnerCentric, 41% of Americans—and 48% of Gen Z—are actively planning to spend less time on social networks in 2025. Though 99% of respondents said they use social media, 16% of Americans quit at least one social media platform so far in 2025; among Gen Z, that number ticks up to 18%. Read about what the cohort is gravitating toward instead.

Lastly, a tight brief with clearly defined objectives is very important to enabling great creative work, according to 82% of clients and 79% of agencies surveyed by the Association of National Advertisers. We look at creative brief must-haves, roadblocks and the briefing experience itself.

Until next week,