Brands, beware! Microdramas just might be the next metaverse

FastCompany: A young woman notices a pair of Crocs outside her neighbor’s apartment door. But there’s a huge problem. The Crocs don’t have a single Jibbitz charm. So she decides to take a charm off her own Crocs and put it on the shoes of her mysterious neighbor. That’s the start to Charmed to Meet You , a scripted microdrama that launched in February on the ReelShort app. Apparently inspired by a true story involving a Crocs employee, it chronicles a flirty dialogue told across five short-form episodes. So far, it’s attracted more than 10 million views.

Microdramas—serialized episodes that run less than two minutes—have seemingly taken over the internet of late. Some data: The specialty apps that stream microdramas, including ReelShort and DramaBox, are outpacing traditional streamers in app store downloads. In 2025, ReelShort was downloaded 38 million times in the U.S. TelevisaUnivision’s Spanish-language short-form vertical videos have 900 million social media views and 6 million daily users . And according to Variety , microdrama revenue in the U.S. reached $819 million in 2024 and is projected to hit $3.8 billion by 2030.

Whenever a new entertainment trend starts showing these kinds of numbers, inevitably brands are eager to jump on the bandwagon. TelevisaUnivision, for example, created a series for JCPenney , while other brands, including Starbucks and Maybelline, are also experimenting with the format. Marketers , I know what you’re thinking. You’re dying to jump into the trend feetfirst. Those microdrama numbers! They’re just so mesmerizing. But that digital engagement oasis could well be a metaverse-style mirage . Or worse, an NFT-style one.

Before you take the plunge, read on to learn: Why one brand entertainment exec is actively discouraging clients from making microdramas Intel from Crocs’s CMO on how the brand found its footing in this new entertainment format The chasm between what brands want to create and what audiences want to see Algorithmic sameness Microdramas started coming to prominence in China about eight years ago on a ByteDance -owned app called Douyin (launched a year before its sister app, TikTok, was released worldwide).

The stories were known for their almost exaggerated soapy-ness, with ridiculous plot twists, scandalous storylines, and emotional cliffhangers. Take Forbidden Desires: Alpha’s Love . Based on the Chinese web novel, it starts with a college student named Chloe accidentally finding her semi-naked professor, Adrian, in the shower. Adrian is also her stepbrother. And a werewolf. With more than 160 million views, this microdrama series has become one of the most popular examples of the biggest trend in entertainment. With sticky storylines served in short bursts that keep people coming back, it’s no secret why brands are interested.

Like many brand entertainment trends, there are successful examples that can inadvertently encourage more marketers to get in on the action. Undoubtedly, any number of CMOs or agency leaders have pointed to Crocs, Starbucks, and P&G as beacons to follow. Starbucks got a foot in the door back in 2024, when it launched a microdrama on Douyin called I Opened a Starbucks in Ancient Times . In the six-episode series, a barista travels back in time, opens a wildly successful coffee empire, becomes a wealthy tycoon, and finds romance along the way.

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The article discusses a significant emerging trend in brand storytelling that could influence marketing strategies, making it relevant and impactful for brand professionals, while the concept of microdramas is relatively new but not entirely unprecedented.