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Between 1.5 and two million people listen to Gardeners’ Question Time every week. The BBC Radio 4 show features experts offering solutions to the horticultural dilemmas of its green-fingered audience, but it’s a light-hearted affair in which the effort required to address an array of problems is never dwelled upon. Instead, guests talk about the enjoyment of it all; if you grow these plants and flowers, you can enjoy them and then you can also enjoy the bees they attract.
At this point, it would be easy to segue into the tough time many bee species are facing thanks to climate change, but Gardeners’ Question Time does not. This is a show for people who want to grow plants, not save the world. The environmental benefits can be a silent by-product of having a lovely hobby. The series has been airing continuously for 79 years, making it one of the world’s longest-running radio programmes. The takeaway? Audiences built through life-enriching content tend to stick around.
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The argument for enjoyment
Brands positioning themselves as sources of enjoyment have the opportunity to have a profound impact on consumers’ lives in 2026. Long-term uncertainty has led to many people feeling they are in, according to The Guardian, a “polycrisis” where they are “overwhelmed and overstimulated, bombarded with bad news each day”.
Enjoyment as a marketing strategy is often overlooked in favour of demonstrating hard value or results. Given ongoing cost of living concerns, it is understandable that brands want to prove their worth. Also, there is a logic that a punchy sell will have best cut-through in a busy digital environment.
Yet on creator channels – which are arguably the closest reflection of what consumers want – content about having a nice time is a serious trend. It’s manifesting and performing in myriad formats, from gentle vignettes snapshotting contentment to tongue-in-cheek lists of “good things”, all of which are immediately accessible.
Data shows audience desire for enjoyment content has grown month-on-month in 2026, with posts in May driving up to 40% more engagement than average benchmarks for this genre (see charts below). This pattern suggests it would be a strong investment for brands moving into the summer.
Enjoyment in action
One creator who understands the importance of enjoyment messaging is teacher Kit Brown. Ahead of World Book Day, he posted about a weekly ritual in his classroom where children are allowed to bring in pillows and blankets to curl up with while savouring a good story. This is part of his strategy to promote a love for reading.
Connor Boore is driving millions of views with his series on “joybaiting“. This features him having inspiring conversations with strangers and “making the UK a happier place“. Lifestyle creator Niamh McKinnon posts weekly “little joys” Carousels which tend to feature family, experiences and simple treats, and Soph Jones’ commentary encouraging people to enjoy their lives garnered 253 grateful comments. Unsurprisingly, opportunities and ideas to drive contentment resonate with multiple audiences and create immediate connection. Then there are series where the creators are just visibly enjoy their passions, like DJ Puts Anything Before The Drop by Dazed Music, which has worked with brands like StudioCanal.
While enjoyment narratives are well-received on Instagram, TikTok audiences are more likely to engage with them. A CORQ GPT analysis comparing content about enjoyment vs dissatisfaction on both platforms found the former drives 4% more views, 147% more likes, 45% more shares and 12% more comments. This could be attributed to adoption of the ever-growing TikTok trend of “whimsy”, where creators document doing things to make life more pleasing.
For brands planning campaigns, here’s an overview of how to build strategy centring enjoyment, based on number crunching of what works by CORQ GPT.
High-performing content themes
Content formats
Posting times
Seasonal benchmarks
TikTok or Instagram?
TikTok benchmarks
Instagram benchmarks
By Sara McCorquodale, CEO and founder of CORQ.
