Content
dysmorphia
Belief-defining forces
Belief-defining forces
Content
dysmorphia
Within the high-pressure decision-making landscape, buyers are more overloaded by content than ever – but confidence isn’t keeping pace.
The average CxO now spends close to two hours a day looking at marketing material. However, most only read half of what they start, and two-thirds never reach the conclusions where providers place their proof points. Why?
Is it an oversaturation of information in general? Could it be because authority formats now blur into the stream of everyday content? Is it something to do with not trusting the source within a world of AI? Or is it that the proliferation of lighter formats have gradually eroded our attention span?
Whatever the reason, almost six in ten say they feel more informed than ever but less confident in their decisions. We call this ‘content dysmorphia’.
Over
2 hrs
per day spent consuming marketing content by C-level on average
of all content time goes to existing providers
The craving for conviction
The striking pattern is not the rise of a single winning format. It is the broadening of consumption across every option. Video and interactive tools have grown, but so have brochures and podcasts. Even the simplest collateral is being picked up again by senior leaders. Buyers are not loyal to a channel. They are scanning everything in search of a moment of conviction.
What makes this harder for new entrants is where attention flows. Nearly half (44%) of all content time goes to existing providers, compared with 30% for other vendors and 27% for third parties.
Dysmorphia isn’t just random overload. It’s a skew toward the familiar, where incumbents shape belief long before challengers get the chance.
of all content time goes to existing providers
The craving for conviction
The striking pattern is not the rise of a single winning format. It is the broadening of consumption across every option. Video and interactive tools have grown, but so have brochures and podcasts. Even the simplest collateral is being picked up again by senior leaders. Buyers are not loyal to a channel. They are scanning everything in search of a moment of conviction.
What makes this harder for new entrants is where attention flows. Nearly half (44%) of all content time goes to existing providers, compared with 30% for other vendors and 27% for third parties.
Dysmorphia isn’t just random overload. It’s a skew toward the familiar, where incumbents shape belief long before challengers get the chance.
The race for relief
What buyers are really pursuing isn’t information. It is relief. They want the exhale of “finally”. Phew, I have seen enough. At last, I have mapped it correctly. Finally, I can stop searching. Every format – and every provider relationship – is tested for whether it can deliver that moment.
Therefore, belief is built by volume. It is created when a buyer feels they can finally stop second-guessing. The challenge for marketers, especially challengers, is to surface that moment earlier, spread it across formats, and find ways to overcome the gravitational pull of incumbent attention.
1 hr 53
average daily content consumption in 2025
(1 hr 30 in 2023; 1 hr 48 in 2024)
Looking for the whites of their eyes
In a marketplace flooded with content, decision makers aren’t just scanning information – they’re searching for conviction.
The pressure circus we’ve built means every format and every message is put to the same test: ‘Does this feel real enough to move me forward?’.
Buyers don’t want more noise. They want to look a provider in the eye, to sense the confidence behind the claims. That moment of human recognition – the “whites of their eyes” – is what transforms information into belief.
Looking for the whites of their eyes
In a marketplace flooded with content, decision makers aren’t just scanning information – they’re searching for conviction.
The pressure circus we’ve built means every format and every message is put to the same test: ‘Does this feel real enough to move me forward?’.
Buyers don’t want more noise. They want to look a provider in the eye, to sense the confidence behind the claims. That moment of human recognition – the “whites of their eyes” – is what transforms information into belief.
say they feel more informed than ever but less confident in their decisions
of long-form content is read by buyers; only 12% finish it
of content time goes to existing providers, 30% to other vendors and 27% to third parties
Authority formats losing ground
White papers –4 points
Analyst reports –4 points
Case studies –3 points
Lighter formats gaining traction
Brochures +6 points
Podcasts +4 points
Infographics +1 points
Authority formats losing ground
White papers –4 points
Analyst reports –4 points
Case studies –3 points
Lighter formats gaining traction
Brochures +6 points
Podcasts +4 points
Infographics +1 points
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Differentiated Ltd, 1650 Arlington Business Park, Theale, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4SA
