Indie horror has been making waves in recent years, and audiences continue to show a strong interest in these titles. A major reason is the approach these filmmakers take to get their stories out into the world. Without massive production budgets, big-name actors or blockbuster marketing machines, they have to earn attention through intrigue, originality and a story sharp enough to break through. They start with a simple idea, understand what makes it compelling, and use the resources available to turn curiosity into attention. That same thinking can be applied to any campaign: start with the hook, understand the audience and build the media strategy around the story you want people to follow.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) was produced on a reported budget as low as $35,000 and went on to earn more than $248 million worldwide. The film’s intrigue was fueled by a creepy website, fabricated news stories, missing-person style materials and a swirl of internet rumors. Paranormal Activity (2009) adopted a similar found-footage style, using security-camera footage of a couple haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. The film cost just $15,000 to produce and earned nearly $194 million at the box office, launching a franchise with multiple sequels. More recently, Good Boy (2025) took a different angle while applying a similar principle. On a reported $70,000 production budget, the film earned more than $8 million worldwide and gained traction through a viral trailer and an intriguing concept: a familiar horror setup told through the perspective of a dog.

The idea is not that advertising should copy horror movies, it’s that independent horror offers a useful framework for how attention is earned. Low production cost was not the prerequisite that propelled these films to success. There are plenty of examples of films that did not cost much to make but never broke through. The reason The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and Good Boy worked is that each one sparked curiosity and intrigue, then paired it with belief, tension and enticement. They gave audiences a reason to lean in before the scale ever arrived.

That same formula should apply to paid media campaigns for clients. Reach, frequency, impressions, audience size, platform mix, cost efficiency and performance forecasts are all essential, but they should not be where the story begins. Before we lead with the numbers, we should be asking what will make someone stop, pay attention and care. What is the hook? Where is the intrigue? What problem are we helping solve? When paid media starts there, it becomes more than distribution. It becomes a strategic way to place the story in the moments where it can actually move people.

Outside of the indie horror film category, Pedigree’s Adoptable campaign from 2024 is another strong example of what happens when that same story-first thinking is applied to paid media. The campaign began with a simple purpose: help end dog homelessness. Pedigree used low-cost automation to transform basic shelter dog photos into polished portraits that could run across billboards, social ads and other media placements. The work saw meaningful success, with 50% of featured shelter dogs finding homes within the first two weeks. “Today, globally, 25% of the dogs in the world do not have a home to call their own. This isn’t a new cause for Pedigree. This is the continuation of a decade-long commitment,” said Anthony Dean, Marketing Director of Mars Pet Nutrition ANZ.

Pedigree pushed beyond simple advertising logic by using accessible technology and media channels to tell a cohesive story rooted in inspiration and emotion. Traditionally, swapping out billboard creative can require added production costs, coordination and time, but this campaign used automation to keep the story moving as dogs were adopted and new dogs needed visibility. In media, the job does not come down to placement decisions alone. It’s about integrating strategic vision from the very beginning alongside the creative to deliver something visible, scalable and actionable. The technology helped transform imperfect shelter photos into more compelling portraits, but the emotional pull still came from the human truth underneath: these dogs needed to be seen, chosen and brought home.

That same thinking should guide paid media strategy across every client category. Tools like automation, audience modeling, platform data and AI can help us identify patterns, sharpen targeting and scale creative, but they should not be what creates the story. The story must come from human understanding: what people care about, the mindset they're in, the problem we're helping solve and the message that will resonate in that moment. That's why paid media and creative need to work together from the start. The environment matters: someone on LinkedIn is in a different mindset than someone on Instagram, and a billboard, social ad, publisher placement or video unit shouldn't all communicate the same message in the same way. Effective paid media is more than placement decisions; it's about understanding the audience, the story and the context, then using data, platforms and creative to deliver that story in a way that feels natural, relevant, worth paying attention to, and unique enough to break through the increasingly crowded ad space.

So, the next time you find yourself watching a trailer for a new indie horror film (go see Backrooms (2026) in theaters now!), or seeing a great ad out there like the Pedigree example, wondering how something so simple can feel so intriguing, remember: apply that same principle to the strategy for your clients and always start with the story. Start with what people feel, what they care about and what will make them want to follow along. Then use creative to give that story shape, automation tools to help scale it and paid media to place it in the moments where audiences feel the impact.