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The best of our trends report. The traditional way.
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Actionable Insights
7 insights from the full report to propel you to Edutainment 3.0 success.
- Encourage Engagement: At the heart of the very best Education and Entertainment is Engagement. In education, this is often best achieved by using the principles of active learning. Meanwhile, brands and organizations typically measure engagement by how often they interact with customers, which when done right, can lead to increased brand awareness. Without engagement, your Edutainment projects will fall flat.
- Obliterate Obstacles: Edutainment can help people understand and move through topics faster. Successful Edutainment removes barriers to learning, especially in complex, technical or traditional topics.
- Seek Balance: Never underestimate how long it takes for people to grasp concepts. Edutainment projects often focus too much on the entertainment part while leaving the education aspect feeling like an afterthought. You still need the academic rigor around what helps people retain information. Calculus is still calculus. So create a balance in your Edutainment project.
- Emphasize Emotion: Academic rigor can suck the emotion out of a topic quicker than an ice cream falling out of the cone - sad and boring. All learning involves emotion in some way - as does entertainment. Make sure you bring emotion to the forefront.
- Quit Playing Games with my heart: Gamification can be hugely powerful in Edutainment. It can help people learn concepts easier. But it needs careful planning and design to be truly effective. Don’t be tempted to label all your Edutainment projects as games. Make sure you have a variety of learning tools.
- Dreams & Heroes: Your Edutainment project is the perfect vehicle to help people vividly describe their dreams and understand the paths and stepping stones others took on their journeys. This approach can help people find purpose, set goals, and make course corrections when they hit hurdles and challenges. **
- Think About The Big Picture: Edutainment projects aren’t a one-and-done concept. Consider what deeper involvement looks like in practice. Is it ownership? Is it based on co-creation? Is it an intangible? (for example, the community built during and after a learning experience).
The 3.0 Formula
The most impactful projects in Edutainment 3.0 tap into four key elements. We call it the Edutainment 3.0 Formula.
Learn more about the Magic Formula.
8 Trends driving Edutainment 3.0
As we see it, there are 8 trends shaping the future of Edutainment. Our full report explores each trend in detail. But here’s a summary of the highlights for all you skimmers out there.
1. Brands as Neo Educators
Imagine... Sony opened its product and marketing campaign archives - from music to film to electronics - and invited fans to learn how it created a long-lasting, global brand.
Savvy brands that embrace the future of Edutainment will give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the company. They’ll demystify professional processes, improve transparency, and make the impossible feel a little more possible. And they'll do it all in ways that feel accessible, engaging, and tactile.
Their ROI for doing so? Building brand awareness, trust, and connection. The priceless trifecta of creating customer loyalty.
And the best of the best will simultaneously build themselves a diverse pipeline of fresh talent. Win.
Wavetable tip: Co-Creation
We see a real edge in co-creation. Creativity is amplified with real-life experiences and people often feel empowered after they create something new, something that they didn’t think was possible before.
Furthermore, more people need to engage in real projects to learn, grow and develop their professional profiles. Universities and online courses can only do so much, theory can only go so far, it is through tangible projects that new voices can really thrive.
2. Tackling Wicked Problems
Imagine... Unilever + Charity: Water created an interactive video series where viewers help the show’s host make construction decisions while building a sustainable water system for a local community.
As organizations look to activism to help solve the world’s “wicked problems” and foster audience loyalty, they’ll need Edutainment initiatives that focus on Science, Social Issues, or Sustainability.
Edutainment alone can’t solve these problems. But brands and organizations can break down these topics in simple and interesting ways to create engaging content and make people feel passionate about a cause.
Wavetable tip: The new philanthropists
Tech companies are now big investors in social impact. They’re leading the way with new projects and have opened people up to taking risks.
We believe the next big innovation in this space won’t come from a legacy nonprofit. It’ll come from a big tech company taking a chance on someone new. The challenge here is managing incentives and agendas - the world doesn’t need any more ‘greenwashing’.
3. Cultural Institutions Reimagined
Imagine... Experiencing a guided tour of mythical creatures at The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History led by a holographic David Attenborough atop a unicorn.
Museums are uniquely positioned to leverage Edutainment 3.0 and create interactive environments that lets visitors fully immerse themselves in a topic. Through strategic partnerships, fresh storytelling, and advanced technology, museums will usher in a new way to experience history and culture while making more money to keep creating new and exciting exhibits.
Wavetable tip: A Blended Approach
A study by the University of Zagreb indicates edutainment can have a strong positive effect on the perceived authenticity of a museum visitor’s experience.
To create museum-based Edutainment experiences that hit the spot, always think human-centered and use a combination of 3 design approaches: Customized, Selective, and Universal.
4. Play-to-Learn Experiences
Imagine... Liberty Mutual created a virtual driving school where participants designed their own driving games for others to play in a simulator, combining real-world situations with their own cars and avatars. Successful game designers and players earn insurance premium discounts.
Hello, dopamine. What’s better than real rewards in a rapid feedback loop that gives players a rush of dopamine? Play-to-Learn experiences.
This type of gamification lets players do incredible things like learning new skills without the fear of messing up in real life. It also has a more direct potential for earning and (career) growth because the risk is reduced while the skills are increased and refined.
Wavetable tip: Consider the end-game
Be very clear about the goals of the game - both for you and your players. It’s easy to get sucked into gamifying actions or processes just for the sake of it. Another simple but powerful way to think about this is to ask the question: “what’s it for?”
Also, as with many things in life, less is more - each gamified element should have one clear goal, not two, seven or twenty-six.
5. Teachers are the new DJs
Imagine... Wu-Tang Clan and Bad Bunny partnered with Teach For America and created a fundamentals of finance class for elementary school students.
Much like rock stars, hip-hop moguls, and esports figureheads, today’s teachers are remixing and reimagining content in a way that makes learning exciting and memorable.
This new breed of teacher is more like a celebrity who has a tribe and is always ready to go out on tour - IRL, URL, and blended.
Wavetable tip: HyFlex touring
.More access to high-grade virtual studios, along with an increasing desire for meaningful in-person experiences, offer opportunities for teachers to hit the (virtual) road and fill their calendars with global gigs.
Just like their DJ counterparts.We see the concept of ‘HyFlex’ (Hybrid Flexible) being important here: combining async online, in-person, and sync online to create one-of-a-kind learning journey.
6. Higher Ed has Serious Fun
Imagine... Madea (aka Tyler Perry) linked up with a university to create a Modern Civics syllabus focused on real-life problem-solving techniques.
Formal education institutions like colleges and universities are too often still geared around the same old method for learning - lectures and note-taking. Students are painfully bored, most doing enough just to get by.
Professors of the future are using Edutainment 3.0 to become facilitators and improvisers. They're creating games, simulations, and real-life projects to enhance the learning experience and get students excited about coming to class.
Wavetable tip: Student-centered design
It’s important to remember that regardless of methods and teaching approach, the student is at the center of the experience. Make sure you clearly communicate goals and objectives - whether they’re for an entire module or a simple activity. This isn’t just so students understand how something relates to a test or exam - it should connect to their personal learning journey, goals, and dreams.
7. UGE (User Generated Edutainment)
Imagine... Every country in the world had its own Education Corps. where members would teach diverse groups around the world and learn best practices in pedagogy and content creation. This private-public partnership would feature small & large companies supporting the program in exchange for access to the best teachers to lead their employee engagement activities.
The student crossover of Teachers are the new DJs, this trend is about learners taking control of their educational experience. Learners communicate, express, and teach to build trust and connection with other learners. This gives them something that’s too often underestimated: a voice.
Wavetable tip: Move to the middle
Much of the current paradigm is still built around one-way communication. The most compelling UGE creators will level up by partnering with people who possess expertise as facilitators, community builders, and educators. Or even better, they’ll build their own skills in these areas, and position themselves in the middle of a very valuable Venn diagram.
8. Businesses Get In The Groove
Imagine... Your organization had an Edutainment Studio in charge of training employees and featured presenters, showrunners & special effects artists. Here, creating the right environment for magic highlights “had to be there“ moments and encourages talent acquisition & retention.
Edutainment inside an organization - i.e. the learning, training, and development of their employees - is just as important as Edutainment for customers. To take advantage of this trend and curb high employee turnover rates, business leaders will need a more colorful and engaging approach to educating employees.
Wavetable tip: What's the story?
Successful initiatives will utilize new tools, media types, and approaches to deploy Edutainment. Storytelling will be the most captivating way to teach and engage employees. It’s not just about learning a skill; tell a story around that skill. Stories facilitate better conversation and help express ideas to other people in an easily understandable way.
3 Emerging Trends
These trends haven’t fully arrived, but we’re very excited about their potential...
1. Liquid IP
Entertainment IP will be licensed seamlessly into educational settings. Educational programs featuring pop culture phenomena will take over Edutainment.
Whether it’s Marvel characters teaching Immunity or the Song Exploder podcast used as a music tech curriculum - the possibilities are endless.
Wavetable tip: Default to Open
The emergence of the Metaverse will create an explosion in a demand for more characters and avatars teaching various topics.
The creation of open-source educational programs on a macro and micro level means IP owners with a flexible approach will come out ahead.
2. MetaLearn
Direct to Learner, Learner Directed. Choose your own adventure. Or learn to create one from scratch. Immersive digital environments featuring VR and augmented reality for learning are here.
Whether it’s using Web3, DAO, or Game-Fi, the Metaverse is likely to be at the center.
Wavetable tip: Explore multiple access points
MetaLearn will soon be the focus of education. Whether it’s real-time voting on a new initiative, a guest workshop session with a social media star, or multiple access points to any topic you can imagine, “had to be there” moments are needed to engage learners.
And the next wave of teachers will be avatar-based, using Web3 elements such as tokens and on-chain credentials. They’ll create and join immersive virtual learning spaces and communities of practice, connecting with fellow practitioners from across the globe.
Whichever parts of MetaLearn appeal most, be sure you’re attuned to movements in the Metaverse so you can stay on top of this emerging trend.
3. Play-to-Learn-to-Earn
We’ve already seen the rise of Play-to-Earn games, and Learn-to-Earn education programs.
These trends are going to unite and create Play-to-Learn-to-Earn games. These games will simultaneously offer entertainment, education, and economic empowerment.
The best of these will be incredibly valuable businesses and also make a huge positive impact.
Wavetable tip: Play out the scenarios
Play-to-Learn-to-Earn games have the potential to take over Edutainment, but thinking about second and third order effects is crucial.
If you want to create an environment that unites the best of Play-to-Earn and Play-to-Learn, be sure your rewards and tokens provide financial benefits that are in line with the amount of work these activities need to be completed properly.
Guidelines for Greatness
So why should you care about all this? And how you can implement them into your own work? Here are three starter ideas:
- Embrace the tension: To be successful in applying these trends, you need to create “had to be there” moments. One approach we find effective is to think about tension. How can you create tension, anticipation, and cliffhanger moments? Think about what you want to provide upfront, but also what you may want to hold back...
- Optimize for engagement: There’s a reason we put “Engagement” right at the top of our list of Actionable Insights. Whether it’s employees, audiences, communities, or students - they’re all going to expect a different way to learn that’s accessible, inclusive, and keeps them engaged. Don’t be afraid to bring them into the experience
- New Wine, Old Oak: The concept of MetaLearn will soon be the focus of education. Whether that’s through Web3, DAOs, or GamFi, the Metaverse is likely to be at the center. However, your vision of Edutainment for your brand or organization should feel more like a Saturday morning TV show from the 90s - packed with variety, delivery modes, and personality.
About Us
Wavetable is a creative studio designing spaces for transformation, where learning feels like an adventure.
We’re on a mission to empower and equip people with the access, skills, and confidence to do meaningful work in the world.
Our projects span entrepreneurship accelerators, leadership development initiatives, and branded education programs.
