Hero-Hub-Help
Google and YouTube’s content programming framework (also called Hero-Hub-Hygiene) balances a publishing portfolio the way a broadcaster programs a channel. Hero content is the handful of big tentpole moments a year, built for reach. Hub content is the regular, episodic series that gives an audience a reason to return. Help content is the always-on library answering the questions people already search. Most teams discover they fund Hero moments and Help articles but have no Hub, which is why nobody subscribes.
Google’s programming model: tentpole moments, regular series, always-on answers.
Hero (a few big moments) / Hub (regular series) / Help (always-on search content)
When to use this
- When everything you publish is the same size and cadence, and the calendar has no rhythm of big and small.
- When planning video or social programs, the model was built for channel programming and portfolio balance.
- When budget debates pit big campaigns against evergreen content, the model says both, in ratio.