I see one alternative: design things around "value."
On the other hand, as users are already trained to choose products based on "engagement," it would be important to have a certain level of "engagement" with these products no matter how "valuable" they are. Otherwise, users just won't notice the product and its "value."
I think engagement is better off being a byproduct of value/utility, as opposed to the first-order driver of product decisions (even if that runs contrary to the $$$ in the short-term)
