NETFLIX’S MARKETING CAMPIGNS

Ana Belen Asfura
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read

This last couple of weeks Netflix has been in the public eye because of the controversy with the Cannes Film Festival. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, broke the silence with a message that could be summed up as: The culture is changing and we listen to our 100 million customers.

Netflix has local content in 23 languages and is currently filming in 19 countries. This year it will distribute 50 feature films, not including documentaries.

But what about their marketing campaigns? Last month Netflix announced that they will spend over $1bn on marketing in 2017 to attract subscribers with its originals. That’s about 600% of that will be spent on content. A number figure to considerate when you start planning your marketing plan for the movie you’re about to film. Unfortunately, film producers don’t even safe the half of the movie budget for marketing and distribution. Netflix knows that this subject can make a huge difference and actually bring more subscribers. But the best thing among all, is that it can get the audience engagement. Those people who nowadays defends, with their hearts and souls, Netflix’s platform in front of the romantic and utopian idea of film director Pedro Almodóvar.

But how they actually make the audience engage with their original content? Their strategy it’s not only based on investing in programmatic ads, delivering the right ad to the right person at the right time, it’s mostly about attracting viewers through its exclusive content.

For example, Netflix France have been launched campaigns for an active, participative and interactive audience these last months. In a way to integrate social media platforms, Netflix France targeted a young audience through Snapchat newest feature at that moment; Scissors. Their campaign #NETFLIXnSTICK, distributed personalized posters to superfans and key influencers and set up large billboards with the faces of popular Netflix characters, encouraging them to cut around them to make new stickers and use them on their snaps.

Netflix also has managed to blur the lines between fiction and reality, allowing fans dive deeper into their stories. Once again, Netflix France launched a clever campaign “Change for Frank” that offered “House of Cards” fans free Frank Underwood merchandise in exchange for merchandise of one of the losing French presidential candidates.

Other original series have developed engagement initiatives such as “Santa Clarita Diet” and “13 Reasons Why”. In the first one, Netflix cooperated with selected Instagram influencers who promoted the Santa Clarita Diet on their Instagram profiles, posting several pictures that showed them posing with cups and protein powder containers that had the “Santa Clarita Diet” logo imprinted. Other strategy they used was allowing the audience to test the diet themselves. Netflix UK set up a food truck with series-themed meals that were handed out to passersby for free.

With “13 Reasons Why” the story isn’t different. Netflix France launched an interactive web experience for mobile devices (13reasons.fr) that lets fans explore the content of Hannah’s phone and get immersed into her social environment and get a pretty good understanding of her struggles at school.

With these few examples, we can realize that create good stories, feature films, documentaries, series, isn’t enough these days. As filmmakers we have the responsibility to create a greater experience for our audience. In terms of being creative, the sky is the limit. Netflix knows it, and you should too.

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"As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible" 🎥Film Producer & Strategist 🌍Traveler 📍Currently Vancouver 🇨🇦 💡CEO & Founder Suimanga Films

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