And tips revealed for better content marketing
Amidst the rubble of protest signs and toilet paper rolls🧻 that became the remnants of 2020, the ruins of a failed billion dollar company remains inconspicuous.
The year of lockdowns and masks was generally bad for small business but demand for streaming soared, naturally, with global subscriptions to online video content soaring as high as 1.1 billion according to Marketwatch.
Internet traffic catapaulted 🚀as high as 70 percent, streaming alone spiked by 12 percent. Disney plus, Netflix, and Hulu were gaining historic growth with Disney + surpassing 100 mil subs and Netflix 200 million.
It was a perfect time for competition to enter this blazing market. Especially a highly anticipated company that racked up 💲1.75 billion dollars in investment 🤑from big players including Warner Media and Disney.
It was called A Quick Bite, or QUIBI.
The brain child of Jeffrey Katzenberg former chairman of Walt Disney studios. It was helmed by Meg Whitman, former CEO of EBAY who grew the then $4 million company to $8 billion in revenue.
Staffed with accomplished talent, Quibi launched in April 2020 as a mobile-first streaming service for short videos starring big-name stars.
It hosted expensive, star-studded shows — episodic nuggets shorter than 10 minutes designed to be watched on your phone while you’re on the go…
… only to shut down 6 months later in October 2020.
It failed without leaving behind so much as a mark in people’s memories.
It shattered high expectations and hopes. They made projections as high as Seven million subscribers in their first year, only to barely have scraped 500,000 at the time closing.
What was behind its failure?
Concept of QUIBI and Timing of Launch
Whitman and Katzenberg said in a letter that the idea itself might not have been strong enough for a streaming company.
They also said it could’ve been bad timing. It was originally meant for life pre-covid with people out and about, on the go. They didn’t anticipate the entire world would be on lockdown.
When it launched in lockdowns with no support to watch Quibi’s programming on televisions, users complained about not being able to watch its shows on the big screen while they’re comfortable at home.
Which led to another problem.
Slow in responding to user grievances
Quibi only supported viewing on one device — your phone. Which makes sense, since it was conceived as a service for young people on the go.
However, by the time it launched lockdown was already underway which meant most people were at home.
Naturally, early users complained about not being able to watch shows on their wide screens.
But the actual problem was Quibi’s sluggish response to the issue.
They only announced support for smart TV viewing would be available a whopping six months after complaints.
And that wasn’t the only major feature missing from the service.
The ability to share content or make memes out of clips was not offered by the service. A major disappointment that the company was painfully slow in remedying.
Not only was it user dissatisfaction, it was a marketing oversight.
In the world of social media, virility, and shares, people’s desire to connect using content is also a major opportunity for reaching new audience.
The company received a lot of criticism for this but only added these features months later.
Method of Marketing
Quibi’s target audience was the 18–34 age range which is perfect compatibility for the influencer age of marketing.
Yet they ignored the tremendous opportunity of the influencer route, despite influencers reaching out to the company.
Popular youtubers with millions of subscribers, views, and interactions such as Mr. Beast reached out to them but Quibi declined to work with them. These are some of the top youtubers raking in millions of views, perfect for attracting Quibi’s target audience.
Instead of using insanely popular avenues like tiktok, twitter, and Instagram they blew millions on advertising during Oscars and Super Bowl. While their own follower count dwindled on the major social platforms that their target audience frequented.
Common Content Marketing Mistakes — compliments Quibi’s Failure
The company’s short-lived existence leaves behind key lessons that can be applied to content marketing. Here’s the list of sins and how to avoid them.
Unfocused Marketing
Quibi’s target audience were young adults, the demographic typically associated with the influencer culture. Quibi, however, ignored the influencer avenue and instead spent millions on ineffective marketing and ads.
Focus your marketing. Identify your niche market and platforms they use. Advertising to stay at home mid-aged moms? Placing an ad in a fitness magazine doesn’t compare to a fellow mom blog.
Slow adjustments to consumer response
Quibi was late to make changes to its services when overwhelming user feedback indicated the need for them.
Keep tabs on how well readers are responding to your content. Pay attention to metrics and interactions, and respond swiftly to trends.
Confused branding
Viewers reacted to a name like Quibi as if it were a food delivery service according to respondents to a survey.
Avoid ambiguity in product and service branding.
Failure to stand-out
Quibi never had a breakout hit that could help it capture a place in the minds of audiences, like Netflix was able to do with House of Cards.
The advantages of securing a unique spot in the marketplace cannot be overstated. One way is by putting out consistent, authentic, helpful content that consumers can always rely on and expect.
In A Nutshell
Quibi was a billion dollar start-up in an entertainment market that had record demand.
It still failed.
And for the same reasons that can be a problem in content marketing.
Tips to avoid falling into a similar trap:
produce stand-out content
respond swiftly to changes in the target market
select the most rewarding avenues to reach your audience
utilize methods that appeal most to your well-defined niche
The results keep an audience returning and is an effective sales funnel.
Professional, stand-out content is a free consultation away: staustrie@gmail.com
