Is Netflix Marketing Strategy the Answer to Competing with its Massive Competition Readying for Launch
Within the next year, Netflix is going to see an increase in competition – in a big way – with new platforms launching and existing competitors beefing up their content offerings. HBO Max, Apple TV+, Disney+, DC Universe, Comcast’s unnamed service, and others are readying to go to war with Netflix.
Subsequently, Hulu, Amazon, and YouTube are already firmly established as streaming services. There’s also streaming components in development at NBC, ABC, CBS, FX, Showtime, and elsewhere. It’s no secret that every week, Netflix has another show pulled from its archives further reducing the platform to its homegrown collection of content.
Naturally, you may think things don’t look good for Netflix. You’re not entirely wrong. We simply don’t know what’s going to happen once these services have launched and the uncertainty surrounds Netflix’s market share being threatened.
That said, Netflix is way, way ahead of competitors in their marketing and content development. There’s a lot of advantages to the Netflix brand as they are firmly established as the go-to streaming service in North America. On a digital marketing level, how Netflix approaches promoting a show like Stranger Things says a lot about where they’re headed.
Stranger Things is an excellent case study for Netflix marketing because it is one of their most successful original content brands. The third season of Stranger Things launched in early July, achieving the biggest 4 day opening of any Netflix original series.
The success of this launch is attributed not only to the quality of the product but in the marketing. Teaming with brands like Coca-Cola and Nike, Netflix got the word out in a big way that a new season was on the way. Here’s a few bullet points on how Stranger Things marketing made a difference in its opening numbers.
Creating a need
The first season of Stranger Things was released in July, 2016 receiving strong reviews and slowly generating popularity. In response, a second season was launched around Halloween 2017. Anyone wanting more Stranger Things had to wait a year and a half for more of the product.
Waiting for the new season built anticipation that no doubt helped the numbers early on. Anticipation is key as Netflix has several shows with big audiences that they can wait and build that desire to see more. They are ahead from other platforms, in this way.
Storytelling
The first time anyone heard anything about a Stranger Things third season was through a commercial released a year prior for the fictional Starcourt Mall which features in the series. Highlighting the importance of fun, immersive storytelling video marketing, a third season was not overtly promoted with the release of this commercial.
All it was was a quick wink, keeping customers engaged and open to more content from this established brand. This would be followed by several countdown-esque teasers and trailers, continuing to cultivate anticipation releasing singular details with every piece of content rather than giving everything all at once.
Mainstream big brands
Stranger Things is a family-friendly show that a person of any age can watch. Targeting a more general audience, Netflix used America’s biggest brands to get the word out. They created essentially collectibles with custom Nike collections, custom Coke cans, custom Whoppers at Burger King, released an H&M clothing line, Lego sets, and special Baskin-Robbins Stranger Things-themed flavours.
This is one of the first times Netflix has used a high number of other brands to promote their own. While some of the competition has the financial resources to do the same, with these big international corporate brands, not all do. This type of corporation-based influencer marketing ultimately produced about 75 tie-in products to generate buzz offline for Stranger Things, supported with a mix of trailers, teasers, and content online.
Competition’s picking up
The battle between streaming services ahead is going to be come down to the uniqueness and quality of content and the franchise brands built from these, the different actor brands and entertainment brand partnerships a platform like Netflix is able to cultivate and sign, and the marketing and financial resources a platform is willing to dedicate to getting the word out.
Influencer marketing, email, YouTube video marketing, and social media sites all have an incredibly, incredibly important role to play. We won’t count out Netflix just yet. That said, the competition’s getting hotter. Can Netflix survive – absolutely, that’s a near guarantee. Will Netflix stay on top – this remains to be seen. Game on. Join us today for more interesting news, tips and tricks.
