netflix

Marketing in the Digital Age: news Round-Up (week ending Jul 20, 2018)

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Possible hope to keep net neutrality alive, buying movie tickets on Facebook, music selling everything but music, and Netflix big brother eyes in this week's Marketing in the Digital Age. 

 

Hope to Keep Net Neutrality? 

Summary: Republican Rep Mike Coffman was the first House republican to sign his name on a petition to force a vote on keeping net neutrality.  

Opinion: Net neutrality shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but it has become one.  As a person who has made a living off the internet in digital marketing, repealing net neutrality is an act that harms the consumer.  It will throttle speeds when essentially the government has decided you’ve had enough access to the internet. 

Buying Movie Tickets on Facebook

Summary: Soon, you’ll be able to buy your movie tickets through Facebook via AMC, Fandango, and Atom Tickets.  Facebook’s product manager Swapna Joshi stated, “…This is another way we’re working to make going to the movies fun and easy.”

Opinion: Another way to keep people on Facebook longer, smart.  

Music as a Key Marketing Strategy for Marriott Hotels

Summary: Marriott has said that music has been a successful marketing strategy for them.  In 2016, they held a 3-day music festival called Wake Up Call at the W in Scottsdale.  The event was such a a success that they have decided to launch several more in the upcoming year, starting with the W Hollywood Sept 1.  

Opinion: I once heard someone say music sells everything, except music.  Another case of it here.  These music festivals will book up the W Hotel rooms, naturally, and expose people to their brand to book in the future.  

How Many Times Did you Watch A Christmas Prince? 

Summary: Netflix is facing backlash from its recent tweet stating that 53 people have watched A Christmas Prince everyday for 18 days.  Following with a “who hurt you?” to make it seem funny.  People were outraged at the creepiness of the big brother watching over you.  

Opinion: Uh, yeah, how do you think Netflix is as big as it is?  It’s not by guessing what you like, it’s by watching what you like and making content for just that.  

Marketing In The Digital Age: News Round-Up (week ending Jan 12, 2018)

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Ikea wants you to pee on their ads.  Well, not every ad, but a specific ad to reveal if you are pregnant and receive a discount on the product shows. 

Hulu Subscriber Base Growth for 2017

Summary: Hulu's subscriber grew 40% over the previous year, which still leaves a big gap from Netflix's base of 52.8 million. 

Opinion: Will this lead to more cord cutting?  Having tried several live TV streaming services, YouTube TV, Hulu Live, and DirecTV Now, the services still leave something to be desired.  The stream often cuts out and each service has its limitations on what channels are available. 

What Is Snapchat Now That Story Sharing Has Stopped Growing

Summary: Instagram Stories has halted growth from Snapchat's most promising moneymaker, Stories.  Prior to Instagram Stories, Snapchat grew 17.2% compared to last quarter's growth of only 2.9%. 

Opinion: It's good to have competition and alternatives to Facebook/Instagram, and I was rooting for Snap.  Sadly, it seems it will continue on this downward trend given other functionalities introduced, like Snap Map live location sharing and geo-tagged content search have continued to decline.  

Pee On This Ikea Ad To Find Out If You Are Pregnant

Summary: You pee on a section of the ad to see if you are pregnant and, if you are, you get a discount on the product shown in the ad.  

Opinion: It has me talking about it here as a marketing update so it's done it's job at innovation, and there could be other applications for this from a medical standpoint in the future.  But, ew.

The Subliminal Trick Netflix Uses to Get You To Watch More Movies and TV Shows

Summary: Most people make their viewing decisions based on the image since it is less of a time commitment than reading about the work.  Because of this, Netflix serves up different key art to you based on past watching behaviors.  For example, you may see Good Will Hunting pop-up in your recommended section.  If you were a viewer of romance based content in the past, you could be served an ad of Matt Damon and Minnie Driver kissing.  If you watched a lot of comedy in the past, you could get served an image of Robin Williams for the same film. 

Opinion: I think this offers a way to cater to individuals.  Different individuals may be drawn to the content for different reasons, so I think it's smart to offer different pieces of art from the same film to attract different people.