Case Study: How Netflix created 80% higher brand affinity through audio marketing on Spotify

The case study explores how Netflix leveraged audio marketing to engage with existing consumers and acquire new viewers, through interactive formats on Spotify.

Gaitonde got a playlist of his own. So did Sartaj and Guruji - Netflix has leveraged Spotify to create top-of-mind awareness among its targeted audience, and land the message that it has “something for everyone”.

Here’s how...

Objective

The core Netflix audience is a mix of both Gen Z and millennials. Digital natives are spoilt for choices but know a good thing when they see it and are willing to spend on it. It is this entertainment-affined, new-experiences-seeking audience that Netflix wanted to reach, to drive content discovery and bring new viewers into its fold. And it is exactly this audience they found on Spotify.

Spotify’s listeners have a mobile-first lifestyle and are likely to spend more on what they want than any other cohort. They value experiences but don’t want to be advertised to; they’d rather experience a brand. They spend 15% more on entertainment, almost 22% more on their smartphones, and are 2x more likely to be of higher socioeconomic standing.

Netflix entered into a year-long partnership with Spotify, to leverage its Streaming Intelligence for reaching out to existing viewers and also turn potential viewers into subscribers through its audio advertising campaign.

Also read: Case Study: Dissecting Dice Media’s awareness campaign for Operation MBBS Season 2

Execution

For its first campaign for Netflix, Spotify put the spotlight on three buzzworthy Netflix originals: Stranger Things, Sacred Games, and Extraction, and created engaging multi-format experiences around them to bring them alive.

For Stranger Things, an interactive masthead was placed on Spotify’s homepage. When clicked, the Spotify interface app would start to glitch and get taken over by an in-show universe. Elsewhere, playlist artwork and names would change to characters from the show as the paranormal experience of a fictitious world from the show altered the UI/UX of the Spotify app. This was accompanied by a 3D Audio that brought alive the growls of monsters with true surround sound.

Spotify is known for its playlists. So, for Sacred Games, the special branded playlists were created to bring the show and its spirit alive. Listeners could experience the show through music and get hooked. Sartaj the righteous cop got a playlist of Punjabi Music while Gaitonde the gangster got gritty Indian hip-hop in his. Even the self-proclaimed savior of mankind, Guruji got his own mix of devotional music.

For the action extravaganza Extraction starring Chris Hemsworth as a soldier on a mission, Spotify created an immersive and engaging experience. This digital experience used Spotify API to create personalized experiences. Listeners were served 3D audio ads that led them to a page where they could answer a few simple questions to finally tell them what kind of soldier they would be. To get listeners mission-ready, Spotify’s Streaming Intelligence kicked in and delivered a customized playlist just for them.

With this campaign, Spotify enabled Netflix to create a top-of-the-mind brand recall.

Results

Quantitative

• Reach: 9 million+ Spotify users
• Impressions: 400 million
• Engagement: 2x higher than benchmarks

Qualitative

Affinity & Consideration: 80% of people surveyed would consider streaming content on Netflix

*Source - Lean Lab Brand Study