OTT Marketing: Netflix Vs Amazon Prime – Who Does It Better
In the world of OTT, the battle of Netflix Vs Amazon Prime seems like a never-ending one. There might be other streaming services out there. But these two have emerged as mammoths in the OTT realm. All thanks to the brilliant OTT marketing strategies they both use. But who does it better? Let’s find out by comparing the marketing strategies and some campaigns by both these giants. See if you can take away some ideas for your brand.
- What are some effective strategies for OTT marketing
- Inspiration from the Netflix marketing strategies & campaigns
- 1. Create a messaging tone and stick with it
- 2. Take customer engagement seriously
- 3. Wise use of content to promote your brand
- 4. Pay attention to meme marketing
- 5. Get creative when it comes to retaining customers
- 6. Honor your customers
- 6. Go beyond the digital landscape
- 7. Focus on experiential marketing
- Inspiration from Amazon Prime Video marketing strategies & campaigns
- So, who does it better in OTT marketing?
- Revamp your marketing strategies with designs by Kimp
What are some effective strategies for OTT marketing
To understand what Amazon Prime and Netflix do to promote to and engage their audience, let’s first talk about OTT marketing strategies that actually make an impact.
Globally, there are over 1.8 billion video-on-demand users. So, every OTT player out there has a large group to target. But yes, the nuances of marketing depend on the type of content the service streams. However, here are a few common strategies that work for most OTT players.
- Personalized recommendations of content should happen not just within the app but also on other channels. Like emails for example.
- Do not take referral programs lightly. The best kind of marketing will be one that happens through your existing customers.
- Push notifications should be an important part of your OTT marketing strategy. Because app retention rates are said to increase by 3 to 10 times with the effective use of push notifications. So, surviving in a competitive space and ensuring that your users come back for content regularly both depend on push notifications.
- 65% of video streaming happens on mobile devices and TV apps. So, a good OTT marketing strategy takes into account mobile optimization and TV advertising. This way, customers will be instantly directed to the streaming service from the ad on the same device rather than switching gadgets.
That said, how do Netflix and Amazon Prime make the most of these strategies? What other creative ideas do they use to keep their customers engaged? Let’s find out.
Inspiration from the Netflix marketing strategies & campaigns
1. Create a messaging tone and stick with it
If you follow Netflix on Twitter you will already know that Netflix is a trendsetter when it comes to witty Twitter copy. Netflix is a brand of few words. You will see a mix of picture and video Tweets as well as text-only Tweets on Netflix’s Twitter page. But all of them have one thing in common – a distinguishable quick-witted tone.
Here is a Tweet that just proves it.
One tweet is all it takes to appeal to the fans of 2 different series. For the unversed, Joe Goldberg and Love Quinn are characters in the series You. while Joe Quinn or Joseph Quinn is the British actor who won hearts (and broke a few) through his portrayal of Eddie Munson in Stranger Things Season 4.
Tweets like these get people talking about your brand!
2. Take customer engagement seriously
Netflix is one of the few brands that gains popularity not just for its posts on social media but also for its replies. And that’s just one way the brand manages to stay human. Which is a pretty big deal! Humanization through consistent engagement on social media makes your brand more approachable.
Here is an example of the witty replies that Netflix is known for. This is Netflix’s reply to one user’s sarcastic take on Netflix susbcriptions.
How can you not fall in love with a brand that gives such sharp comebacks?
3. Wise use of content to promote your brand
Every time a new movie releases on Netflix you will see a lot of posts surrounding that movie. Netflix brilliantly uses clips from the movie or snapshots of them to create quirky engaging posts. That’s one way to advertise your product using your product. Or in this case, using your content to promote your content.
Posts like these make you want to watch the show that everyone’s raving about. And by using one movie/show to promote another, Netflix manages to communicate to a wider group of audience.
4. Pay attention to meme marketing
When it comes to memes, Netflix has some hilarious ones. Like this very relatable post that exemplifies moment marketing.
Or this post on Instagram that most fans of Chris Hemsworth will relate to.
Kimp Tip: Memes have become wonderful marketing tools. You can create both thought-provoking memes and comical ones. Remember to stick with the tone that best suits your brand. And of course, even for the meme graphics look for images that are trending rather than going with cliched designs.
Looking to add memes to your marketing strategy? The Kimp team is here to help.
5. Get creative when it comes to retaining customers
Take a look at this campaign for the very popular Netflix series, The Haunting of the Hill House.
The social media campaigns for the show made headlines. The brand got pretty creative on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit advertising the show and gaining viewership. Posts like the one above are pure genius.
When you see a post like this, you will be tempted to watch the series if you haven’t watched it already. You will want to rewatch the series if you have watched it already. And you will also be eager to share the video with your friends to see if they had spotted the easter eggs.
Netflix does this not just on social media but also through its blog. Here is one such article that highlights the Easter eggs in Stranger Things Season 4.
Kimp Tip: Notice how Netflix uses short video clips to help shows gain traction, especially on social media. A good video communicates your message clearly in seconds. And with better clarity too.
Looking for video editing services for your marketing videos? Choose a Kimp Video subscription.
6. Honor your customers
Shoutouts are great ways to boost engagement on social media. And Netflix does it brilliantly. It not just reshares customer posts on Instagram and Tweets on Twitter but also uses customer reviews in the promotion of new movies/shows. Like this one for its documentary, Halftime.
Or this post for the promotion of its series, Bridgerton.
6. Go beyond the digital landscape
Digital marketing is great, there’s no denying that. But if you really want to make heads turn, you need to explore more than just the digital landscape. A digital content streaming service like Netflix consistently using billboards in its marketing strategy is proof enough!
Here is a billboard ad from Netflix promoting its movie The Sea Beast.
And one more creative design, Netflix style.
7. Focus on experiential marketing
Like billboards, there are many other offline marketing tools that Netflix uses as a part of its marketing strategy. And these are carefully curated to deliver customers a wholesome experience.
The San Diego Comic-Con International held in July was a big affair for the film fanatics. And Netflix quickly jumped in to make the most of it. Here is Netflix’s booth.
Just by looking at the eye and the symbols on the images if you instantly knew that this was about the upcoming Squid Game sequel, that tells enough about Netflix’s strong visual identity.
Inspiration from Amazon Prime Video marketing strategies & campaigns
1. Create a messaging tone & stick with it
Like Netflix Amazon also has a strong messaging tone on social media. But in this case, it is more straightforward and simple. You will see mostly image and video posts on the social media pages of Prime Video. And an occasional text-only tweet for engagement. Like this one below.
Kimp Tip: If you want to rely heavily on visuals for social media marketing, as Amazon does for its Prime Video page, then have a strong social media style guide. And stick with a strong visual style. While you can reuse most of your images and videos across social media channels, for Instagram, come up with a catchy aesthetic for your grid.
Wondering how to clean up and create a more aesthetic social media page for your brand? Choose a Kimp Graphics subscription today.
2. Wise use of content to promote your brand
On the Prime Video social media pages, you will often find clips from movies supported by brilliant copies. One-line descriptions and comparisons between movie plots are some strategies that the brand uses in order to get more people to watch the shows/movies.
Here is an example.
In this Tweet, the brand uses stills from the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley and the show Chloe to intrigue the audience. And the uninitiated will be curious to find out all the details about the “con of a lifetime” that these characters pull off. That’s one way you bring in more views.
3. Pay attention to meme marketing
Like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video also shares a bunch of memes here and there. But yes, you will find the ones from Netflix to be more comical. But Prime Video manages to keep its memes more relatable. Again, sticking with its simple and straightforward tone. Here’s one shared on Instagram.
Prime Video does come up with some fun video memes now and then. Like this one below.
Want to create such interactive videos, video memes, and GIFs for your social media pages? Choose a Kimp Video subscription.
4. Honor your customers
Like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video also shares fan content including fan art, illustrations, and tributes by fans for promoting films. Leveraging user-generated content is an approach you can never go wrong with.
5. Go beyond the digital landscape
While Netflix billboards might be more frequent and common, Amazon Prime Video is not lagging behind. This super fun billboard shared for the promotion of the series The Wheel of Time is an example of Amazon’s trendsetting designs.
Even the big brands, those ruling the digital landscape use outdoor advertising intuitively. So, if you want to add billboards to your marketing plan, the Kimp Graphics subscription has got you covered.
6. Gamified content to appeal to its audience
There is always something new on the Instagram page of Amazon Prime Video. The brand also shares gamified content like quizzes and polls regularly on its Story. This way fans have something to look forward to.
Fans love questions that test how well they know their favorite movies/shows and characters. And so, posts like the one above work all the time.
And in the Highlights section, Prime Video has all the information about what’s new that week and some upcoming content. All these updates are great ways to keep fans engaged.
So, who does it better in OTT marketing?
In the battle of OTT marketing, Netflix Vs Amazon Prime Video, there is no winner. Both these brands have strong marketing strategies. Amazon adopts a few extra steps like gamified content on its Stories, It also has a lot of content for first-time visitors to explore in the Highlights section on Instagram.
On the other hand, Netflix goes the extra mile to engage with customers through its timely comments. And this helps the brand build better conversations with its audience. Along with this it also goes big when it comes to outdoor advertising.
So, both these brands are powerhouses of inspiration for any brand looking to elevate its marketing game.
Revamp your marketing strategies with designs by Kimp
While Netflix Vs Amazon Prime as brands both have their differences, there is one thing they have in common. They both use plenty of visuals in the form of images, memes, GIFs, and videos across channels. So, if you want to execute your ideas inspired by these brands, a design subscription like the Kimp Graphics + Video will take care of all your graphic design and video design requirements. And that too at a flat monthly rate.
Sign up for your free 7-day trial today.