The internet promised great personalization and targeting. Even though the media lived up to the promise, marketers have fallen far from hitting the mark.
It seems creating niche-centered, targeted messaging to different audience clusters is just too difficult. So one ad is made, popped on Facebook and run until it becomes old.
Netflix is finding a way to develop and engage niche markets: It has identified subsets of its audience and began offering dedicated social channels. These channels include sci-fi, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and parents. Con Todo is a channel for Latinx audiences, The Most is LGBTQ+ and Strong Black Lead is a channel for Black films and TV shows.
You can’t find these efforts on the Netflix app, but on Twitter, Instagram and Reddit, these are mini brands with large audiences. Strong Black Lead has more than 500,000 Instagram followers. NX is a channel for “all things geek” and has an audience of 450,000. Netflix Family on Instagram has 900,000 followers.
These mini brands are strongly connected to their respective audiences. Merchandise encourages audiences to become brand ambassadors. Niche marketing like this comes with reduced competition, increased visibility, enhanced audience relationships and increased sharing within the groups.
Netflix is creating social communities so it can deliver messages in an authentic way. These mini brands will build and may become full-fledged brands on their own.
In the end, this is fulfilling the promise of the internet for greater personalization instead of sending one voice to many audiences. It is branding with the point of view of the cow, not the branding iron.
Mark Mathis III is chief creative & strategy officer, partner and cofounder of AMPERAGE Marketing & Fundraising.
