WWTD (What Would Tobias Do)

So I finally find the occasion to take a break from my MCM studies. With the reoccurring thought of Dr. Weintraub’s mantra of “take care, work hard, have fun” fresh on my mind, I felt it was necessary to enjoy some momentary respite. The CMGT 541 instructional materials for the week were reviewed, weekly readings were tackled, and the peer reviews for CMGT 597A were underway. After a solid 30 minutes of production, it was evident that a multiple hour break was necessary. 😉 Within a few clicks Netflix appeared and a menu of perfectly timed distractions were before me. Scrolling through the variety of recommendations, I stumbled across a particularly intriguing list of suggestions:

For the sake of full disclosure, this particular menu was not present on my personal Netflix menu, although I am a fan of Arrested Development (and do hope it captured your attention). With that aside, however; and more importantly, it is noteworthy to consider this method of marketing communication. Within its own distinct arrangement, and a means unique to Netflix, the company effectively exercised a method to jab (Vaynerchuk, 2013) its customers. Offering recommendations by genre, mood, or titles similar to content already viewed is commonplace and something viewers already expect. The simple method of further tailoring these recommendations via the use of fictional characters within the actual content already viewed, however; is outstanding. It’s native to its unique platform and the context (Vaynerchuk, 2013) it provides for its customers and the fans of particular content has generated a certain amount of buzz.  A number of bloggers have noted Netflix’s efforts and there’s a general online conversation occurring regarding these communications.

Whether or not a right hook (Vaynerchuk, 2013) will be deployed is yet to be seen; the recognition of these recommendations only seems to be noted within the last several days. Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the anticipated new content coming to Netflix next month is also generating significant coverage, although its direct connection with this unique marketing effort in unclear.

Have you seen any Netflix recommendations offered in this way? I have yet to, although to be completely honest, I can’t remember the last time there was enough time to sit and watch a full movie in its entirety with all my studying (seriously…I’m serious!). I was intrigued when I came across, what think is a quite clever, undertaking by Netflix, and I’m curious what your thoughts may be –either the recommendations themselves presented in this way, or if its leading to something bigger?

References:

Vaynerchuk, G. (2013). Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to tell your story in a noisy, social world. New York: HarperCollins.