How Times Internet played a match-winning knock for Netflix’s Selection Day

OTT players are changing the game of content promotion. With more viewers coming online, the advertising focus has focussed online too, with the agenda being quick and effective awareness building. Not surprisingly, popular high-traffic news and content platforms are emerging as the go-to mode for OTT players to maximize ROI. According to industry estimates, Netflix and other OTT platforms like Amazon Prime and MX Player are set to allocate Rs 50 crores on digital advertising, in addition to Rs 250 crores for conventional advertising.

The Netflix original series ‘Selection Day’ has been a major success with Indian audience, with both seasons doing well. However, before the launch of season one, when “Selection Day” was yet to become a household name among Indian OTT users, Netflix leveraged the reach of India’s largest digital publisher, Times Internet. Netflix ran a display advertising campaign across top properties including Times Of India, Navbharat Times, Vijay Karnataka, Maharashtra Times and other popular regional publications. The goal was two pronged - increase awareness about the series among existing users, as well as leverage the series to encourage sign ups for the streaming service.

The Times Internet’s ‘Selection Day’ campaign delivered over 32 million impressions and over 99000 clicks, emerging as among one of the most successful display campaigns on the platform. It also led to a 30% lift in awareness regarding the web series amongst those who saw the ad on Times Internet publications.

The insights from the campaign also helped the Netflix team understand their audience better. With results broken down by demographics, the study offered meaningful takeaways. For example, the team learned that women and men recalled the ad similarly. The youth-focused creatives delivered stronger impact amongst the relevant audience. People who saw the ad were also 9% more likely to recall it later, and the results were better amongst existing Netflix subscribers - brand loyalty is a real thing! These insights will be guiding factors behind strategizing future Netflix campaigns and further expanding the brand’s footprint in India.

Click below to read the full case Study of Netflix’s association with Times Internet. It will be a great thoughtstarter for you to think digital for your own brand!

https://content.timesinternet.in/case-study/impact-campaign-for-ott-brand