netflix v. hulu brand comparison paper
TRANSCRIPT
KELLY WEBER
HOW DO YOU VIEW? A BRAND COMPARISON
BETWEEN NETFLIX AND HULU
TABLE OF CONTENTSIndustry Overview………......………………...……....3
Company History
Netflix………………………………….………4
Hulu………………………………….………....5
Sentiment Analysis……………………...…….………6
Website
Netflix…………………………………….……8
Hulu…………………………………….……....9
Netflix……………………………...………...11
Hulu………………………………….………..12
Netflix………………………………......…....14
Hulu…………………………………....…......15
Netflix……………………………......…..…..17
Hulu…………………………………………...18
Tumblr
Netflix……………………………….............20
Hulu………………………………...…….…..21
Followers Analysis……...…………………………....23
Comparison Summary…………....…................….24
Overall Winner….......….…………………..........…...25
THE DAWN OF A NEW AGEIN DU STR Y O V ER V IEW
The cable television industry is a tricky one, and it’s growing ever more intricate with theaddition of many online television streaming options. Originally there were two options forconsuming your desired video content, either on your TV or on a DVD, and with theconsumer’s increased desire for access over ownership came the rise of DVD rental services.Brick and mortars like Blockbuster owned our souls from the early 90s up until Netflix brokethe standard business model and found a way to circumvent the fixed costs of retail stores.Then in 2007 Netflix once again changed the video entertainment game by offering theirsubscribers a way to stream television shows and movies over the internet instead of waitingfor DVDs to become available in a store or to arrive in the mail. This development of videocontent streaming has institutionally changed the cable television industry. With Netflixleading the charge many online video streaming sites have emerged like Hulu, Amazon Video,HBO Now, and Sling TV.
HISTORICALLY CO M PAN Y HISTO R Y O F N ETF LIX
After being forced to pay $40 worth of late fees to Blockbuster for keeping the cinematicmasterpiece Apollo 13 well past its due date, Reed Hasting, co-founder and current owner ofNetflix decided he wanted to get into the DVD rental business. Even though the story hassince been discredited, it identifies a few future inspirations for what would become criticalto Netflix’s success. Hoping to differentiate, Hastings and his then partner Marc Randolphset up a website for DVD rentals, but at its root was essentially the same as Blockbuster,including due dates, rental costs, and late fees. At the turn of the century Netflix decided todrop the traditional business model in favor of one monthly subscription fee for as manyDVD rentals as the consumer’s heart desired. This paved the way for what would eventuallybecome Netflix’s real success, unlimited video streaming. In 2007 Netflix managed toessentially change the industry by introducing streaming; for a monthly subscription fee,consumers could now watch Netflix’s library of movies and television shows through theinternet. Since that fateful day in 2007 the company has expanded exponentially; minimizingthe DVD portion of the business model, partnering with modern consumer electronics foreasy access to their online library, and expanding their service globally.
HISTORICALLYCO M PAN Y HISTO R Y O F HU LU
Hulu.com went live in 1999, on it you could find the personal and family photos of one AmyHung. Fast forward to 2007 and the Hung family can no longer see Amy’s updates, insteadwhen they go online to check on their relative they are invited to join a beta test for abrand new video streaming website, Hulu.com. If they were worried about Amy we’ll neverknow, but she was undoubtedly well compensated when NBC bought Hung’s personal URL. InOctober of 2007 the beta testing of the video streaming company then owned by Comcast,Facebook, Myspace, and AOL. Then in March of 2008 Hulu becomes open to the public as abrand new free video streaming site with unlimited access all the way up until 2010 whenHulu Plus is launched with a subscriber’s fee. With the introduction of Hulu Plus, the amountof free content on the website began to diminish and more and more content could only beviewed post-payment. After that point, while Netflix was partnering with electronics brands,Hulu was signing with different cable and television entertainment companies to attainexclusive rights to as many television shows as possible. Then shortly after Netflix began tooffer original content, Hulu followed suit and has since developed and partnered onnumerous original television projects kept almost exclusively to US audiences.
HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?SEN TIM EN T AN ALYSIS
STRENGTH SENTIMENT
PASSION REACH
Strength is the likelihood a brand is being talked about on social media. The ratio ofgenerally positive to generally negative comments about a brand on social media is calledsentiment. The likelihood that once a person has talked about a brand on social media, theywill talk about the brand again and repeatedly is customer passion. And finally reach orinfluence is the number of unique individuals talking about the brand divided by the numberof mentions.
81% 9:1
30% 54%
69% 4:137% 44%
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?SEN TIM EN T AN ALYSIS
Essentially, what this really means isthat there’s a lot of people talkingabout Netflix on social media,particularly Twitter, and that a lot ofpeople have very positive things tosay about the brand, sincesentiment is decently high. Thatbeing said, only about 1/3 of thepeople talking about Netflix arelikely to talk about them sometimeagain in the future which is notspectacular.
These numbers indicate that Huluremains only a few technicalitiesbehind Netflix. Hulu is less likely tobe organically talked about thanNetflix and with a lower sentimentand reach that means less peopleare talking positively about thebrand on the same platforms asNetflix, like Twitter. But with anotably higher passion score, theusers talking positively about thebrand are likely to do so more thanonce, which is key for word ofmouth brand exposure.
WEBSITEN ETF LIX The Netflix website is clean and streamline, you
are either there to sign up for a membership oryou are not. There is really no last-minute pushto try and convince you that this is the productyou need; there is a one month free trial offerwith a highlighted and easy cancelation offer andthat is just about it.
Users, after logging in, are presented with listupon list of countless television shows andmovies they now have at their finger tips. Thedark background of the entire site gives of acinematic feel and encourages users to snuggleup with a good blanket and settle in for somebinge watching.
WEBSITEHU LU
The Hulu website is very segmentedand there are three distinct sectionsof the website: an discounted rateoffer, a taste of what their libraryincludes, and a detailed list of whateach services the two membershipsprovide. On their homepage Hulureally communicates the value oftheir product, they are quite clearabout what a user will be gettingfor their money. But that being said,Hulu fails to communicate how aconsumer’s life will improve withthe purchase of their product.
YOU GET A GOLD STAR!W EBSITE W IN N ER
Netflix is the winner of the website comparison! With amore user oriented feel the Netflix website is simplymore enjoyable to interact with. When a new consumergoes to the website for the first time they are beingsold Netflix as a brand, not Netflix as a product.
FACEBOOKN ETF LIX
One word that excellently sums up Netflix’s Facebookpage is balance. There is great ratio of the typical,this-is-now-streaming posts and trailers to some greatbrand cultivation posts. Netflix is able to showcaseelements of the Netflix lifestyle through posts that arenot direct advertisements or reminders for theircustomers. However, Netflix does seem to strugglewith how to efficiently provide as much informationabout their shows. In quite a few Netflix Originalstrailers the titles and show information were difficultto locate.
FACEBOOKHU LUHulu’s Facebook page is very obviously run by abusiness. Almost every single one of their postsincludes the words “now streaming on Hulu”. But onthis platform that is not necessarily a bad thing.Facebook is one of the oldest social media platformsand many users understand that Facebook embracesadvertising and its utility as a consumer touch point.Hulu also does a spectacular job of interacting withtheir customers on Facebook; their prompt and wittyresponses are great for gaining acknowledgment andkeeping their current followers engaged.
YOU GET A GOLD STAR!F ACEBO O K W IN N ER
Hulu is the winner for the Facebook comparison! Eventhough it is pretty obvious what Hulu’s Facebook strategyis, does not mean it is a bad one. They use their postsefficiently to remind their followers what they can watchon their website and what is band new. They are alsoamazing at interacting with their customer and aremaking the most of this consumer touch point.
TWITTERN ETF LIX
Netflix carries over that descriptive adjective from their Facebook to theirTwitter, balanced. There is a great balance of Netflix generated content aswell as retweets from authorities such as newspapers, magazines, and theactors from many Netflix television shows and movies. It is also obvious thatNetflix takes the time to generate content and posts specifically for Twitter;they manage to avoid using only videos in their multimedia posts. Finally, andmost importantly, Netflix followers actually like and retweet their posts! It isnot at all unusual for a post to be live for only a few hours before it achievesthousands of interactions.
TWITTERHU LU
Hulu clearly understands that, while popular, Twitter is not the onlyplatform that their customer uses; they have effectively integrated otherforms of social media into their Twitter posts, offering their followers directchannels to their Snapchat, Instagram, and website. They have also achieveda great ratio of platform specific original content to sponsored tweets andreposts from fans and prominent actors and actresses. That being said, Huluhas an abysmal amount of interaction on this platform, even with over 250thousand followers they only average a handful of likes and retweets.
YOU GET A GOLD STAR!TW ITTER W IN N ER
Netflix is the winner for the Twitter comparison! Thiswas a rather simple choice when it came down to whatthe real purpose of social media is, interactionsbetween people. Even though Hulu and Netflix havevery similar strategies to navigating Twitter, Netflix hasthe numbers to back up their efforts.
INSTAGRAMN ETF LIX
Using Instagram, Netflix has been able to effectivelyand enticingly tell the stories that go on behind thescenes of their product production. Their account hashardly any television or movie trailers and few if not noposts saying that a show or movie is now streaming ontheir website. Even though Netflix is a video streamingcompany they understand that Instagram was createdfor photos, and use a majority of high qualityphotographs or memes to tell the story behind theirbrand.
INSTAGRAMHU LUHulu is using their Instagram account as anadvertising platform instead of as the social mediaplatform it is supposed to be. This in turn makes allof their posts seem inherently awkward, even thoughmost of them simply inform their followers that newshows or movies are available to stream. Hulu hasvery high quality photo and video posts but suffersfrom the same issues many adults on Twitter do, likeoveruse of hashtags. Hulu also follows the advertiser'sguidebook to Instagram by incorporating giveawaysand contests that can only be entered by tagging afriend or liking a post. That being said, it is likely Huluencourages these activities because of their lowresponse rates for a majority of their posts.
YOU GET A GOLD STAR!IN STAGR AM W IN N ER
Netflix is the winner of the Instagram comparison! Theirwin can partly be attributed to their inherentunderstanding of Instagram as an ideal storytellingplatform. It should also be noted that while Netflix fails toactually promote their products on Instagram, Hulu doesnot succeed it its own venture and Netflix does a greatjob of selling their overall brand.
TUMBLRN ETF LIX
Tumblr is a rather interesting platform that many business have leftto organic users because it can at times be difficult to navigate.Netflix once again addresses the challenge of digital media strategyby doing what the users are doing, treating the platform as a socialspace. Netflix’s blog on Tumblr looks just like a personal blog, theirusername is the only hint that the blog is owned by a business asnone of their posts are branded. They even refrain from tagging theirposts with the company’s hashtag! As far as posts are concerned,Netflix creates funny picture sets from their shows and movies thatshowcase the Netflix lifestyle. It honestly took quite a bit of effort tofind a single post that included a release date of a popular televisionshow.
TUMBLRHU LU
Right off the bat, as is the case with many of their social mediaplatforms, it is quite obvious that their Tumblr blog is owned bya business. They even link the webpage to sign up for Hulu’sservices at the top of their blog. That being said they are smartto link all of their other social media accounts to their blog. It isalso rather obvious through their liberal use of hashtags thatHulu is very concerned with being searchable on Tumblr, likelyhoping to gain awareness and expand viewership. Hulu is alsoquite obviously lacking in the original content department, as avast majority of their posts on Tumblr have simply been takenfrom their Instagram and Facebook pages.
YOU GET A GOLD STAR!TU M BLR W IN N ER
Netflix is the winner of the Tumblr comparison! Onceagain Netflix has shown superior understanding of theplatform along with a creativity and originality thatHulu fails to showcase in the same space. Netflix’sfocus on brand make their blog more authentic andenjoyable to browse.
ONLINE FANSF O LLO W ER AN ALYSIS
NETFLIX HULU
27,532,126 Facebook likes
2,394,532 Facebook likes
2.34 million* Twitterfollowers
256,000 Twitterfollowers
2.5 million* Instagramfollowers
72,500 Instagramfollowers
n/a Tumblrfollowers
n/a Tumblrfollowers
The numbers are quite clear in the storythey tell, Netflix is simply a morepopular brand than Hulu. Withsignificantly more followers on everyknown platform it is rather obvious thatNetflix is no longer concerned withbrand awareness, something that showsin their digital media strategies incomparison to Hulu’s. On most of theirplatforms Netflix is telling their story andselling their brand, not their revenuegenerating service.
* Netflix accounts specific to US based audience
IN SUMMARYCO M PAR ISO N SU M M AR Y
Netflix undoubtedly swept this digital media comparison with four platform wins in Website,Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. While Hulu took the win for their clear and direct advertisingintentions on Facebook, Netflix illustrated that simpler can be better. When interloping into aplatform that was created originally for only social interaction now oversaturated withadvertisements and marketing some businesses can find success in just taking a step backand trusting their brand’s story to attract future customers.
AND THE GRAND PRIZEO V ER ALL W IN N ER
At this point it’s pretty obvious, Netflix is the clear digital mediachampion. Netflix is quite notably superior in their their digital and socialmedia usage because they manage to stick to the platform, they areusing each and every website as it was originally intended to be used.They are telling us their story, selling to us what it really means to beNetflix. Hulu is telling us what the reasons for choosing their site arewhile Netflix is showing us why we should spend our time with theirbrand. When Hulu is throwing around dates and telling us what productsthey offer Netflix has become that best friend we send funny videos toduring class or meetings. In a world where brands are becoming morelike people, and people are becoming more like brands, Netflix issucceeding because they are connecting to us not brand-to-consumer,but person-to-person.