Streaming king Netflix is set to lay off a number of employees as the streaming service looks to retool its marketing strategy. The company has carved out a space as one of the most important home entertainment services in the world, with a vast library of original and purchased programming shared directly to consumers. With increased competition coming from other upstart streaming services, Netflix will look to maintain their edge in this space.
In recent years, Netflix has focused on marketing their original programming to people around the globe. Tent pole television franchises such as Stranger Things and The Crown have been advertised to the masses at a high clip. Additionally, the service has entered the awards competitions on the film side, working hard to spread the prestige of recent movies Roma, The Irishman and Marriage Story.
According to the THR, at least 15 people in Netflix's marketing department are in danger of losing their jobs in the next week, as the company looks to move away from advertising their individual programs and more towards advertising their service as a whole. It's not clear how that strategy shift will manifest itself when consumers see advertisements for the service, but Netflix is well-known to employ a review process that can lead to frequent performance-based personnel changes. A public filing revealed the company spent $1.8 billion in advertising in 2018, the most recent data available.
While approximately 15 people are expected to lose their jobs in the coming days, there's a possibility that more people may be laid off as Netflix's marketing strategy is reevaluated. The company employs around 6,900 people, so it appears less than one percent of Netflix's workforce is in danger right now. This may not be the end of changes for the marketing team at Netflix, however, as former BBC Studios executive and current Netflix chief marketing officer Jackie Lee-Joe has only been in her position for half a year. She'll be faced with staving off significant challenges from burgeoning streaming services in the coming months.
Netflix has been going head-to-head with Hulu and Amazon Prime for some time now. There has been a recent proliferation of streaming services, though, with Disney+ and Apple TV+ launching in November 2019. Other well-financed streaming services aren't far behind, with HBO Max set to launch in May 2020 and Peacock (NBCUniversal's service) expected to see a full launch by July 2020. Not only are these streaming services providing premium original content; they're also siphoning away some of the property rights Netflix once held dear. A new marketing strategy will be the first shot fired in an attempt to stave off the streaming competition going forward.
Source: THR