'Stranger Things' let its fans do the marketing for them



Two big holidays are coming up: Halloween and the release of Stranger Things season 2 on Netflix. I have been waiting for season 2 to come out since the second after I finished binge watching the first season (which took me less than two days) at the beginning of last August. If you have not seen Stranger Things yet please start watching it after reading this blog because you will not regret it. The show takes place in a quiet, small town in the 1980s where the worst crime to ever happen there was a woman getting attacked by an owl, until a kid disappears without a trace. When his friends go searching for him they find a girl with a shaved head instead. After that a lot of strange things start happening around the town.  


This Emmy-winning hit can attribute their success to their amazing cast of kids, suspenseful storyline, and a great marketing strategy.

A month after Stranger Things was released on Netflix in July of 2016 it became the most watched original series. This was surprising because their marketing efforts leading up to the release of the first season were relatively small. They did not focus on blasting out campaigns to everyone, but instead they used a content generated strategy to enhance the word of mouth for the show. Stranger Things partnered with a live streaming site, Twitch, to get people excited about the first season being released. Twitch hosted a live broadcast the day before it was released (July 14th) to hype up the show. The broadcast lasted four hours, and they even showed the first 8 minutes of the first episode to give fans a sneak peek. Twitch also gave the viewers and interactive experience by creating “Twitch Plays Haunted Basement”. This was a game that took place in the set of the basement on the show, and fans could chat in and decide what creepy things would happen next, like lights flickers or doors slamming.




Stranger Things has used their creative content marketing efforts to increase their consumer-to-consumer marketing. By giving their fans platforms to interact and connect with each other they have sparked their enthusiasm which in turn gives them loyal followers who are willing and excited to advocate for the show to their friends. Netflix users are much more likely to watch a show that their friends recommend to them than that Netflix promotes. This is why once Stranger Things created a strong fan base their show skyrocketed. They aimed for quality over quantity in their marketing plans, and it worked.

The cast of Stranger Things has also skyrocketed to fame, and they have used that fame to also promote the show’s second season on social media.








Everyone get ready for October 27th!

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