How Netflix turned a simple billboard into a social media star

A deep dive into Netflix's Sunset Boulevard marquee that has expanded to other corners of the globe.

Jul 21, 2022 - 21:02

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How Netflix turned a simple billboard into a social media star

Less than a year ago, on the heels of its record Emmys run in which it bested all other platforms and networks, Netflix made an even more indelible imprint on its Tinseltown turf by installing a permanent marquee billboard off Sunset Boulevard featuring an uplifting message:

When Ad Age first reported on it, we called it a “modern-day ‘hang in there’ poster,” featuring an empowering mantra contemporary consumers could easily relate to. Since then, Netflix has used the billboard to keep audiences entertained with witty aphorisms and knowing winks to fans of its popular shows and films including “Stranger Things,” “Squid Game,” “Bridgerton” and more.

It’s a textbook example of modern marketing done right—while the messages appear on the very traditional outdoor format, they also double as social media rocket fuel, perfect bite-sized, shareable pieces of content bound to encourage conversation and foster delight.

The modern-day cultural landmark in Netlfix’s Hollywood hometown has generated an estimated 850 million media impressions since launch and has since expanded to other markets, with similar permanent billboards in Rome, Stockholm and, most recently, Seoul, South Korea.

According to Spencer Somers, Netflix global brand creative, the marquee idea emerged from the marketing team’s search to “find new avenues to reflect fan conversation and talk about our titles and talent,” which consistently inspire discussion and trends. For example, Chess board sales soared thanks to “The Queen’s Gambit," while interest in tea drinking grew because of “Bridgerton.”

He explained that the marquee felt special in that it “had ties to nostalgia, which is something that Netflix, as a relatively young company, doesn’t have. It really made people feel emotion about entertainment while reflecting the kind of pop culture FOMO and conversation that we get out of social.”

The out-of-home format also brings added impact. The billboard debuted in the midst of the pandemic, when “we were in our houses and every message that we were getting was coming in through screens,” Somers said. “We love that it’s tied to a more tactile, iconic past of marketing. We wanted a bit of connection to that to that era, which was kind of glamorous when you look back on it.”

Coming up with the ideas is a weekly process around the world. In the U.S. specifically, every Monday morning the marketing and social teams meet to decide on what the new message will be, based primarily on what’s spiking on its social channels. The brainstorm typically generates loads of ideas and picking the right one is “extremely instinctual,” Somers said.

Social at the core

The Netflix marquee doesn’t have its own social handles but rather gets promoted through Netflix’s existing channels. Social media was baked into the idea from the get-go, and Somers’ team works closely with that of Jarett Wieselmann, who has been running Netflix’s U.S. Twitter account for about four years.

“They’ve developed such an incredible voice, and Jarett knows the conversations that are happening in real-time,” Somers said. “Those kind of insights are why the messages feel as fresh as they do.”

The messages aren’t flat-out promotions for the latest title to come out but rather feature clever nods to the shows or try to jump on conversations that are already happening. Somers points to “Is It Cake?,” a cooking contest show that challenges contestants to make cakes resembling non-edible objects, based on a popular meme. “Everybody’s already talking about it on social, but how can we amplify that even more?” Somers said.

That led to this message:

Given the specificity of some of the messages, they may not necessarily resonate with everyone, but they'll reward the right audience. “Ultimately, it’s become a really good way to talk the very passionate fandoms of certain shows," Somers said.

Other days, the billboard might speak to truths about the Netflix experience. One line, for example, got playful with the fact that much of the content on the streamer is international. “As Americans, we haven't grown up with the diet of watching a lot of international content, but the rest of the world does,” Somers said. But the popularity of shows such as “Squid Game” and “Money Heist” has helped to change that.

To promote the latest season of “Stranger Things,” the Netflix team knew they were going to incorporate vines to hint at the show’s “Upside Down” universe, but they were patient in deciding the message. “We said, ‘let’s not decide what the message is like we normally do and wait to see what the fans are talking about. The clamor of Steve Harrington and the fans thinking that something really bad was going to happen made it clear.”

Ultimately, that message did extremely well, and a time-lapse TikTok video Netflix created went on to generate about 14 million loads on the platform.

“The marquee messages are successful when you almost forget that it’s a marquee saying and it becomes all about the conversation around the title and the talent,” Somers said. “It almost takes on new life.”

Another key megaphone for the marquee is talent, with stars such as Halle Berry, J Lo, Regina King and Mark Ruffalo helping to boost the messages. “The way talent reacts to [the marquee] can sometimes be our best launching point for a message,” Somers said.

Worldwide fame

While the marquee platform started in Los Angeles, it’s proved successful enough to expand around the globe, with marquees now in Italy, Sweden and South Korea, whose messages are conceived by local marketing teams. Netflix has plans to expand the idea to even more markets in the coming months.

“It’s incredibly powerful to have all these different pictures around the world talking about Netflix in their own unique way,” Somers said.

Along with the local aspect, the additional billboards also pave the way for more impactful global messages. “When we have something really big that [Netflix] wants to talk about, we can change the signs at a moment's notice to feature that in behind something that's really important to the brand,” said Somers.