Month: February 2022

As we look across the broad and deep menu of video entertainment offerings in the U.S. today, it’s challenging to remember a life without streaming. But it was only nine years ago (Feb. 1, 2013) that Netflix launched its very first original series, House of Cards, and others soon followed. Until then, Netflix had been operating as a distributor of acquired content, which today still drives tremendous engagement on the platform.

Netflix’s 2016 debut of Stranger Things marked another milestone along the streaming journey, given its incredibly broad appeal. There was something for almost everyone, from sci-fi and horror, to the retro appeal of the 80s, to the group of kids stirring up trouble while coming of age. While programs that attract a wide range of audiences have always been an effective way to drive viewership, streaming platforms are developing programming to differentiate themselves and attract more niche audiences, similar to how the cable networks were able to differentiate themselves over previous decades. 

It’s this type of content that engaged audiences in 2021, as we take a deeper dive into Nielsen’s recently released Streaming Unwrapped 2021 data.

In looking at the bevy of content available to viewers in 2021, Squid Game is a clear standout. First, it was the second-most viewed original series of the year, with nearly 16.5 billion minutes streamed on the list. Among male viewers, however, it moves up to first place. Among women, it falls to fifth (behind Lucifer, Great British Baking Show, Virgin River and Bridgerton). But the Squid Game audience became more sharply defined when we look at engagement among different age groups.

Squid Game also stands out for having massive appeal outside of Korea, as non-Korean audiences engaged with the series in dubbed or subtitled versions. International content is a fertile source for streamers, and with Squid Game being offered with both English-dubbed or native Korean with subtitles, 29% of the 18-34 year old viewing (the highest percentage demo) was attributable to watching the Korean language version with subtitles feels like a material insight. 

Engagement across different race and ethnicity groups were also telling. In addition to being popular with Asian viewers, Squid Game was the most-viewed original among Hispanics and African Americans. Among white non-Hispanic (and females overall) audiences, it came in at No. 5 (behind Lucifer, Great British Baking Show, Virgin River and Bridgerton ahead of it). The Korean language version accounted for 45% of the viewing minutes in Asian America homes and 33% in Hispanic households.

Despite having a run on linear networks, a number of acquired titles amassed massive amounts of viewing time. The combination of Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS garnered almost 100 billion viewing minutes of streaming in 2021. And while Criminal Minds attracted the most viewing minutes over 322 available episodes, Cocomelon, with just 15 episodes available, is a true standout. It also drove a big acquisition deal for its studio. Broadly available across Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and YouTube, Cocomelon accounted for 33.3 billion minutes of viewing.

How can a series with only 15 episodes generate that much viewing? The answer is simple, and it’s a common trend Nielsen’s Streaming Unwrapped data revealed among kids programs: repeat viewing. In its core audience of 2-5 the average viewer watched each episode nearly three times in the fourth quarter alone, which looks more like 180 episodes when extrapolated over a year. In addition to its appeal among young children Cocomelon was also a hit among multicultural audiences. With 56% of its audience coming from African American, Hispanic or Asian American homes, Cocomelon had the highest multicultural audience of any of the top 15 acquired titles. This broad cultural appeal and repeat viewing make Cocomelon likely the most-streamed kids title ever.  

In the movie category, there are consistent themes for success across the different genres. To reach a lot of viewers, action is the best bet. For greater reach and repeat viewing, a kids movie is the ticket. For an extra measure of success, include Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who starred in three of the Top 2021 films). Some quick facts about the top 10 movies of 2021: 60% attracted at least 40% of their audience from kids 2-11 (Cruella just missed with just over one-third). Luca was the runaway winner among that 2-11 year old audience in 2021 with a 17% lead over Moana, which finished second. Interestingly more people watched Luca than Moana, but the Moana viewer tended to watch it more times and it holds the title as the most-streamed kids movie ever*. 

From an audience perspective, engagement among movie titles remains remarkably consistent across different age groups until looking at preferences among viewers 50 and older. In terms of viewer engagement, Amazon Prime viewers typically skew older than other streamers, and three of the top 10 movies among viewers 50 and older are on Amazon Prime Video (The Tomorrow War, Coming 2 America and Without Remorse). Aside from diversity by audience age, many of the most popular movie titles of the year appealed broadly across race and ethnicity. Coming 2 America, The Harder They Fall and Without Remorse were the primary exceptions, as engagement with these titles was higher among Black audiences.

Regardless of genre or intended audience, the streaming content from 2021 highlights how critical it is that audiences see themselves in the content they seek out and consume. Inclusion and representation are becoming critical to success in the streaming world as well as in the broader media industry. A deep understanding of program audiences and how to engage them will be foundational to retaining existing viewers as well as attracting new ones.

Note

*Since Nielsen began measuring streaming.

Brian Fuhrer, Nielsen’s SVP of Product Strategy and Thought Leadership, offers some perspective on these top streaming programs of 2021.

As we look across the broad and deep menu of video entertainment offerings in the U.S. today, it’s challenging to remember a life without streaming. But it was only nine years ago (Feb. 1, 2013) that Netflix launched its very first original series, House of Cards, and others soon followed. Until then, Netflix had been operating as a distributor of acquired content, which today still drives tremendous engagement on the platform.

Netflix’s 2016 debut of Stranger Things marked another milestone along the streaming journey, given its incredibly broad appeal. There was something for almost everyone, from sci-fi and horror, to the retro appeal of the 80s, to the group of kids stirring up trouble while coming of age. While programs that attract a wide range of audiences have always been an effective way to drive viewership, streaming platforms are developing programming to differentiate themselves and attract more niche audiences, similar to how the cable networks were able to differentiate themselves over previous decades. 

It’s this type of content that engaged audiences in 2021, as we take a deeper dive into Nielsen’s recently released Streaming Unwrapped 2021 data.

In looking at the bevy of content available to viewers in 2021, Squid Game is a clear standout. First, it was the second-most viewed original series of the year, with nearly 16.5 billion minutes streamed on the list. Among male viewers, however, it moves up to first place. Among women, it falls to fifth (behind Lucifer, Great British Baking Show, Virgin River and Bridgerton). But the Squid Game audience became more sharply defined when we look at engagement among different age groups.

Squid Game also stands out for having massive appeal outside of Korea, as non-Korean audiences engaged with the series in dubbed or subtitled versions. International content is a fertile source for streamers, and with Squid Game being offered with both English-dubbed or native Korean with subtitles, 29% of the 18-34 year old viewing (the highest percentage demo) was attributable to watching the Korean language version with subtitles feels like a material insight. 

Engagement across different race and ethnicity groups were also telling. In addition to being popular with Asian viewers, Squid Game was the most-viewed original among Hispanics and African Americans. Among white non-Hispanic (and females overall) audiences, it came in at No. 5 (behind Lucifer, Great British Baking Show, Virgin River and Bridgerton ahead of it). The Korean language version accounted for 45% of the viewing minutes in Asian America homes and 33% in Hispanic households.

Despite having a run on linear networks, a number of acquired titles amassed massive amounts of viewing time. The combination of Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy and NCIS garnered almost 100 billion viewing minutes of streaming in 2021. And while Criminal Minds attracted the most viewing minutes over 322 available episodes, Cocomelon, with just 15 episodes available, is a true standout. It also drove a big acquisition deal for its studio. Broadly available across Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and YouTube, Cocomelon accounted for 33.3 billion minutes of viewing.

How can a series with only 15 episodes generate that much viewing? The answer is simple, and it’s a common trend Nielsen’s Streaming Unwrapped data revealed among kids programs: repeat viewing. In its core audience of 2-5 the average viewer watched each episode nearly three times in the fourth quarter alone, which looks more like 180 episodes when extrapolated over a year. In addition to its appeal among young children Cocomelon was also a hit among multicultural audiences. With 56% of its audience coming from African American, Hispanic or Asian American homes, Cocomelon had the highest multicultural audience of any of the top 15 acquired titles. This broad cultural appeal and repeat viewing make Cocomelon likely the most-streamed kids title ever.  

In the movie category, there are consistent themes for success across the different genres. To reach a lot of viewers, action is the best bet. For greater reach and repeat viewing, a kids movie is the ticket. For an extra measure of success, include Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who starred in three of the Top 2021 films). Some quick facts about the top 10 movies of 2021: 60% attracted at least 40% of their audience from kids 2-11 (Cruella just missed with just over one-third). Luca was the runaway winner among that 2-11 year old audience in 2021 with a 17% lead over Moana, which finished second. Interestingly more people watched Luca than Moana, but the Moana viewer tended to watch it more times and it holds the title as the most-streamed kids movie ever*. 

From an audience perspective, engagement among movie titles remains remarkably consistent across different age groups until looking at preferences among viewers 50 and older. In terms of viewer engagement, Amazon Prime viewers typically skew older than other streamers, and three of the top 10 movies among viewers 50 and older are on Amazon Prime Video (The Tomorrow War, Coming 2 America and Without Remorse). Aside from diversity by audience age, many of the most popular movie titles of the year appealed broadly across race and ethnicity. Coming 2 America, The Harder They Fall and Without Remorse were the primary exceptions, as engagement with these titles was higher among Black audiences.

Regardless of genre or intended audience, the streaming content from 2021 highlights how critical it is that audiences see themselves in the content they seek out and consume. Inclusion and representation are becoming critical to success in the streaming world as well as in the broader media industry. A deep understanding of program audiences and how to engage them will be foundational to retaining existing viewers as well as attracting new ones.

Note

*Since Nielsen began measuring streaming.

Brian Fuhrer, Nielsen’s SVP of Product Strategy and Thought Leadership, offers some perspective on these top streaming programs of 2021.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, brands of all sizes and across every industry reduced their marketing budgets, with many pausing or downsizing their brand awareness efforts to save capital. Brands then concentrated their bandwidth and remaining resources on engaging and maintaining existing customers rather than winning over new ones.

 Because they inspire immediate action from consumers, lower-funnel tactics like these are attractive when markets are uncertain, and marketers want to be able to continue reporting results to leadership. That said, forgoing upper-funnel priorities (like brand awareness) on account of a delayed return on investment isn’t sustainable for long-term brand growth.

 Marketers have learned to recalibrate their tactics to not only address our new realities but also pave the way for future success. Growth must be addressed through a balanced marketing strategy where upper-funnel brand-building efforts work in tandem with mid- and lower-funnel efforts.

Here is how brands can activate a balanced marketing strategy.

Consider the customer journey from start to finish

A consumer can’t engage with a brand if they’ve never heard of it, which is why marketers must target new prospects through brand awareness initiatives to create a pipeline for future sales. Once these prospects enter the pipeline, lower-funnel efforts have a larger pool of consumers to influence, thereby increasing the potential returns. In fact, a 1-point gain in brand metrics, like awareness, drives a 1% increase in sales, according to recent Nielsen research.

Brands arguing that their current focus is maintenance instead of growth must remember that even customers who have had a great experience with a brand and are loyal still need reminders to return. Even the most recognizable brands continue to execute upper-funnel tactics to stay top-of-mind for consumers. Given the prevalence of choice and access to a product or service, staying in consumers’ minds can be the difference-maker when a sale is on the line.

Target prospects with the right messages on the right channels

When consumers are getting to know a brand, presenting brand messaging that resonates is critical for capturing their attention and driving sales. For inspiration, marketers should consider any major trends or news events and articulate how their products or services align with them, thereby underscoring the brand’s relevancy. Once marketers learn more about their audiences, they can scope messaging to address the personal needs of those individuals and demonstrate to consumers that their business is valued. Similarly, individuals who recently learned of a brand may not respond to the same calls to action as those already loyal to the brand. Therefore, marketers need to mix the messaging they use to grow each audience along the customer journey.

Marketers must put similar thought into their choice of channels. In studying how a campaign by an insurance brand performed over nine different channels, Nielsen found that most of the channels that were effective in driving short-term sales came up short in raising brand awareness and consideration. This result was despite the portion of the budget put into it. Considering how consumers will receive a brands’ messaging is just as important as the content of that messaging. Failure to tailor messaging across platforms risks wasted spends on messaging that was otherwise well thought out.

Persuade business leaders of the importance of upper-funnel efforts

Business leaders will want to see results. However, marketers should educate the organization about the latent sales impact of brand building. Showing evidence of brand-building impact, done by measuring long-term sales and/or brand equity effects of upper-funnel marketing, will instill confidence among leadership that their patience for sales results will be rewarded.

While lower-funnel activity secures quick sales leaders like to see, it is largely ineffective at driving future sales. Therefore, overly prioritizing conversion-oriented marketing will soon cause sales and larger brand growth to atrophy. That is why lower-funnel activity alone cannot sustain a brand. Conversely, while upper-funnel marketing is less effective in showing immediate ROI, Nielsen research found that it still contributes to short-term sales in addition to fostering a pipeline of future ones. That is why upper-funnel activity should have greater prominence in the mix.

Still, sales is not the only metric to gauge marketing success. And given that lower- and upper-funnel activations work toward different goals, measuring the two through shared metrics risks depressing the aggregate impact of both. Upper-funnel messages can be assessed through metrics like awareness and consideration, while the efficacy of lower-funnel messages can be tracked via conversions. Conversions are more than sales, though: they can be a consumer signing up for email newsletters, downloading a whitepaper, listening to a webinar—the list goes on. By leveraging a measurement platform that captures action attribution, brands can see the long-term effects of brand building and awareness efforts to pinpoint areas of success and improvement.

The quick wins as a result of conversion-dominated marketing may feel rewarding at the moment, but it often does not lead to long-term brand growth. As brands continue to adjust to the ongoing pandemic and budgets recalibrate, marketing strategies should, too. Marketers should develop a plan that balances all parts of the funnel to stay on course and grow the business.

This article first appeared on Toolbox Marketing.