NETFLIX: uncovering growth opportunities
Client: Netflix
Challenge: White Space Exploration, Brand Positioning, Brand Activation
My role: Cultural Strategist
Agency: Cassandra
November 2018
New York, New York
Netflix’s Asian-American content acquisition strategy
Challenge
Netflix is a paragon of innovation, from unique data-use strategies to bold storytelling. If data shows what’s already working, then cultural research indicates what could be the next big thing to work. Netflix’s insights team asked Cassandra to define avenues for connecting with the cohort that had not been strongly represented in Netflix viewership numbers so far - Asian-Americans.
My role: I was the lead strategist on the project. My job was to be a big picture thinker, and I wrote a report outlining a strategy to connect with the Asian-American cohort.
Research: Decoding the Asian American identity
Asian American culture is very diverse, as the term includes people whose families come from many different countries - India, China, Japan, Vietnam, to name just a few – all of which have rich histories of their own. However, there is one shared commonality for this diverse group - they are America’s youngest immigration groups. (Immigration restrictions for the majority of Asian countries were lifted only in 1965). And being the cohort with the least history in the U.S., they have faced unique and interesting cultural tensions, both personally and socially. These tensions reflect their strongly bi-cultural identities in modern America.
Insights Definition: The joy and challenges of living in two cultures at the same time.
In a nutshell this story is a precis of all the ethnography findings that we gathered, leading us to two major insights.
“Thanksgiving dinner is when I most feel like I live in two cultures: Turkey with stuffing, and whatever Chinese food my parents’ Chinese friends bring over. NFL on the TV and mahjong on the poker table. You belong to both yet to neither of these worlds at the same time. So you try to build your own place
between the two cultures.”
On the personal dimension, Asian-Americans see themselves needing to very consciously navigate their bicultural identities.
On the social dimension, Asian-Americans feel exoticized. “These men [with yellow fever] don’t care about who you really are - the fantasy of you being submissive or docile or fragile or whatever the allure of Asian women is… the idea of you is enough” - as Anna Akana, a Youtuber exclaimed in a now-viral video of hers.
Emerging stories of Asian American cohort
Strategy platform: Inspiring the Asian-American cohort to explore the various sides of their identities.
What if Netflix focused on exploring identity through the lens of a bi-cultural perspective, unpacked throughout portrayals of the major domains of life - relationships with parents, romantic partners, and aspirations of achievement. Based on monitoring social conversations, we found these to be the most engaging topics for Asian-American Millennials. So we established three major recommendations around potential stories, character arc structures, and genres:
Stories: When developing stories to connect with Asian American cohorts, empower Asian-America characters to tell their own stories - directed by and starring Asian-American talent.
Characters: While developing Asian-American characters, introduce their relationships with parents, which touches on the common experience of experiencing a generational gap that is also a cultural gap. Adding this layer to the story makes characters more relatable by speaking to a common dynamic in Asian-American families and communities.
Genres: As the conversation about bi-culturalism is complex and has not entered the mainstream discourse yet, consider using comedic genres to introduce the conversation. Comedy is well-suited to introducing such topics because humor gives people something to grab onto, which is especially important when they don’t yet understand how to engage with a new perspective or dialogue.
Results
Since the project was presented, Netflix has premiered new stand-up specials and TV series doubling down on their celebration of Asian-American characters, such as the recent “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”. Moreover, Netflix has introduced a new category of programming to their lineup - the topical, political comedy talk show. And Patriot Act, hosted by Indian-American Hasan Minaj, just so happens to present an Asian-American perspective on the bi-cultural challenges of being Asian-American within the political storylines of contemporary America and the globalized culture.
