[News Figures] Amid Streaming Crisis, 'Marian Lee CMO' Changes Netflix Marketing

Focus on Content Instead of Company Brand
NYT: "Netflix Strategy Subtly Changed"

"There was definitely marketing involved."

Marian Lee, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Netflix, stated in an interview with IndieWire, which covers news related to the film industry, last September that marketing played a role in the massive success of Squid Game. She emphasized that while Squid Game, which achieved over 1.6 billion hours viewed within 28 days of release, gained widespread word-of-mouth, global marketing efforts also had an impact. She credited the Korean marketing team for important preparatory work and said that marketing tailored to the Asian region was effective.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Lee, the current leader of Netflix’s marketing, was reported by The New York Times (NYT) on the 3rd (local time) as the third CMO of Netflix who is leading strategy proactively amid the current streaming crisis rumors.

Netflix experienced a challenging year last year. During the COVID-19 period, Netflix had been thriving, but in the first and second quarters of last year, new subscriber numbers declined consecutively, while various streaming services such as Disney, Amazon, and Discovery emerged, intensifying competition. Numerous analysis reports predicted a gradual slowdown in the growth of the streaming market.

In response, Netflix introduced an ad-supported subscription plan, which it had long resisted, and began implementing paid account sharing policies starting in the United States.

NYT reported, "Netflix long maintained the belief that spending on advertising did not lead to more viewers," but "that thinking is subtly changing under CMO Lee." It added, "In a more competitive streaming market, Netflix is adopting a more direct strategy," and "they chose an executive who embraces broad tastes to provide services globally." This is the background behind the emergence of Lee, who plays a role in attracting users and promoting content.

Marian Lee, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Netflix (Photo by Netflix)

Before joining Netflix, Lee spent nearly eight years at Spotify. She joined Netflix in 2021 and was promoted to CMO in March last year. She took over the position after St. John, Netflix’s second CMO and her predecessor, left. Unlike former CMO John, who actively used his personal Instagram, Lee has kept her personal social media accounts private since her promotion and has focused on Netflix content itself.

Netflix’s annual content production budget is about $17 billion (approximately 22.4 trillion KRW), but only about $2 billion is allocated annually for marketing. Considering the content costs, this is an extremely limited marketing budget. Although Netflix’s marketing budget was $2.2 billion in 2020 and $2.5 billion in 2022, Lee has reportedly focused more marketing resources on promoting individual content rather than the Netflix brand itself, according to NYT.

Before Lee took charge of Netflix’s marketing, content producers frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of marketing, NYT reported. However, the situation changed after Lee’s arrival. Debbie Snyder, producer of the film Rebel Moon released last year, said, "After she came, she came to see what we were doing and often visited the set." She noted that such attention was never received when producing the 2021 film Army of the Dead.

Scott Stuber, Netflix’s head of film, explained that under Lee’s leadership, the marketing department has become more focused on content aspects and is working more harmoniously. He also mentioned being deeply impressed by Lee’s fast approach.

In an interview with NYT, Lee said, "Because we want to attract many people worldwide to our content, I try to be creative." She emphasized, "I want other Netflix employees to understand that our marketing strategy is to 'support the content organization.'"