Netflix introduces new email formats to re-engage subscribers

Our 2020 Telecom & Media Trend “The Big Swap-out” looks at how streaming providers will prioritize loyalty-building tactics amid heightened switching activity in the New Year. Already, we have been reporting on changes in Netflix’s marketing tactics as the marketplace grows more crowded, such as its new “resume watching” emails. With these emails, Netflix hopes to keep its customers coming back into the Netflix ecosystem. With click-to-resume buttons integrated directly into the body of the email, Netflix makes it easier than ever to do exactly that.

Netflix’s “resume watching” emails featured new subject lines, layouts and call-to-action buttons. Subject lines alerted customers to the fact that they had unfinished content waiting for them on Netflix. The most-heavily emailed subject line encouraged the recipient to “Pick up where you left off.”

Once opened, the email featured a prominent image of the unfinished title, accompanied by either an episode list, highlighting the one where the streamer stopped, or in the case of films, a single “resume watching” button. The recipient could presumably click on the box and immediately begin watching where they’d left off. 

These are the types of small, but significant marketing tweaks we anticipate from Netflix and other streaming providers in the coming months, as they test new approaches to reduce swapping activity and encourage loyalty.