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What Netflix’s Move Into Interactive Video Means

Guy Atzmon October 15, 2018
What Netflix’s Move Into Interactive Video Means

Netflix has done personalization right from day one. From curating content recommendations based on a user’s interests, preferences and shows previously watched, down to showing different versions of show thumbnails based on which profile is currently active, the platform simply gets it. Netflix understands what a great customer experience is — one that’s seamlessly relevant to the individual person in a given moment.

The entertainment tech giant is making its next move into customer-centric experiences once again, with its recent announcement around letting viewers decide how a favorite show will end. The ability for interactive narratives that lets viewers choose how the story will unfold is an example of individual storytelling at its finest.

And what better choice for Netflix to test viewer interactivity than the dystopian sci-fi anthology “Black Mirror” that often explores cultural and social implications of technology gone bad? Interactivity within digital video and across marketing channels is a part of the future, and, contrary to the show itself, it’s not a gloomy one.

The consumer experience is paramount at Netflix, and marketers at large have been exploring new ways that interactive video can create a better experience for the end viewer — helping to educate customers, understand products and services and adopt new features.

Personalized video is a strong medium for communicating complex messages to customers, but sometimes the customer data that a marketer has isn’t indicative of the viewer’s interests. In cases where there’s a lot of content a brand wants to share with its customers, a create-your-own adventure ensures the end-user has the opportunity to prioritize which topics are most interesting to her versus making her watch five or more minutes of video — or worse, risking the user abandons the content completely because the topics are irrelevant to her.

So what does Netflix’s move into interactive video mean for marketers?

Read the rest of my view here on Marketing Dive, where it it was originally published.