For most marketers, success is measured in sales uplift or return on investment. At Netflix, however, the streaming giant’s marketing teams are measured on their ability to build fan engagement and drive conversation.
“Netflix is unique because marketing is tasked to generate fandom and drive conversation,” says June Sauvaget, Netflix’s vice-president of marketing for EMEA. “What happens in that environment is you’re constantly pushing innovation and creativity. You’re trying to one-up the last best thing you did.”
That mandate, she argues, creates an environment of “healthy competition” across markets, where teams are encouraged to take creative risks and challenge conventions.
“The fact that we’re encouraged and given an environment where we can lean into risk is very unique in today’s environment for a marketing organisation,” she says.
For most marketers, success is measured in sales uplift or return on investment. At Netflix, however, the streaming giant’s marketing teams are measured on their ability to build fan engagement and drive conversation.
“Netflix is unique because marketing is tasked to generate fandom and drive conversation,” says June Sauvaget, Netflix’s vice-president of marketing for EMEA. “What happens in that environment is you’re constantly pushing innovation and creativity. You’re trying to one-up the last best thing you did.”
That mandate, she argues, creates an environment of “healthy competition” across markets, where teams are encouraged to take creative risks and challenge conventions.
“The fact that we’re encouraged and given an environment where we can lean into risk is very unique in today’s environment for a marketing organisation,” she says.Netflix hits 190 million monthly ad viewers according to new metric
That focus on fandom is perhaps most visible in one of Netflix’s most successful original series, Stranger Things. First released in 2016, the show has grown into a cultural phenomenon over the past decade.
The fifth and final season launched on 27 November, with the first four of eight episodes released simultaneously, and the final four to come over the Christmas season. It has since become Netflix’s biggest English-language debut to date, attracting 59.6 million views in its first five days.
“It’s a decade-defining piece of content for us,” explains Sauvaget. “What we’ve learned over the years is that when we have a title that has incredible fandom, when it comes to a close, we must give it a proper send-off.”
That send-off has included a raft of experiences, brand partnerships and merchandise. To sustain interest between seasons and build momentum ahead of the launch, Netflix has maintained marketing activity and invested in a wider ecosystem designed to keep fans engaged.
[Brands] are seeking to fully integrate into our IP. That speaks to the strength of the IP and Netflix, but also it speaks to the willingness for these brands to dismantle what they held sacred.
June Sauvaget, Netflix
In December 2023, the West End stage production ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ launched in London, followed by a Broadway debut in New York earlier this year. These were supported by a series of immersive experiences and live events across multiple markets.
“Between the seasons, we’ve sustained the conversation and the engagement with our fans,” she explains.
Sauvaget says it is essential to activate creatively across different media channels, with the consistent goal of driving conversation. One example is the installation of ‘Upside Down’ Christmas trees in multiple European cities, which she notes is generating more awareness than a traditional broadcast TV spot.
“We think about what are the things we can create that people will notice and will become a conversational topic,” she says.
Effective brand partnerships
Brand partnerships have also played a central role in amplifying conversation around Stranger Things. In Germany, Netflix partnered with Deutsche Telekom, one of its largest telco partners in the region.
Deutsche Telekom reunited the four original Stranger Things cast members, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin, for a MagentaTV campaign titled ‘Everything In One Place’. The campaign ran across TV, VOD, radio, outdoor and social channels.
Created with adam&eveDDB London and Berlin, the spot recreates Mike’s basement from the series, with the characters attempting to build a machine capable of streaming “infinite hours” of classic 1980s movie fight scenes.
According to Sauvaget, these partnerships reflect a growing willingness among brands to integrate deeply with Netflix’s intellectual property.
“[Brands] are seeking to fully integrate into our IP. That speaks to the strength of the IP and Netflix, but also it speaks to the willingness for these brands to dismantle what they held sacred,” she says.
In the UK, KFC collaborated with Netflix on a Stranger Things-themed limited-time menu, including a Stranger Things burger and ‘Stranger Wings’, alongside immersive Hawkins Fried Chicken pop-ups featuring secret codes and exclusive rewards.
She adds that these partnerships deliver mutual value, allowing brands to connect with culture and audiences in ways that may not otherwise be possible.
“It’s not just about us creating moments,” she says. “It’s also all of our partners tapping into this moment and the audiences we bring, and in aligning their brand to the Stranger Things IP, they can resonate with their audiences in ways that they otherwise couldn’t.”
The role of immersive experiences
Live events and immersive experiences are another cornerstone of Netflix’s marketing strategy, particularly for fandom-led titles, like Stranger Things.
“When people want to be reminded of watching [the show] and being a part of it, you find that these immersive experiences bring a tremendous amount of value in terms of organic amplification,” she explains.
She recalls a recent event in Istanbul that far exceeded expectations. Netflix anticipated 2,000 attendees, but more than 20,000 people showed up.
“As a marketer, you are oftentimes challenged around the value of events, because events are expensive to produce, and it’s a finite period. In my past life, I’ve often been challenged on whether events are the right way to approach things,” she reflects.
For Netflix, however, the scale of organic reach generated through social sharing, media coverage and fan content helps offset those limitations, particularly for globally recognised franchises.
“Being able to create that authentic experience is certainly helping us do the marketing, because [fans] are talking about it for us,” she adds.
Balancing local relevance with global scale
While Netflix operates at a global scale, Sauvaget says they invest in content for the local market and “marketing quickly follows”.
“We’re very much about ‘local for local’, and that shows up first by our investment in content at the local level, because we believe that local stories are going to resonate with local audiences,” she explains.
Netflix’s global brand platform, ‘the thrill of what’s next’ provides a unifying narrative, but execution varies by market.
“The idea is that there’s always something to anticipate and be excited about,” Sauvaget explains. “That’s true everywhere, but what excites you in Italy may be very different from what excites you in Japan.”
To deliver on that, Netflix has dedicated teams working at sub-regional and local levels, shaping campaigns that reflect cultural context while aligning with the broader brand story.
Understanding the competitive landscape is also essential. Sauvaget says Netflix closely monitors what local broadcasters and global streaming rivals are offering in each market to sharpen its differentiation.
Meanwhile, tracking conversation, no matter where it comes from, is key to understanding whether its marketing is effective.
“Every week we look at a dashboard that tracks the volume of conversation, the type of conversation and how far it’s travelling beyond the country of origin,” Sauvaget explains. “If something was intended for one market but sparks conversation around the world, we see that as a huge success.”Warner Bros urges shareholders to reject Paramount bid
Looking ahead to 2026, Netflix has several priorities, but Sauvaget says a key focus is staying ahead of how and where audiences consume content, including emerging platforms such as wearable technology.
“It’s something we need to keep a very close eye on,” she says. “That includes how people are searching on their mobile phones, but also the new hardware devices coming to market, which are likely to deliver far more personalised experiences.”
At a company level, a major strategic focus will be the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. This interview was conducted prior to any formal announcements, but on 5 December Netflix confirmed it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, including its film and television studios and streaming assets HBO and HBO Max.
Three days later, Paramount Skydance launched an unsolicited $108.4bn (£81.4bn) bid for Warner Bros Discovery, taking its proposal directly to shareholders. Paramount described the move as a “clearly alternative offer” to Netflix’s proposed $72bn (£54bn) acquisition of the media group.
Both Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery have urged shareholders to reject the Paramount Skydance offer.