Netflix appoints creative and social agencies ahead of Australian marketing blitz
US streaming giant Netflix is understood to have appointed a creative and social media agency, in a move which will fuel increasing speculation that it will launch locally next year.
Mumbrella understands Droga5 has been handed creative duties for the brand in Australia following a pitch, whilst We Are Social, which also handles the account in the US and UK, will lead the social media push.
It is thought the service will launch a multi-million dollar marketing blitz when it does enter the market, worth upwards of $20m. However, that could be as late as the second half of next year as it looks to tie-up content rights for local programs.
While the company has consistently refused to comment on speculation it will enter the local market officially, last month execs did admit interest in the Australian and New Zealand market.
Whilst MEC is Netflix’s agency of record internationally it is not clear if the local office will be working on the account. It is understood there has also been a pitch for the PR account in market as well, although it is unclear if it has been decided.
All agencies contacted declined to comment.
The win comes as a boost for Droga5 with the agency losing a number of clients in the past year including Woolworths, ING Direct, Sunbeam and Mondelez Cadbury biscuit brands. However, it recently picked up the regional account for Singapore-based beer brand Tiger, as well as taking new ECD Steve Coll from Havas Worldwide.
Local media companies have been looking at their own subscription video on demand plays in the past few months to counter the threat from the global giant.
Nine Entertainment Co’s joint venture with Fairfax StreamCo recently appointed creative agency AJF Partnership to work on its launch campaign which could be in market before Christmas. Mumbrella understands Droga5 was also involved in the StreamCo pitch.
Meanwhile Foxtel has this week launched its video-on-demand offering BoxSets, with speculation Networks Ten and Seven could be set to join its Presto streaming subscription service.
At the ASTRA conference in September Shaun James, the head of Presto, said Netflix will be an “inferior” service in the local market because many of the premium rights for studios including HBO are already sewn-up with local providers. Stephen Langsford, the boss of Australian-based SVOD service Quickflix has challenged its US-rival to “come through the front door” to the Australian market and cut off access for an estimated 200,000 local subscribers using VPNs to access the US version of Netflix.
The US-based streaming service has recently launched in France, giving the nod to Ogilvy Paris to roll out its launch marketing campaign which has seen the agency use GIFs of TV shows and movies available on Netflix on digital outdoor sites. Crispin Porter & Bogusky handle Netflix’s advertising in the US.
Netflix lodged a copyright claim for its name in Australia at the start of the year.
Netflix declined to comment.
Alex Hayes
meh the stuff Droga did for BBC First was so pedestrian and ineffective it’s hard to imagine wtf Netflix saw…
I guess we’ll find out.
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Perhaps it’s less about what Droga can bring to the table and more what William Morris Endevour can.
Would certainly give the local competition a rattle if Droga called upon WME’s line up of high profile talent to launch Netflix.
If they were going to exploit their association, this is the opportunity for it.
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Suddenly Torrents of interest by multiple players in the long forgotten Oz market.
I imagine someone like ole Henry Ford must be asking these people – why do you find it so hard to just sell your customers what they want?
What do we want? Access to content. We want it 24-7. We want it on the platform of our choice and we want it at a globally comparative price.
Where’s the next Kim Dotcom? We need a modern day Robbin Hood to get the content for us. I am among the throng who want to pay for access. But I want to pay what is a globally realistic price. Geo markets are a hangover from the 1800s when cargo came to oz in tallships over stormy unpredictable seas and shipping costs by necessity reflected we were at the arse-end of the world. Now content can be delivered in a pulse from a passing satellite. We don’t need to be charged “shipping” fees!
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I can see it now, Netflix will suffer by my having the same quality content it does in other countries as local and monopolistic distributors (looking at you Fuxtel) hold on for dear life to rain at all relevant. Let’s hope it’s only an issue initially while those old services are slowly dying and then the content becomes available to bid for.
The biggest concern will be the “Australia Tax” we will undoubtedly have to pay for the “privilege” of almost keeping up with the rest of the world….
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I can see it now, Netflix will suffer by not having the same quality content it does in other countries as local and monopolistic distributors (looking at you Fuxtel) hold on for dear life to remain at all relevant. Let’s hope it’s only an issue initially while those old services are slowly dying and then the content becomes available to bid for.
The biggest concern will be the “Australia Tax” we will undoubtedly have to pay for the “privilege” of almost keeping up with the rest of the world….
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@ Cannes(d) Laughter
41 different ways to watch content locally http://digitalcontentguide.com.au/movies-tv/
Hopefully you’ll find one that suits your needs.
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Kewl.
And all you need to do is change ya IP to access Netflix in UK, USA, Europe etc so you can shop around for content.
Foxtel exclusives won’t matter for shit.
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I imagine that Netflix already has enough of the Australian market not to worry about going head to head with regulators, FOXTEL, and the old boy network. Like iTunes, the local offering will actually just be a marketing push for the international offering.
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Not a moment too soon either. I think some people are living in fantasy land. People can just use a service like https://uflix.com.au to unlock more tv shows and movies once they subscribe to Netflix. Them being here and allowing sign ups just makes that one single step a little easier for the average joe.
Australians have been paying far too much, for far too little, for far too long. The more services like this, the better.
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