Tentpoles and content

Edition #304 - Tentpoles and content

One big thing

This Twitter thread from our friends at Parrot from late last week was good. They dived into their data to tell a bit more of a narrative around Netflix's earnings.

First up, they reviewed the decay rate of content on Netflix. It sounds a bit dreary but what this means is, what sort of longevity is there in the demand for a title.

In the graph above we see them going up. Parrot suggests this means audiences aren’t burning through all their content on Netflix yet, or rather, they have a backlog. Makes sense.

Next up they looked into the growth of Netflix and its tentpole titles driving the growth. Whereas analysts want them to focus on a bigger library.

Remember, Netflix are the pros - they literally have thousands of people managing all of their content.

The rest of us don’t, but it's worth mulling over. What are our tentpole pieces of content? What is their longevity? Do they have any longevity at all?

Do we even have tentpole content? I will leave that with you for some weekend pondering.

Notable stories this week

Ads improbably sprout on ad averse Substack. Would love to hear from any readers buying sponsorships on Substack newsletters.
Facebook is taking measures to slow the ‘spread of viral content’ in anticipation of unrest on Election Day.
Apple stepping up efforts to develop alternative to Google Search. And the NY Times covers how important the deal is to Google.
Shopify inks a deal with TikTok.
Off the back of Netflix earnings, Parrot data suggests that subscribers aren’t yet burning through all their content backlog on Netflix.
Amazon's DSP lets you engage customers that have watched a prime show.
Facebook has a new video game streaming service. Service will include playable ads for brands.
Spotify backs Joe Rogan after a controversial week.
BuzzFeed stays focused on its break-even target.
T Mobile’s tv plan launches next week.
Pinterest shares are soaring — up 28% — after delivering a monster quarter.

Deals/M&A

DoubleVerify announces $350m investment from a group led by Tiger Global Management. This is off the back of their news to IPO.
SimilarWeb raises $120m.
Insider Inc. buys majority stake in Morning Brew in all-cash deal.

Campaign of the week

Brands are rethinking content strategies to make personalization pay off. A partnership between Sitecore and Digiday.
Allbirds on Highsnobiety, with Waves of change. A great piece that facilitates a critical conversation around sustainability in fashion, in a push towards real change.
Submit your own and view the best campaigns of 2020.

Datapoints of note

See all our Covid-19 data here.

Forrester Research says marketing message volume will increase by 40% next year.
Borat had ‘tens of millions’ of views over the weekend on Amazon Prime.
LinkedIn up to 722 million members, continues to see 'Record Levels of Engagement'.

Thanks,

Ben

This is a new section, where we shout out newsletters we like or readers enjoy. Just hit reply to send us any you rate.

Emailroll

Why is this interesting.
Front Office Sports.
The Operating Partner.
Axios Media Trends.
Ben Dietz SIC Newsletter (released via Google Docs)
The Storytelling Edge

Enjoyed this edition? Forward it on to your CMO, team or smartest marketers you know.

Forward to a friend!

Subscribe to our weekly note.

unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences