Ever get mad at someone who spoiled a major TV plot line? You’re not alone. Always an issue, spoilers took on increased significance once Netflix started releasing all episodes of a series at once. People watching at different times meant passionate discussions often ‘spoiled’ others watching at a different pace. Spoilers became a disruptive truth about modern television viewing.

Netflix set out to address this sensitive issue head-on: de-stigmatize spoilers and in the process prove to consumers that great television was spoiler-proof.

Netflix tapped cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken to interview consumers and discovered a big insight: while viewers could claim to be upset about ‘being spoiled’, they actually regarded spoilers as acceptable. He even found distinct spoiler attitudes and motivations. In fact TV had gotten so good, consumers couldn't help themselves from talking about TV, even seeing spoilers as ‘teasers’ for great shows. Quantitative research bolstered the story.

Netflix had the hook. They launched a holistic campaign taking a provocative stance: it’s OK to spoil.

Netflix teased the topic at a sponsored panel at Austin Television Festival, sparking discussion among TV influencers. A multi-phased media strategy put the story on the map. And then we drove consumer discussion and engagement through a microsite where consumers could identify their own ‘spoiler personality’ and even ‘spoil themselves’.

Follow up metrics from website engagement reinforced story—millions of consumers actively watched spoilers of Netflix programming. Spoilers were seen as a positive. We diffused the issue, and in the process positioned Netflix as a TV leader.

OBJECTIVES:

Establish spoilers as a cultural norm of modern television

+Create a positive conversation around spoilers

+Position Netflix as thought-leader/innovator

Drive engagement with Netflix programming

GOALS:

+75% positive coverage

+500,000 engagements with Netflix spoiler content

+250MM impressions

+5,000+ visits to Netflix.com

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH: Harris survey

+76%--spoilers are "fact of life"

+94%--hearing a spoiler DOESN'T stop them watching

+13%--a spoiler makes them MORE interested

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: Netflix enlisted cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken to conduct ethnographic interviews in living rooms across US and Canada homes to build a deep understanding of the shift.

+McCracken identified distinct motivations for spoiling.

OUTPUT/AWARENESS

+178 unique stories including NY Times, Time.com, USA Today, Good Morning America, Ellen, Access Hollywood, Comedy Central, Huffington Post Live, Buzzfeed, Vulture, Daily Beast, Mashable.

+Users upvoted website to Reddit front page twice

+955,799,824 earned impressions

+We triggered a dramatic spike in people talking about spoilers in social media during the first 10 days of the campaign

KNOWLEDGE/CONSIDERATION

+95% of coverage was positive

+90% of coverage included Netflix leadership messages

+80% of coverage positioned spoilers as mainstream/part of everyday life

ACTION/BUSINESS IMPACT

+1MM website visitors in first 24 hours

+People averaged 6 minutes on the website

+People spoiled themselves 9 million times in first week, engaging with Netflix programming

+70,000 completed "which spoiler are you" quiz

+ We drove tens of thousands from the website to Netflix.com

The campaign established spoilers as an acceptable norm of modern culture, Netflix as a leader and significantly engaged people with Netflix content.

ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL--#SpoilerAlert panel with House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon, actress Uzo Aduba, Tim Goodman (Hollywood Reporter) and McCracken opened up a public debate about spoilers.

ONLINE HARRIS SURVEY proved a shift in attitude around spoilers.

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH from the cultural anthropologist led to deep understanding about why spoilers had become OK and identification of distinct spoiler personalities.

NY TIMES EXCLUSIVE reframed the spoiler conversation, highlighting Netflix's leading role.

EARNED MEDIA CAMPAIGN made the spoiler shift serious news and pop culture trend, positioning Netflix as a bold innovator.

BRANDED CONTENT/SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO on spoiler personalities allowed people to identify themselves as a spoiler.

NETFLIX SPOILERS WEBSITE allowed people to explore spoiler culture, learn what type of spoiler they are (quiz) and post results to social media. The coup de grace of the site was the irresistible Spoil Yourself button where people could expose themselves to a random spoiler clip.

Something new was happening in modern television viewing culture. With a full season's worth of programming available at once, might people be more accepting of spoilers as part of everyday life? Netflix set out to prove and build a deep understanding of the cultural shift. Was there an opportunity to turn old perceptions upside-down and even use spoilers as a way to engage people with its brand, essentially making them teasers to drive interest in programming?

Spoilers rank high among a set of new disruptive truths of modern television viewing. Netflix set out to address the issue head-on, destigmatizing spoilers and proving that great television was spoiler-proof.

Encouraged by research suggesting that spoiling was fun and OK, Netflix launched a holistic campaign proactively inviting people to spoil themselves again and again on a website where it exposed top twists and turns in its programming.

TARGET: The campaign targeted North America television viewers who love television entertainment and are driven by pop culture.

TONE: To provide consumers with permission to spoil, a light and fun tone/voice was adopted for branded content, the website and outreach to consumer/entertainment media outlets. This was balanced with a serious trend story in major media.

TIMING: The campaign launched right before the fall TV season, allowing Netflix to assume a leading role in the conversation about what's new in television.