The House is built on a strong foundation of covetable content and cultural cachet. Netflix’s unique place in culture gives it a white space canvas that most brands dream of. It can seamlessly navigate its place in the zeitgeist because it’s not just a part of culture—it’s shaping pieces of it. When The Queen’s Gambit debuted in 2021, orders for chess sets spiked 87%, while sales of chess books went up 603%, per research firm Circana.
The Netflix effect is real. It may be a bit of magic, but it’s mostly strategic rigor. Its fan-centricity and culture-first design means that as audience satisfaction grows, so too does engagement. Additionally, more opportunities arise to expand into new realms and satisfy demand.
Innovation as a practice
Netflix House provides a new opportunity to expand and evolve its entertainment footprint across an out-of-category enterprise. While it’s the first permanent physical experience for the brand, it’s built on years of experimentation. As Netflix CMO Marian Lee said, “We’ve launched more than 50 experiences in 25 cities, and Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings. The venues will bring our beloved stories to life in new, ever-changing, and unexpected ways.”
Netflix House will build from and be influenced by learnings from successful predecessors like dining pop-up Netflix Bites, The Bridgerton Ball, and the Squid Games obstacle course. It’s the poster child for innovation; it’s growth by way of testing, inspiration, and iteration.
If you know what you’re building toward, who you’re building for, and what it’s in service of achieving, the patience around progress becomes more palatable. Netflix takes big swings, but it doesn’t swing for the fences on the first at-bat. The brand is methodical and knows that you can’t get to a big win without taking a few losses along the way.
Competition is different when you’re running your own race
For the better part of a decade, we’ve watched streamers go head-to-head. The race to more subscribers runs on a crowded track with premium original content, live sports, and syndicated favorites shoulder to shoulder. Netflix’s competitive advantage is seeing beyond the race of just gaining subscribers; it’s competing in races beyond its industry altogether to become a beloved entertainment brand.
But what of the KPIs? The industry competition? Running your own race doesn’t mean you’re not steadfast in hitting the same performance metrics as the brand in the next lane. It means that there is only one form of competition you’re looking to outpace.
Not quite a theme park but more than a pop-up, this lower-cost option to traditional theme parks will challenge new competition and signal that Netflix’s growth goes far beyond the content pipeline to build more brand equity and affinity with fans.