![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/5fbffee21417916e9724c35c_Driving%20Owned%20Media%20%26%20App%20Engagement%20With%20Email%20Marketing%20%E2%80%94%20News%20%26%20Media%20%E2%80%94%20Q3%202020.png)
Driving Owned Media and App Engagement With Email Marketing
Key Takeaways
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60c7bc0338e68af93665a498_Key%20Takeaways%20%E2%80%93%C2%A0Divider%20%E2%80%93%C2%A0Gradient.png)
Focus Allocation — Email Marketing:
Smaller streaming services such as Hulu and YouTube TV focus their email marketing on user acquisition, while larger streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix focus their emails on encouraging re-engagement with the platforms.
Email Tactic — Personalization: The most effective email marketing tactic for re-engaging current users with leading streaming platforms is personalized content recommendation emails. Almost all email marketing campaigns from streaming leaders includes some element of segmentation or personalization.
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
In March, email send volume for top streaming brands went on a slight upward trend. In June, however, email volume has started decreasing, at -23% MoM, returning to numbers similar to January and February.
![Top Streaming Brands - Email Send Volume](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8f85f6f71f15f04ba3e43_Top%20Streaming%20Brands%20-%20Email%20Send%20Volume.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
The same trend is seen in email web traffic, with a large uptick in web traffic from email starting in March. In June, email web traffic numbers have gone back down, by -8% MoM.
![Top Streaming Brands - Email Web Traffic](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8f8a398baad2376f646e0_Top%20Streaming%20Brands%20-%20Email%20Web%20Traffic.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
Breaking down emails by campaign type, here are the four most prominent categories of emails sent by each competitor:
![Top Streaming Brands - Top Email Campaign Type](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8f8e8562d0c86da373064_Top%20Streaming%20Brands%20-%20Top%20Email%20Campaign%20Type.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
Personalized “recommendation” emails generally perform the best out of any email type.
![Top Streaming Brands - Personalized Recommendation Emails](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8f935b18bd75ced84d5cd_Top%20Streaming%20Brands%20-%20Personalized%20Recommendation%20Emails.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
These categories also map out the basic customer journey framework favoured by these OTT giants.
![OTT - Basic Customer Journey](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8f988baa70f28f55e47a3_OTT%20-%20Basic%20Customer%20Journey.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
Of the 4 competitors, Hulu and YouTube spend the most effort on the acquisition phase of the customer journey.
![OTT - Hulu - YouTube - Acquisition Phase](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8f9c720189aee12030e59_OTT%20-%20Hulu%20-%20YouTube%20-%20Acquisition%20Phase.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
Hulu has several different campaigns are centered around getting customers to sign up to their service, including:
![Hulu - Free Trial - Finish Signing-Up](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8f9fc2ff9277a52b62d07_Hulu%20-%20Free%20Trial%20-%20Finish%20Signing-Up.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
YouTube TV follows a similar tactic, adding an additional campaign that targets their existing paid audience.
![YouTube - YouTube Music & YouTube Premium Clients - Finish Signing-Up](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fa3a898f6b4f5cc7ecac_YouTube%20-%20YouTube%20Music%20%26%20YouTube%20Premium%20Clients%20-%20Finish%20Signing-Up.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
On the other hand, Netflix and Disney+ spend majority of their efforts on customer engagement with personalized email content.
![Netflix - Disney+ - Email Campaign Type](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fabc295f583006f2b74d_Netflix%20-%20Disney%20-%20Email%20Campaign%20Type.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
Netflix’s recommendation journey begins as soon as viewers begin watching content on their platform.
![Netflix - Finish Watching - Enjoying - Recommendation](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fb03eb53ceaf84eb2587_Netflix%20-%20Finish%20Watching%20-%20Enjoying%20-%20Recommendation.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
As viewers continue their viewing journey, Netflix follows up with additional recommendations based on what the viewer has watched.
![Netflix - Views Journey](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fb3659a8b4a202514879_Netflix%20-%20Views%20Journey.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
To keep viewers engaged and returning to their platform, Netflix also heavily promotes their new arrivals, with a personalized twist.
![Netflix - New Arrivals](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fb5f6991f6174591626c_Netflix%20-%20New%20Arrivals.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
While Disney+ also sends out a sizeable amount of recommendation emails, they lack the personalization that Netflix has.
![Disney + - Various Recommendation Emails](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fb8c714f4a2552dcc82a_Disney%20%2B%20-%20Various%20Recommendation%20Emails.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
Lastly, with retention, most brands have dedicated a sizeable amount to retaining customers and keeping them on the platform.
![OTT - Email Campaigns - Retention](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fbd53f7388b51ce1fa7d_OTT%20-%20Email%20Campaigns%20-%20Retention.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
To retain customers, Disney+ sends out a reminder of their ongoing bundling offer to encourage re-subscription.
![Disney + - Bundle Offer - Re-Subscription](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fc366f71f167b3bc6a7c_Disney%20%2B%20-%20Bundle%20Offer%20-%20Re-Subscription.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
For some customers, Hulu sends out an exclusive promotion that gives them $3 off per month off their subscription plan if they come back to the platform.
![Hulu - Email Campaigns - Exclusive Offers - General Follow-Up](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fc7070bbf473056eb85d_Hulu%20-%20Email%20Campaigns%20-%20Exclusive%20Offers%20-%20General%20Follow-Up.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
One of the more unique tactics Hulu uses is their “birthday” email. For subscribers who have canceled, they send out an offer for a free month of access.
![Hulu - Email Campaigns - Birthday Offer](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fc9fb9fa5ba960014beb_Hulu%20-%20Email%20Campaigns%20-%20Birthday%20Offer.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/6095caa2cfa57d5d39bf75a6_Slide%20Divider.png)
Netflix chooses to re-engage customers by letting their extensive list of titles as a major selling point, rather than offering free trials or pricing promotions.
![Netflix - Email Campaign - Titles for Everyone](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5e459e61116466aa9af84140/60b8fcee6640122dbf5ebb97_Netflix%20-%20Email%20Campaign%20-%20Titles%20for%20Everyone.png)
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