From 'Squid Game' to 'Frankenstein,' Netflix takes brand promotion to a new level at Tudum

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Vanessa Agabo-Davalos has spent hours watching the dystopian play “Squid Game” connected Netflix. But thing could hole the 21-year-old assemblage pupil for seeing 1 of the show’s actors locomotion the reddish carpet a fewer feet successful beforehand of her.

She recovered herself starstruck successful the beingness of Kang Ae-sim, who portrays Geum-ja (Player 149) connected the South Korean thriller. All the much truthful erstwhile they snapped a photograph together.

“You hide everything. You hide however to speech — it’s conscionable like, ‘Wow, I saw you connected TV,’” said Agabo-Davalos, who traveled an hr from the Inland Empire and can’t hold to spot the last play this month. “I consciousness similar it’s a imagination travel existent for the ones that truly enjoyed these shows.”

She was among the much than 9,500 Netflix fans who gathered Saturday astatine the Kia Forum successful Inglewood for Netflix‘s Tudum unrecorded event, an hourslong extravaganza meant to hype up audiences for upcoming series, movies and returning franchises.

People traveled from each implicit the satellite to observe their emotion for shows including “Squid Game,” the Addams Family bid “Wednesday” and the sci-fi amusement “Stranger Things.”

During Netflix’s variety-show-like programme onstage astatine the famed venue, the institution showed disconnected however its machine animated mentation of Tony Tony Chopper, a toddler-sized reindeer-boy quality successful the live-action pirate bid “One Piece,” would look successful the upcoming season.

Oscar-winning manager Guillermo del Toro unveiled a teaser trailer for his November Netflix movie, “Frankenstein,” starring Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth, who some appeared onstage with the filmmaker. Fans besides saw the archetypal six minutes of the archetypal occurrence of Season 2 of “Wednesday,” which volition beryllium released successful August.

The event, named aft the dependable that plays earlier a Netflix programme begins (“tuh-dum”), was portion of Netflix’s ongoing effort to harness the enthusiasm its viewers person for its astir fashionable programs and animate them to support streaming.

“It is astir celebrating fans and giving thing backmost to them,” Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee told The Times aft the event. “Of people it is besides astir promoting. ... We person a immense slate coming up.”

Netflix hosted the archetypal Tudum lawsuit successful 2020 successful São Paulo, which came from the company’s Brazil team, which had an thought for an lawsuit that rewarded the streamer’s fans of young big shows. That aboriginal led to Tudum evolving into antithetic formats including festivals and livestreams, events that were much similar a instrumentality convention.

In 2023, Netflix held Tudum again successful São Paulo, drafting much than 35,000 attendees and much than 78 cardinal views done Netflix’s societal channels.

But Saturday’s festivities successful Inglewood took Netflix marque promotion to a caller level.

It was the archetypal clip Tudum was livestreamed straight connected Netflix, alternatively than connected YouTube oregon societal media outlets. The lawsuit played similar a astir two-hour unrecorded assortment show, featuring “ask maine anything” segments, arsenic good arsenic performances from euphony artists including Lady Gaga, who appears successful the adjacent play of “Wednesday.”

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There was plentifulness of cross-promotion of Netflix contented during the show, arsenic WWE wrestlers talked astir wherefore radical should tune into their play unrecorded amusement connected the platform, portion speaking astir their emotion for “One Piece,” based connected manga.

Tudum big Sofia Carson touted her upcoming Netflix movie, “My Oxford Year,” which besides stars Corey Mylchreest, known for portraying King George III successful the Georgian-era romance bid “Queen Charlotte” from the “Bridgerton” universe. Sesame Street‘s Cookie Monster besides made an quality with actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who prima successful the caller Netflix movie “The RIP.”

“I don’t deliberation different workplace tin propulsion this disconnected successful the mode that we did,” Lee said. “Fandoms tin beryllium unsocial and distinct. They’re putting each those fans successful a country together, WWE fans adjacent to [mystery movie] ‘Knives Out’ fans adjacent to Lady Gaga fans for ‘Wednesday.’ That’s an unthinkable achievement. That is thing lone Netflix tin do.”

To immoderate people, Tudum is simply a leafage borrowed from Walt Disney Co., which hosts the biennial D23 instrumentality normal successful Anaheim, pulling unneurotic disparate fandoms (Disney princesses, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars) to converge successful the aforesaid place. It raises the question: Does Netflix, a streaming work that produces shows from conscionable astir each genre for conscionable astir each benignant of audience, person fans successful the aforesaid mode that Disney does?

Over the years, Netflix has expanded its unrecorded events and in-person experiences to support viewers engaged. Those person included “Bridgerton” balls, Netflix-themed eateries and retail stores selling merch based connected “Stranger Things” and different shows.

Lee declined to accidental however overmuch Netflix spent connected the event. Some fans bought tickets, ranging from $25 to $75, portion others said they scored escaped tickets. Netflix said tickets sold retired successful astir a week.

Netflix doesn’t person iconic animated characters specified arsenic Mickey Mouse oregon storied franchises specified arsenic “Star Wars” oregon Marvel. But Netflix’s strategy is to person thing for everyone, and due to the fact that of that, radical are reluctant to discontinue it, manufacture observers say, adjacent arsenic economical anxieties tally rampant.

“That is the competitory vantage of Netflix,” said Larry Vincent, a selling prof astatine USC Marshall School of Business. “It truly has go the large structure of streaming. They’ve invested beauteous importantly to make a stockpile of content.”

The streamer said past twelvemonth it had much than 301 cardinal subscribers globally. On Saturday, the attendees reflected that expansive audience.

The Live Event astatine the Kia Forum connected Saturday successful Inglewood.

Fans dressed up arsenic their favourite characters from Netflix shows. People wore achromatic dresses akin to Wednesday’s attire, straw hats successful enactment of “One Piece” and greenish tracksuits similar the ones players deterioration successful the deadly “Squid Game.”

When Cookie Monster appeared down a DJ booth connected the N-shaped reddish carpet to sing “‘C’ Is for Cookie,” adults successful “Squid Game” tracksuits joined successful the chorus.

“It’s all-encompassing and planetary and passionate,” Tudum big Carson, known for starring successful Netflix movies including “Carry-On” and “Purple Hearts,” said successful an interrogation aft the event. “It is genuinely bonzer to consciousness the emotion from each azygous portion of the satellite — it crosses languages, it crosses cultures.”

Shaheidi Jimenez, 21, came to the Netflix lawsuit arsenic a instrumentality of “Wednesday” and “Squid Game.” She hadn’t watched “Stranger Things,” but seeing the screaming fans for the show’s actors connected the reddish carpet made her much funny astir the sci-fi series.

“When I spot the cast, it makes maine privation to ticker it now,” Jimenez said. “I’m acquainted with them more. It makes maine privation to ticker the amusement and astir apt get into it.”

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