Rogers Diffusion

 Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph started Netflix on August 29th, 1997. This was the first DVD movie rental introduced to the population. In 2007, they turned their DVD-mail movie rental into an online monthly subscription for $15.95 through a “Watch Now” service. Fly forward around 20 years, there are now $277.65 Million Netflix subscriptions worldwide. Now, let's review how they have gotten to this point and how Rogers's Diffusion of Innovation helps describe the audiences they targeted and maybe why some people don't have a subscription. 

Pioneers: 

As stated above, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph are the founders of Netflix. They had both worked together at a Software Company called Pure Atria, their company was undergoing a merger, causing them to both lose their jobs. Marc and Reed would go to work together every morning and discuss the idea of starting their own business. The whole business plan was: Marc would run it, and Reed would fund it. Marc had later heard about the new hot DVD Japan had just created and knew that this was his ticket to success. That is when they came up with the idea of shipping DVDs for monthly rentals. In 1997, Reed and Marc knew they had to target a specific audience for this to work, leading into the Early Adaptors. 

Early Adaptors: Households with ages 17-60, but more specifically, families that had incomes of $30,000 and up. It was also clear that Netflix targeted their audience on psycho-graphics and not demographics. In these psycho-graphics, three fundamental groups were sectioned into, and Marc and Reed wanted to reach them. First was frequent movie renters, they wanted to make it so families, couples, and even single people had easy access to the movies they wanted to buy and did not have to go to the store and rent it and then go back to the store and return it, which leaves to the second group, people who were too busy to go out and buy/rent the movies, same reason as before, they wanted people to have easy access. Lastly, which I believe is the most important, an audience of people who value their money and want to get a “bang for their buck.” Netflix opened a subscription, and in that way, you weren't paying late fees or delivery fees, instead, you could watch as many movies as you wanted that month, and it would roll over to the next month. This idea became even more successful when they opened up their own online streaming website. 

Early Majority: 
In 2007 Netflix began streaming directly to TVs and computers through a “watch now” service, this lowered the cost of a physical DVD subscription to $5.99 a month and an online subscription to maintain the same at about $15. In 2013 Netflix started its own original shows, the first show was Lilyhammer followed by House Of Cards. Once Netflix started to expand and start its own shows, its audience took a shift. ‘Most of the audience are teenagers, college-goers, entrepreneurs, working professionals, etc." Netflix, alongside other social media, has a one-hit wonder, also known specifically as the “Netflix effect.” For example, in all reality TV shows, people go into these shows not being famous or only maybe a few thousand people knowing their name, to then millions of people knowing personal information and millions of followers. They also target young individuals as a marketing tactic for new trends or fashion ideas. Netflix One Night fame can completely change someone's life in a matter of seconds. 

Late Majority, Laggards, and Long Tail: 

I would categorize all these audiences together because virtually everyone is familiar with Netflix. If someone doesn't have a subscription, it’s likely not due to a lack of knowledge about the platform, but rather a lack of interest in movies or financial constraints. Many households share family subscriptions, allowing multiple profiles under one account, which makes it accessible for everyone. It’s also important to consider older generations. For example, my grandma knows what Netflix is, but she doesn’t feel the need to pay for a subscription just to watch a few movies. Many of the films on Netflix aren't tailored to her age group; her interests lean more toward news and significant live events. While she doesn't have her own account, she uses my parents' subscription when she wants to watch something. This is why I group these audiences together. I believe there aren't many people who would outright refuse to join a family Netflix account. Many older individuals may not seek out a subscription, but if given access, they would likely enjoy using it. 

Netflix has had a huge impact on how people/families now binging movies or TV series. They built from the ground up gaining the trust and loyalty of their subscribers. Netflix has also adapted to each generation and premiers the shows and movies they want their audience to be interested in.