Success stories (U24: D1)

Learning Outcome 1 (U24): Understand the products that are produced within and across media industries. 

Prime Video.
image: https://www.google.com/search?q=prime+video&sxsrf=AJOqlzU0P9ph-7XzkwfqsLUS_LDI_91JqQ:1674213161613&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimx5qGgtb8AhWIQcAKHY9ACzAQ_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1280&bih=577&dpr=1.5#imgrc=VaDC5didmErWkM  

Prime Video is an online video streaming service that is owned by Amazon and provides its users with many shows and films that are preloaded onto the service as well as additional content which is available to buy for an extra fee. Prime video creates exclusive content for their service as a strategy to entice customers to remain loyal and use the service as this content won't be available anywhere else. Interestingly, Prime Video is available worldwide with a few exceptions as this allows the majority to enjoy content and the organisation to gain maximum profit. The streaming service offers up to 3 devices to stream simultaneously and only costs £6 per month. 

Content.

image: screenshot taken from my personal account

There is a range of content available on Prime Video, for all ages and audiences. Significantly, there is a wide range of 'Prime original' content which is only available on the Prime Video platform and therefore encourages audiences to purchase a subscription. Other content found within the streaming service includes 15 genres to appeal to a wide variety of the consumers' needs, consequently making this platform massively popular with several audiences. Interestingly, films and shows which can be viewed on the service are created for both children and adults so all members of a family are able to enjoy their favourite shows within one service. Prime Video offers a profile feature, therefore allowing subscribers to create a separate space for each user and ensure the VoD service is able to more accurately recommend content for each individual profile within the account. For instance, parents are able to use the settings to restrict the content their young kids are able to view and subsequently protect them from inappropriate/ violent images. In addition, the adult account will not have restrictions and therefore include more mature content for older audiences to view, once the user has viewed a title the service's algorithm will begin to notice viewing patterns. For instance, if the consumer enjoys the comedy genre and subsequently recommends similar content to keep the user interested in the service. The VoD platform overall provides a versatile range of content to ensure all consumers have something to view and therefore purchase a subscription to the service. However, much of the content found within the service is there for an additional fee where you are able to buy or rent the title- thus increasing revenue.

Audience reach.

Prime Video reaches audiences through different forms of promotion and advertising. For instance, the streaming service uses Facebook to market to an older audience due to the popularity of this platform within the slightly older demographic. Interestingly, the streaming service is able to post promotional content to their Facebook account and gain support from an older audience, and consequently, increase the viewership figures for the platform. Additionally, Instagram is utilised by Prime Video to generate awareness from a younger audience as this is the most widely used platform within the audience and will therefore help the service to gain attention from these potential and existing customers. Ultimately, audiences are primarily reached through social media platforms and this is the most popular and cheapest way to increase awareness for the media organisation and therefore improve the overall success of Prime Video.

Graphs.

image: https://cdn.statcdn.com/Statistic/525000/529740-blank-754.png

https://www.statista.com/graphic/1/672782/net-sales-of-amazon-leading-markets.jpg

 

The graphs above display how many UK households used the Prime Video streaming service over the past 7 years, from 2014-2021. Interestingly, you can clearly see an increase in the viewership for the service as the years went on, displaying a direct correlation. Furthermore, the obvious increase in  viewership between 2019-2021 is likely due to the pandemic- during this time, at home viewing majorly increased as people were not allowed out and therefore had to stay at home to view media content. Moreover, while people were stuck at home they grew bored and due to the low/ reduced price for pre-existing Amazon customers, many people took advantage and purchased a subscription consequently increasing overall viewers for Prime Video.

image: https://blogs-images.forbes.com/louiscolumbus/files/2018/07/Half-of-US-Online-users-pay-for-VoD-Services-Netflix-biggest-base.jpg

In this graph you are able to see the clear dominance of Amazon, while Netflix is the leading service, Amazon is still a dominant second. Significantly, 56% of the total audience are users of the Prime Video streaming service which can be linked to the overall increased use of Amazon during the pandemic, Amazon users received a reduced rate for the streaming service ultimately increasing Prime Videos audience.  

Access. 

Prime Videos consumers are able to gain access to the service through almost every device by downloading the services app, the application is free although the actual subscription is available for a small monthly/ annual fee. Additionally, the online service can be accessed through web browsers on laptops, PCs, and smart TVs to expand the accessibility for audiences. Remarkably, the video service has been made available here to ensure everyone can access it at any time to increase convenience, users can use their mobile phones to watch content on the go and then stream content on larger screens for a more immersive experience whilst watching at home. Furthermore, Prime Video allows consumers to download content on their devices, therefore, making it accessible anytime, anywhere- without any need for an internet connection. Interestingly, this has increased the organisation's success as more users will download consumer content which overall increases viewership for the service. 

Advertising.

image: https://s3-prod.adage.com/s3fs-public/styles/800x600/public/20211117_wheelOfTimeAnamorphic_3x2.jpg 

Prime Video uses a variety of advertising techniques to help gain awareness and promote the service to potential and existing customers. One way it generates awareness is through billboards, this above-the-line method of traditional advertising, allows the service to promote new content to a mass audience, therefore, gaining more subscribers for the streaming service. For instance, in 2021 Amazon hired the Piccadilly Circus billboard to create this illusion picture to promote the new film coming to the site. Interestingly, the location in conjunction with an eye-catching image worked well to promote the new film and therefore generate a buzz within London in anticipation of the release. 

image: screenshot from my personal YouTube account.

In addition, Prime Video uses social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to promote the streaming platform to a younger audience. Significantly, social media is a very popular way to gain the attention of a younger target audience due to the popularity of the different platforms within the age group. This method is often very cheap and can even be free by simply posting the advertisement through the service's own account. To increase the reach of these ads, Prime Video can create interactive ads, for instance using a hashtag when posting about the streaming service, to involve the customers and increase the overall audience reach. Finally, Prime works with other media companies like Sky to promote its services to audiences who are already interested in consuming content. Interestingly, if an individual is browsing through Sky they could come across the Prime Video page and decide to watch something here that mutually benefits both organisations. It benefits Sky by providing compatibility between the two services and therefore gaining the trust of their customers, Prime Video by driving more customers to the service and subsequently increasing overall viewership.

Smart TV effects.

Amazon Prime is available across a range of smart TV's, helping the brand to increase both awareness and subscribers. For example, if you're scrolling through the apps pre-loaded onto your smart TV you might come across Prime Video and therefore be influenced to purchase a subscription due to the accessibility in conjunction with the positive reputation it's gained from current consumers. Overall, smart TV's have helped increase the services consumer base as it allows more individuals to grow aware of the platform and encourages them to browse through and discover shows they wish to watch.

Celebrity endorsement.

image: screenshot from my personal Instagram account.

Prime Video is able to gain the benefits of celebrity endorsements without officially hiring an individual for the purpose of this role, many of the actors and actresses featured within the content found on the service have large pre-existing audiences which they can promote to. Furthermore, due to the high profile of these actors, the content found within the streaming service can gain additional publicity by simply asking the stars of the film to post about the upcoming film/show to gain the support of their fans. For example, the upcoming film 'My Policeman' features Harry Styles, due to his personal success and loyal fandom, Harry was able to post a short trailer clip to his Instagram and immediately promote the film, gaining both support and awareness for the project. Overall, Prime Video doesn't need an all-around celebrity to endorse the service as each individual title will have a popular star to further promote the specific film and gain extra awareness in this way.

Devices that can be used with it.

Prime Video is compatible with many audio-visual devices including laptops, PCs, TVs, phones, and tablets. Significantly, Prime Video is an audio-visual site and therefore is best used on these devices however if you wish to watch the film/show on a small device with a high volume the app is able to be used in conjunction with a speaker to fulfil the needs of every consumer. Additionally, the streaming service works together with other media content producers including Brit Box and ITV to provide additional content for the users of the service, offering viewers an extra incentive to purchase the streaming service.

Conclusion.

Overall, this platform is very popular and this is likely due to the mainstream content on the streaming service as well as the affordability of the service. The benefit of mainstream content is appealing to a mass audience and being able to use the stars of the show as celebrity endorsements on social media to appeal to these audiences and encourage them to watch the show on our streaming platform. In addition, the compatibility with a variety of devices allows a mass audience to be able to use the service and therefore boosts both the reputation as well as the number of users. Finally, the global lockdown helped boost the services subscribers and therefore helped the streaming platform to achieve the success it has today.