Behind the Scenes of Amy Reinhard’s ‘Whirlwind’ First Yr as Netflix’s President of Publicity

Amy Reinhard’s first yr as Netflix’s president of promoting gross sales has “undoubtedly been a whirlwind,” in her phrases.

Reinhard turned Netflix’s first promoting function in October 2023, following the departure of former promoting president Jeremi Gormanwho surprisingly left a yr after the streamer’s ad-supported tier launched.

Regardless of the management shakeup, the streamer that turned a part of the cultural zeitgeist with iconic sequence like Stranger Issues and Bridgerton has been something however shaken.

In Reinhard’s first yr alone, Netflix added reside NFL video games on Christmas Day to its slate, utterly upending the tv business; it took steps to convey its promoting know-how in-house, changing into unbiased of launch companion Microsoft’s know-how and gross sales; and it has continued its quest for scale, with Reinhard telling ADWEEK that the corporate now reaches greater than 70 million month-to-month lively customers, up from round 15 million when it began.

Meaning lots, and never only for journalists overlaying the fixed circulation of reports.

“Typically I get up and assume, ‘I am studying new issues day by day, so it feels prefer it’s solely been a month or two,'” Reinhard stated of his tenure. “Then there are specific days when among the issues we’re engaged on are so difficult that it seems like I have been doing this work for 2 years.”

The frantic tempo could be sufficient to take advantage of seasoned advertiser shudder. However that is exactly the issue: Reinhard would not come from the world of promoting.

Meet Amy

With a BA and MBA from Harvard College, Reinhard has held numerous finance, technique and operations roles within the manufacturing sector of the movie and tv business over the previous twenty years. as Paramount’s president of worldwide tv licensing and distribution.

What he lacks in visibility within the promoting business, Reinhard makes up for together with his expertise with Netflix. At Netflix since 2016 in roles on the manufacturing facet, together with as vice chairman of studio operations, the manager is adept at navigating inside relationships and connections to combine the promoting group into the streamer’s tradition, thus bringing manufacturers nearer to content material as has not been the case for a very long time. an insider might do it.

“One of many issues I have been profitable at internally is connecting totally different firms collectively,” Reinhard stated, noting that she has the posh of relationships with finance, advertising, technique and different teams inside the firm. “These are actually vital to the success of the promoting business and to the success of Netflix usually.”

This relationship savvy additionally lends itself to Reinhard’s means to construct the relationships inside the promoting business that she lacked early in her tenure as promoting president. Nevertheless, she admits that establishing these exterior connections was the largest hurdle in her first yr on the helm of the corporate.

“I’m an individual who likes to develop,” Reinhard stated. “And so, with a job the place I study new issues day by day, I wish to be challenged.”

That is excellent news for Netflix, as at the moment’s tv business has no scarcity of challenges. And in setting his priorities to create reside occasions, enhance scale and income, and turn into gross sales and know-how agnostic, Reinhard and his group are tackling lots of them head on.

We’ll do it reside

One of many largest bulletins from Reinhard’s advert administration got here in Could, hours earlier than Netflix’s. preliminary presentationwhen the corporate introduced its NFL Christmas Day Video gamesinternet hosting two unique matches in 2024.

“It’s the right illustration of how rapidly Netflix is ​​evolving,” Reinhard stated. “This all actually occurred inside days of it beginning. »

With reside sports activities one of many final bastions conserving legacy linear broadcasters afloat, Netflix’s introduction to the market has the potential to shake up the business.

After all, this announcement was not with out its detractors. Following Netflix’s NFL information, patrons informed ADWEEK that Christmas Day video games technically happen after the retail season, limiting attainable advertisers who would wish to come on board. Moreover, some made enjoyable of the corporate’s initials. sponsorship package deal provides, which patrons say initially price round $5 million every.

However for Reinhard, that hasn’t been his expertise. In keeping with the promoting president, the truth that the video games are carried on all of Netflix’s streaming plans is an enormous draw, and the streamer “by no means actually felt any pushback” from clients.

“We’re offered out within the first recreation,” Reinhard revealed to ADWEEK, including that the second recreation additionally had “nice curiosity” because the streamer offered out all of its accessible NFL stock on Christmas Day.

Among the many sponsors becoming a member of this yr’s video games, the promoting president famous that BMW bought the halftime present and that FanDuel is one other “vital companion” because the unique pregame sportsbook, benefiting of a sponsored characteristic within the present. In the meantime, Verizon will probably be Netflix’s Christmas launch sponsor.

“We have actually deliberate out Christmas Day, mastering the entire day so far as these two video games after which the leisure we’ll have round that,” Reinhard stated.

That leisure contains the premiere of Squid Recreation Season 2, which arrives on Netflix the day after Christmas, amongst different upcoming fare that is producing sturdy advertiser curiosity, together with extra reside occasions like John Mulaney’s speak present, which can happen in 2025, and extra established IPs just like the upcoming Completely happy Gilmore 2.

It is alternatives like these, together with Netflix’s huge viewers of greater than 282 million folks, which have sparked advertiser curiosity in its stock because the advert tier launched.

Maintain issues prematurely

2024 was its preliminary second yr, and Netflix was as soon as once more going through a purchaser’s market, with an inflow of stock driving costs down. Though the streamer apparently hit the market in 2022 with CPMs round $65patrons informed ADWEEK that this yr’s transactions noticed CPMs half as excessive.

Nevertheless, different streamers have additionally seen comparable pullbacks, relying on the place their costs began. Moreover, Netflix’s elevated stock has triggered costs to fall based mostly on provide and demand.

“We’ve got to hearken to what’s taking place out there, so I feel it has been pure, particularly as we have seen progress in our numbers,” Reinhard stated. “We all the time knew these CPMs had been most likely going to go down.”

Including to the complexity, earlier than the corporate closed its preliminary operations, Peter Naylor, Netflix’s vice chairman of promoting gross sales since its launch in 2022, shockingly parted methods with the corporate.

Reinhard stated the departure didn’t change the corporate’s technique.

“What I like about Netflix is ​​that we’re open to understanding what is occurring out there and the place we have to pivot or adapt. We’re very a lot a “study, check, iterate” tradition,” Reinhard stated. “So given the current information round our industrial independence and our evolving relationship with Microsoft and constructing our adtech stack, I simply felt like we wanted somewhat bit extra ability in a few of these different areas that might assist us develop our enterprise.”

Regardless of the change in management, Netflix reported a 150% enhance in preliminary commitments this yr, and Reinhard has already discovered a new vice chairman of promoting gross sales to Nicolle Pangiswho is anticipated to supervise promoting gross sales in the USA and Canada.

On the top

Netflix gained industrial independence from its launch companion Microsoft in July, and over the subsequent yr the corporate will obtain full industrial and technological independence, permitting it to “management our personal future,” in keeping with Reinhard.

The streamer has already ramped up its programmatic choices whereas permitting entrepreneurs to strike non-public market offers immediately by The Commerce Desk, Google’s Show & Video 360, or Microsoft’s Xandr, and Reinhard stated Netflix has begun testing its in-house promoting know-how. in Canada in November, with the purpose of world deployment in 2025.

“Once we say we’ll do one thing, we transfer all of the mountains to determine the best way to make it occur,” Reinhard stated.

Netflix’s promoting division has already grown fivefold since Reinhard began, the promoting chief stated, with measurement groups, account administration groups and operations groups being in-built all 12 nations that at present have the promoting stage of Netflix. And the corporate has no plans to decelerate.

Trying forward, Netflix is ​​seeking to increase its measurement capabilities, create new advert codecs and programmatic choices, and double its advert income in 2025, when the streamer guarantees to succeed in vital scale on its advert plans; Nevertheless, Reinhard famous that this will probably be totally different in every nation.

Whatever the tempo, Reinhard stated the corporate acknowledges {that a} profitable promoting enterprise cannot be constructed in a single day and that “these items take time.” In the present day, the corporate has a imaginative and prescient for its promoting enterprise that spans three years, whereas remaining agile and adaptable to the market.

“I don’t imagine in contingency plans,” Reinhard stated. “However I feel the group as an entire is nice at tweaking and pivoting. You will need to be capable to do that if you wish to be an progressive firm.