Every so often, a Netflix series becomes the topic that everyone seems to be talking about on social media. You can almost follow the progress of the year by listing the series that dominated at the time. The last one is The Squid Game, a Korean series that was not in the pools of expected big hits and that has become material for conversations, passions and even memes.
Those who have already seen it speak passionately about the plot. Those who have not done it yet, confess that they want to see it so as not to be left out of the moment. “I bet good money that the executives had no idea that it was going to be a global hit,” analyst Julia Alexander, of Parrot Analytics, assures the US media.
The squid game is, in fact, one more example of how Netflix has managed to use FoMO to its advantage. His fashion series become something you want to see, you almost need to see, to be able to follow the conversations and not to lose the references that circulate on the net.
In the case of the Korean series, the articles do not stop talking about what a criticism of the bad times is really like, which makes its appeal amplify. But beyond being – once again – an example of how well things work for Netflix, it is also a way to understand what Internet users want now and how things settle in the world of the viral.
According to data from Parrot Analytics for Axios, The Squid Game is already one of the most demanding Netflix original series and could become nothing in the most watched series that is not in English as the original language. It could even directly become the most popular Netflix series. The series grew little by little, increasing its popularity day after day.
It premiered on September 17. On October 2, it had increased its demand in the global audience by 481%. Perhaps, therefore, the first conclusion that should be drawn from this boom is how audiences have changed and how the source of fashionable content has been decentralized. Viewers no longer only watch American series, those that dominated the screen in the US but also outside of that country. The interest is much more global.
To this we must add that the series is one of those points that confirm the pull of the Korean, which is also something very interesting from a marketer point of view. K-pop is the best exponent , achieving a brutal global impact with a very careful marketing and positioning strategy and in which they have invested years.
You are not alone: the Korean content industry has become something of a global attraction. K-dramas have a very loyal audience and now consumption of other Korean content could expand. The success of Parasites could have been the advance party.
It is different from everything seen
But why has The Squid Game triumphed ? The key is in the very essence of the product, as explained in an analysis by NBC. The series starts from a different premise than usual and presents it with a different aesthetic. It has nothing to do with what usually happens in the series and this novelty has managed to capture the attention in a market in which not only everything seems very popular but it is also difficult to stand out.
The power of word of mouth
Possibly, it was that striking element that made the series become recommendation material. Netflix did ad campaign in Korea and some Asian countries, but not really in many Western markets. The series became popular there because it was talked about.
You go viral and success will come
Part of what has established and strengthened that constant conversation about the series and the recurring recommendation is the fact that it is a crucial piece in the conversations on social networks. Both on Twitter and on the trend setter TikTok right now, users have been constantly talking about The Squid Game and its plot. Added to that, the memes quickly appeared.
Even those who have not seen the series already recognize the giant doll that appears in the plot, because it has already served to comment on all kinds of topics. On TikTok, the series has served as the basis for challenges, which works as the great thematic amplifier.
If everyone is doing challenges on TikTok tied to the plot, you feel like you need to see it. For Netflix, it is also a job that Internet users do for them and that positions their content in an absolutely organic way. A win win, in short.