8 Marketing lessons from Netflix’s Squid Game that will improve your 2022 marketing plan
A version of this post was included in my super-fun weekly email for marketers with tips, tricks and stories. Click here to sign up and never miss out on the fun!
The last couple of years we have seen big changes to everything we do. 2020 and 2021 changed how we communicate, how we learn, how we view the world and what we focus our time on.
All these changes brought about a major pivot in how we market to our customers. What worked in 2019, no longer worked in 2021.
And 2022 won’t be so different… I’m sure there will be new and unexpected changes to the landscape.
Which brings me to my next question… have you seen Netflix’s new hit show Squid Game? This is an intense, dark and twisted show. Yet with 111 million viewers in its first month alone, everyone seems obsessed!
Now you might be thinking, “How could this show give any insight into how we can be successful marketers in 2022?”
Well, let me break it down...
Marketing Lessons from Squid Game
Design Matters:
Use familiar elements to make people feel a sense of comfort that ensures they trust your brand. Squid Game uses the Escherian Stairwell and… are those jumpsuits an ode to Money Heist? Either way, they create a sense of familiarity and consistency for viewers in this ever-changing game.
Use colors to help create a specific feeling you want to emote from your brand messaging. Squid Game uses pastel colors to give a childhood feel which relates to the games that are played. They use red clothing for the staff to create a sense of fear and green for the players to make you feel hopeful that they will win.
Simple is best. Squid Game uses clean, simple symbols to represent the games, which allows you to eject your own emotions and feelings towards each game. When designing a logo or icon in your marketing, keep it simple so customers have the chance to create their own sense of meaning about your brand. This will help deepen their relationship with you.
Strategy is great, but execution is key:
Gi-hun’s team in the Tug-of-War Game might have been the underdog team, but they came up with an excellent strategy to help them win. They were each assigned roles based on their strengths in order to better the overall team and win. Create a strategy that is based on each team member's strengths to allow for successful teamwork.
It is not just about having the right strategy; execution is key. In the game Red Light, Green Light, every player had a strategy, but many ended up dying because they couldn’t successfully execute it. Creating a good strategy is step number one, step two is taking action and implementing your plan.
New and Unique is Exciting:
People enjoy what is familiar to them because it makes us feel safe. But as Tony Robbins said, “humans thrive on variety.” Squid Game proves this. The show is far and beyond anything that is on TV today and that is what excited people about this show. It is the same for the marketing world. By being just a little bit different then your competitors, you will thrive.
Another example is in the Honeycomb game. The players all started out using the same strategy to pop their shape out of the honeycomb. But when the main character started licking the honeycomb, instead of using the needle, your attention and the attention of the other players was captured. It was unexpected and different. Each player questioned their strategy and followed Gi-hun in licking the honeycomb, instead of using the needle. Same goes for marketing. The more unique and creative you can be, the more you will stand out and have everyone following you.
Word of Mouth bolsters the power of your Ads:
A unique and interesting show gets talked about… alot! Just like Money Heist and Game of Thrones, Squid Game is so unique and incredibly interesting that people can’t stop talking about it. Netflix put out very little ads for Squid Game, yet it’s all anyone heard about for weeks. And that precisely is the point.
If you create something intriguing that pulls you in, then your customers will spread the word for you.
If you are marketing to Gen Z, you better be on TikTok:
A great way to create a powerful marketing campaign is by using social media. Specifically, TikTok!
During the pandemic, TikTok quickly became one of the top social media apps, especially among Gen Z. Many companies and artists actually prefer organic growth through TikTok because of how easy it is to connect with customers, in a more casual way. Example- Duolingo comments on viral TikTok videos with hilarious puns that are talked about constantly on the platform, giving them more attention!
Squid Game became a viral sensation on TikTok because of the amount of the TikTokers posting videos of themselves playing the games from the show.
Netflix boosted these videos using push notifications and constantly reminding the world that Squid Game was the most-watched show out today. Even now as the show's moment is ending, we will all remember Squid game as being one of the most talked-about shows online, because of how viral it went on Social Media.
Observe & Learn:
Observing your customers (yes, you guessed it! Market research!) is the quickest way to learn about who they are, what they want, what they need and what drives their purchase decisions.
In episode 7 of Squid game, Detective Jun-Ho took the time to observe his surroundings and was able to infiltrate the VIP room while posing as a waiter. He was able to successfully execute his plan because he took the time to get to know the staff and the way they work.
In the same episode, the players play the glass tile game, where they have to walk across a glass bridge and decide which steps will hold their weight and which ones will shatter. The players that went last, had an advantage because they witnessed what strategies worked and what didn't. They observed the other players and learned from their mistakes.
The most powerful way to get to know your customers is by observing them through excellent market research methods, such as social listening or video diary studies. But it also helps to observe what your competitors have done and learn from their mistakes.
Tell a story that resonates with your audience:
Step one is doing the research and learning what your customers wants and needs are. Step 2 is creating a story that resonates with your customers, pulls them in and keeps them wanting more.
Squid Game created a story that pulled everyone in and that is what made it so successful.
“It took ten years for Squid Game to become a success story” Wow- what an incredible story already. The series was rejected over and over for ten years because it was “too out there”, but finally, Netflix picked up the series because it knew that it’s audience was finally ready for something like Squid Game. We are drawn to this success story, because we love an underdog story. Hearing this story of success piqued everyone’s interest in the show, because they wanted to find out why it failed before, and why the timing was right now.
And the interest could have ended there. The audience could have started the show, watched ten minutes and stopped watching, but they didn’t because of the incredible storyline.
The creators of Squid game used real-life childhood games to give the audience a sense of connection with the show, even though the main plot of the series is based on a surreal, terrifying and hazardous environment.
In marketing, you need to make sure your customers feel like they have a strong connection to your brand and the best way to do that is to create an epic, yet comforting story for them to be intrigued by, but also feel a connection with.
Don’t Cheat. Do the work!
As insane as the creators of these games are, the one good thing about them is their mentality to create fair and equal games for everyone. In episode five, select members of the staff were finally caught selling the organs of the dead players and were killed. But it wasn’t the selling of the organs that got them killed, it was the fact that they were providing the doctor with knowledge of the games ahead of time.
The creators were so distraught that the staff “ruined the most important aspect of this (the games) place.” They created a “safe” space for each player to do the work and win fairly and that was ruined by cheating.
In the marketing world, we must remember to do the work first, before we can win. It takes time and a lot of effort to create and execute a good strategy, but don’t cheat yourself by giving up early, when you don’t see results immediately.
Give your strategy time to work, pivot if need be, but keep going and ultimately, you too will win!
Squid Game’s intense viral moment came from Netflix’s knowledge of its customers and the creators ability to create a story that intrigued the masses and left us wanting more.
As marketers, that is our ultimate goal- being able to intrigue our market audience and keep them wanting more. Squid Game gave us a few great lessons on how to successfully do that.
Before you step into a new chapter of your life, take the time to envision where you want to take your company, create a strategy on how to get there, then go out and make it happen.
It’s time for the next year, players. Are you ready?
***
Sources:
https://www.outbrain.com/blog/squid-game-marketing-lessons/
https://www.gmbcrush.com/squid-game-marketing-lessons/#execute-a-winning-strategy
https://goldenowl.asia/blog/5-marketing-techniques-you-can-learn-from-the-squid-game-netflix
***
If you liked this article, you might like…
My Storytelling Course on LinkedIn Learning
InstaBrain : The New Rules for Marketing to Gen Z (grab your free chapter here)
***
Sarah Weise is the CEO of award-winning marketing research agency Bixa and the bestselling author of InstaBrain: The New Rules for Marketing to Generation Z. For 15 years, Sarah has been a guide to hundreds of leading brands including Google, IBM, Capital One, Mikimoto, PBS, and U.S. Army, to name a few. Sarah helps brands achieve a laser-focus on their customers and build experiences that are downright addictive. She lectures at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and speaks at conferences and corporate events worldwide.