Imagine viewing a video advertisement that immediately gets you hooked after 10 seconds and makes you wonder, entertained and wanting more. And that’s the brilliance of watching stuff over and over again. In today’s hypercompetitive marketing environment, companies aren’t simply offering products; instead, they are presenting attention-grabbing stories.
Whether it’s the ache of Tanishq’s wedding episodes or Zomato’s quirky Instagram reels, Indian brands are capitalising on the Netflix effect – creating seasonally-driven, addicting material that people simply can’t stop watching. This strategy has shifted consumer engagement away from entertainment and marketing.
With video viewing at an all-time high, thanks to cheap mobile data plans and services such as YouTube, Instagram, and OTT, producing watchable content isn’t an option — it’s a requirement for brands who want to stay relevant.
Let’s discuss what goes into binge-worthy video marketing, how Indian brands are making it and how you can take these tactics to the next level with your marketing.
What Is the Netflix Effect?
The “Netflix effect” explains the way content keeps viewers hooked, watching several episodes or ads at a time. From a marketing perspective, that means producing video so engaging that viewers find it and post it.
Why Video Content Works in India
Growth Rate of Internet Customers: With more than 700 million internet users, India is one of the largest digital markets in the world. New applications such as Jio revolutionised access to affordable data, and video became the new media of choice.
Cultural Remix: Indians enjoy narratives that are close to their culture and locality. Companies such as Cadbury’s Dairy Milk capitalised on this by designing ads in various languages, their messages accessible to everyone.
Reminder: In an age of reels and short-form, brands must attract attention on the spot. Swiggy’s six-second YouTube videos, for example, send messages of humor and conviction.
Key Ingredients of Binge-Worthy Video Content
1. Strong Storytelling
- Stories are emotionally gratifying and they are what make brands memorable. For example, Tanishq’s Ek Ehsaas novels, so gracefully depicting families and culture, appealed to Indian families..
2. Authenticity
- Consumers value genuine, relatable content. Cred’s quirky ads with Rahul Dravid in the role of “Indiranagar ka Gunda” went viral due to its humorous appeal.
3. High Production Quality
- In an industry up against Netflix and Amazon Prime, even commercials must appear movielike. Asian Paints’ Where the Heart Is series puts in a lot of production money to feature celebrity homes that are both beautiful and human.
4. Consistency
- Continual storytelling keeps viewers hooked. Consider Amul’s daily videos, which expand on what’s going on with funny and timely animations.
5. Interactive Formats
Its immersive experience comes from interactive material, such as quizzes or choose-your-own-adventure videos. Businesses such as Flipkart have even used gamified ads during sales to appeal to young consumers.
How Indian Brands Mastered Binge-Worthy Content
Zomato’s Reels
- What They Did: Zomato took your normal food compulsions and turned them into Instagram-worthy, laugh-out-loud short-form videos.
- Why It Worked: The humor and relatability made these reels easily shareable, and triggered brand recall without being ad-like.
BYJU’s Explainer Videos
- What They Did: BYJU made animated videos explaining complex ideas to students.
- Why It Worked: The value-added content established credibility and positioned BYJU’s as a thought leader in education.driven content built trust, positioning BYJU’s as an educational leader.
Surf Excel’s “Daag Acche Hain”
- What They Did: The brand consistently tells heartwarming stories about children doing good deeds, despite getting dirty.
- Why It Worked: The emotional narrative keeps audiences hooked while reinforcing the brand message.
Steps to Create Your Own Binge-Worthy Video Content
- Be An Expert: Learn what your audience loves to watch. Get feedback through surveys, focus groups, or social analytics.
- Episodic Content: Instead of ads, build a series that tells a story. Use cliffhangers to drive curiosity.
- Buy It Good: Lighting, sound, and editing can turn your videos from amateur to pro.
- Use Local Context: Utilize local languages, holidays, or topics to humanize your content.
- Try and Make Mistakes: Monitor metrics to find what’s a winner and adapt accordingly.
Challenges in Creating Addictive Video Content
Balancing Entertainment with Brand Message
If the text is overly promotional, it becomes bland. Conversely, if it’s too entertaining, the brand message might be lost.
Budget Constraints:
High-quality production can be expensive. But anything with a brilliant idea can work in a pinch.
Maintaining Consistency:
Episodic content requires long-term planning, and that’s hard for brands with no in-house expertise.
Final Thoughts -The Netflix Effect and You
Binge-worthy content is no longer confined to entertainment networks. It’s a lever every marketer should use to engage audiences, build brand loyalty and increase conversions. Indian brands such as Tanishq, Zomato, BYJU’s have taught us how, and great narratives transcend the medium.
Are you ready to automate your video marketing? Reset Media creates high-quality videos that your audience can relate to. Call us now and we’ll get started on your next brand narrative.