Netflix employs a large range of marketing strategies. One prominent thing to note is their use of a differentiated market strategy. Netflix's central plan breaks down to providing a large enough variety of content across all genres in order to appeal to a myriad of "taste communities," which are groups of people ranging all over the world that shares an interest in similar movies and television shows based off of genres. And by having this large variety of content on an online streaming service that charges a monthly subscription fee, it scratches the digital itch that consumers may have. Netflix has also built their streaming network off of the foundation that is content. Netflix invests heavily into their content because they know that if their content is quality, then consumers will be willing to pay (subscribe) for it. This strategy is aided by the exclusivity of their content, which incentivizes people to subscribe in order to watch the best movies and shows that are on the streaming market. For example, they invest in shows like Orange is the New Black (2013-2019) or Stranger Things (2016-) because they know that they can make their money back with the amount of consumers that will subscribe just to watch those shows in particular. Netflix also advertises their service and content through a myriad of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. By advertising on online networks, they have a chance to market their own online service to people who have a knack for the online industry. Netflix also offers a variety of subscription plans with the cheapest one being its Basic Plan for $8.99 a month in the U.S and the most expensive being their Premium Plan for $15.99 a month. The plans vary in terms of the amount of devices that can stream content at the same time, the number of devices that can download content, and the video quality of the content that is streamed. This strategy allows Netflix to have a plan that appeals to families and consumers of varying economic situations, thus alienating as few people as possible.
In terms of their distribution practices, Netflix has a fairly uniformed strategy. Their originals and other content is distributed to subscribers world-wide via their subscription based streaming service. This service can be accessed through both Netflix's app and website. However, Netflix occasionally distributes some of their original movies with higher expectations in movie theaters for a short time before making them available to be streamed for free on their service. This is so that they may be eligible for the Oscars, as a movie needs to be released in theaters in order to be up for nomination. In 2018, Netflix released four movies in theaters (Bird Box, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Mowgli, and Roma) and in 2019 they released ten ( including The Irishman, The Laundromat, and Marriage Story).
While Netflix does provide a wide range of content that can be enjoyed by many demographics, they do still have a distinct target audience. Based off of a study, about 89% of subscribers are aged 18-24 years old, make a household income of $102,000 or more per year, and one in every two subscribers has a young child less than three years old at their house.