A killer app? Warner Bros pushes premium content in Max ad blitz

Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming platform Max may be a latecomer to the market, but the company is banking on a major ad blitz promoting its “killer” premium content to entice viewers to another streaming platform.

Warner Bros Discovery launch campaign for streaming platform Max, created by Special Group Australia.

Warner Bros. Discovery has unleashed a national advertising blitz to promote its new streaming platform Max, focused on its premium content under the tagline: ‘All Killer, No Filler’.

The campaign is leaning into the strength of WBD’s content brands such as HBO Originals, Warner Bros, Harry Potter, Discovery and the DC Universe, to position Max as the answer to Australians’ frustration with having nothing good to watch.

The strategy is based on research which revealed viewers spend up to one hour (56 minutes) searching streaming platforms for something to watch and often give up or opt for “filler” content that they have low interest in watching.

The ‘All Killer, No Filler’ positioning aims to convince Australians to invest in another streaming platform, ahead of Max’s launch on March 31.

Warner Bros. Discovery Australia and New Zealand senior director of marketing for streaming, studios and networks, Sasha Mackie told The Australian that the business has invested in a high-impact launch campaign to ensure widespread awareness for the new platform.

“Australians aren’t asking for another streaming service, they want a better one,” said Ms Mackie. “We are a brand coming in as a customer champion on a mission to bring in a new dawn, to end the filler frustration that is currently being felt by Australians.”

The launch campaign will be hard to miss and will run across TV, out-of-home, cinema, digital, radio and social media. It will also incorporate influencers, content and public transport station takeovers in Sydney and Melbourne. “We are going hard and we’re going hard fast. Our first three months are critical to us and we see that as the priority. So we’re going out of the gates as fast as we can. We’re ambitious and we believe in our product, so we are coming to the market confidently,” said Ms Mackie.

Sasha Mackie is the senior director of marketing for streaming, studios and networks for Warner Bros. Discovery Australia and New Zealand

The confidence comes from the strength of WBD’s stable of popular content, and it has timed the Max launch around the second season of the blockbuster HBO series The Last of Us, which is the company’s “biggest tent pole of the year”.

It’s also leveraged its late-mover advantage to overcome the obstacles other streamers have faced, such as, launching with ads already established on the platform, and low cost monthly subscriptions. Max will also offer an annual subscription, which will help the brand tackle customer churn, which remains one of the biggest challenges for streaming brands.

“There is no denying that [the streaming market] is saturated – the average Australian household has 3.2 streaming subscription services. But, I do think Australians are looking for a better solution and our content will help drive retention. We’ll be dropping something new every, single week. We have accelerated movie rights, so our Warner Bros movies will be faster on our platform than any other. We’ve got an incredible line-up and no one will want to leave.”

To help entice Australians to trial Max, WBD appointed advertising agency Special, the creative shop that is behind Uber Eats award-winning advertising. Special worked with media agency EssenceMediacom and Present Company on the launch campaign.

Warner Bros Discovery launch campaign for streaming platform Max, created by Special Group Australia

Special chief strategy officer and partner Dave Hartmann said the challenge for Max was to break the mold of being “another streaming platform with a big content play” and provide consumers with a genuine reason to consider another streamer.

“The truth is people aren’t shopping for another option, but there was a need for a better option, and so what was really important is that we turned up as an empathetic customer-led brand that was arriving with a better option.

“We know there is, without doubt, great content everywhere and on every platform. The problem is not a lack of great content. The problem is actually the experience of getting it. We did our own study and we found that people were spending, on average, an episodes length every night during the week, just searching for something to watch. And 30 per cent of people actually said, I don’t watch anything because I give up. They know that the magic’s out there. It’s just such an effort to wade through all the filler to find it. We knew then that we wanted to play a quality game because people deserve great content, and they also deserve a great experience in getting it. They shouldn’t have to wade through a whole lot of filler to get to the killer content.”

Warner Bros. Discovery unveils its advertising blitz to promote its streaming platform Max

Mr Hartmann said the strategy deliberately avoided relying purely on discounting or throwing stones at other streaming platforms in order to help establish the brand as a consumer champion. “There is a short term strategy that we could have easily played, which is to give people a discount for the big shows, and then just hope they stay with us. But we knew we need to build a brand before we sell the big shows. Yes, the big shows are going to bring the numbers, but the brand is going to build the consistency. We wanted to elevate the conversation to something much bigger, to say, what experience do you deserve? And in that, we’ll let people decide.”