The Drum’s Daily Briefing: Netflix will stop reporting subs, Hyundai pauses on X
Our quickfire analysis of the brand, marketing and media stories that might just crop up in your meetings and conversations today.
Netflix earnings surge / Adobe Stock
Don’t get distracted by Netflix’s surging profits
Netflix announced last night that it added 9.3 million customers in Q1, bringing its total to almost 270 million.
The password-sharing crackdown and the ad-funded tier helped drive it to $2.3bn in profit. But the biggest announcement was that it will stop sharing “key subscriber numbers” from 2025.
Perhaps an indication of the cooling down of the streaming wars, it instead wants investors to instead focus on “profits and revenue”.
It’s a clear indication that the growth couldn’t last forever.
Source: BBC
False labeling?
Consumer rights group Which? has checked whether our favorite food products come from where the label says in the UK.
The study found an abundance of “misleading” and “inconsistent” labels and confronted the retailers responsible.
The supermarkets are legally required to provide a country of origin for the likes of fresh fruit, veg, meat and more. Many failed to do so. And some products were inconsistent in their disclosure. Products carrying the “Made in Britain” label were also found to contain items from the EU – rendering it at best useless and, at worse, deceptive.
If consumers are to make more informed choices, brands and retailers need to get better at informing us about our food.
Temu and you
Founded in 2022, Temu is a discount e-commerce retailer for household goods, including toys, electronics, clothing and beauty products.
Of course, you probably don’t need me to tell you that.
Temu is already a household name, thanks to an array of suspiciously cheap products, a consistent barrage of digital advertising, and most famously, a Super Bowl spot that got us all talking. 95% of American women quizzed by YouGov in March had heard of the brand. 77% of Americans (men and women) said that was because of advertising. Only 80% of men knew the brand. Most importantly, Nearly three in five (56%) Americans who have heard of the brand say they have never bought from it. Is it just a matter of time?
The brand is in hot water over a potentially lax approach to trademarks and copyright, the latest being Doc Martens taking a stamp.
Hyundai pauses on X
The eXodus continues as another blue chip brand leaves the social network formerly known as Twitter.
Hyundai has announced that it has “paused” spend on the platform but hasn’t revealed why.
Reading between the lines, a great many brands have, as Reuters says, “fled” the platform due to a rise in hate speech and reduced content moderation.
Hyundai’s change of direction came a day after an ad from the automaker appeared next to an antisemitic and pro-Hitler post, according to CNN. Said content was allegedly posted by a verified user.