We all know Netflix but Netflix Bites? Teens at the Young Writers' Club were curious to know what this was all about. Together we explored and talked about Netflix's new marketing effort.
Figuring out what Netflix Bites can be?
Considering that none of us had heard of this, we began by guessing what it could be. (There is no fun in googling and finding the answer right away. Teens at the Young Writers’ Club know better. They like to think!”)
“Snacks + Netflix”
“Could it be a shop, maybe one that sells snacks that one could buy from to eat while watching Netflix.”
“Could it have food from the popular food shows on Netflix?”
“Perhaps it is a restaurant serving gourmet food that is showcased on the food shows.”
Reveal
Netflix Bites is a promotion campaign by Netflix. It is a pop up restaurant in Los Angeles, serving gourmet food that appears on popular food shows on Netflix. Not just that, the restaurant brings the same ambience/ feel of the show at this pop up. If you are lucky, you get to interact with the chef as well. Needless to say, something like this doesn’t come cheap and not easily as well. It is said that one needs to book a table much in advance by paying a $50 deposit and if one is lucky, one will get a table. Nothing like exclusivity to make people curious! According to the restaurant manager, Klein, “We’ve been sold out, and have a waitlist anywhere from 300 to 500 every day.”
Gauging the purpose behind something that must require plenty of planning and effort, not to mention large sums of money
A pop up store/restaurant by definition is something temporary. You open shop and wrap up everything once the sale is over. At the most it would be a small stall or a small eatery with chairs and a simple set up. Recreating the studio from the popular TV shows on Netflix and creating the same ambience requires a lot more. Netflix is said to have spent about 8% of its roughly $32 billion revenue on marketing events which possibly includes this one, in 2022.
Apart from the obvious that this is a promotional effort, the teens had interesting thoughts about the idea.
“For something big like Netflix and a popular food show, this extravagance makes sense. Not for a small time chef or restaurant.”
“Ma’am, for your generation probably, capitalism is hard to digest. But I think in my generation most of us if not all appreciate capitalism and its benefits. You got to do what you need to do to stay on top.”
Facilitator’s note: My role is only to give the teens a matter to discuss, sometimes drop leading questions and of course ensuring that everyone’s point of view is heard. The above contribution by far was the most interesting one. Every generation tends to have preconceived notions about another generation. It made me realise that I have never given a thought about what teens today advocate or believe in- capitalism or otherwise. Also, what they believe my generation believes in! :))
“Would you like to have a chance to experience fine dining at this popup? Let’s say you get a free coupon?”
“Sure, why not? It is food and it is free!”
“I don’t know anything about food shows on Netflix. I don’t watch them, so I think I will pass.”
“This is like a theme park. We have been having Disney World for years. I might be interested in themed popups based on the shows I watch on Netflix.”
“Yeah the Harry Potter themed places/stores for example are interesting experiences. This one, I don’t know…”
All is well, but there needs to be a conflict/counter point of view to shake things up
It was observed that if this was such a big event, it is odd that none of us are aware of it. Information about an opposing point of view in the context of the Hollywood community striking for better pay and the timing of these pop up restaurant was indicated.
“Isn’t that actually good? More publicity to Netflix means shows do better and that helps Hollywood. At some level, Hollywood must be depending on platforms such as Netflix.”
“There is no basis to this accusation. One needs to do what is required to survive. This seems like a vain effort to shake things up and create sensational news. It doesn’t seem to be working as this news doesn’t seem that popular.”
“There isn’t interesting news happening all the time. Sometimes such connections need to be made.”
We concluded with a note to ourselves- to take any news with a pinch of salt. There is bound to be more than what meets the eye.
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Both weekday and weekend batches are available at the Young Readers' Club. While this program is for the 8-12 age group, the Young Writers' Club program for the 13-15 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.
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