Copyright by Latina Sabinova Vidolova 2020 The Thesis Committee for Latina Sabinova Vidolova Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Thesis: To All the Audiences I’ve Tweeted to Before: Netflix, Teen Girls, and Social Media Marketing APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Alisa Perren, Supervisor Suzanne Scott To All the Audiences I’ve Tweeted to Before: Netflix, Teen Girls, and Social Media Marketing by Latina Sabinova Vidolova Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin August 2020 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee members, Alisa Perren and Suzanne Scott, for offering their time and input on this project. They have oriented me toward generative questions, propelled my analysis, and set me on scholarly trajectories that will inform my work in years to come. iv Abstract To All the Audiences I’ve Tweeted to Before: Netflix, Teen Girls, and Social Media Marketing Latina Sabinova Vidolova, MA The University of Texas at Austin, 2020 Supervisor: Alisa Perren In the late 2010s, Netflix assembled a significant collection of teen-centric media on its service, which it extensively promoted on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. This thesis examines Netflix’s relationship with teen audiences as framed in the social media marketing materials for 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020) and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), as well as in the service’s intra-industrial communication and engagements with press from 2016 to 2020. Illustrating how Netflix echoed The CW and Freeform’s earlier pursuit of teen viewers, this study highlights the continuities in marketing strategies between emergent streaming services and legacy niche networks. On social media accounts dedicated to targeting young women, Netflix focused on fashion and beauty, boys, and female role models. The teen femininities Netflix promoted most heavily were straight, white, and thin. On other accounts, Netflix’s marketing efforts centered parents or older women instead of teens as key viewers of its teen shows and movies. The different modes of address Netflix cultivated point to social media services as valuable sites through which to examine how Netflix constructs audience segments. v Furthermore, Netflix’s social media strategies marked a shift in brand promotion from selling a lifestyle to addressing audiences as a friend. vi Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ......................................................................................................................x Introduction ........................................................................................................................12 Literature Review..........................................................................................21 Methodological approach..............................................................................27 Chapter Overview .........................................................................................31 Chapter 1: Family-Friendly and Edgy-Taboo: Attracting “Teen” Audiences .................35 From Mass to Niche to Individual ................................................................37 The WB’s Teen Sensibility and Lifestyle Channel Branding in the ‘90s .....41 “Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate”: The “CW Woman” and TV to Tweet About.......................................................................................................45 Collaborators and Participants: How The CW Drew in Audiences on Social Media .............................................................................47 CW Femininity and Channeling Fan Activity .....................................51 The Freeform Girl: Branding ABC Family and Freeform ............................53 ABC Family’s Millennials and Freeform’s Becomers: Defining an Audience ........................................................................................54 Speaking as Their Friend: Freeform’s Social Media Strategies ..........57 Attaining Perfect Looks: Diversity, Women, and the ABC Family/Freeform Brand .................................................................60 Conclusion ....................................................................................................62 Chapter 2: “Phenomenal” Social Media Activity: Netflix Messaging Around Teen Programming................................................................................................................64 “There’s no such thing as a ‘Netflix show’”: A Streaming Service for Everyone .................................................................................................68 vii “Shows that Families can Enjoy Together”: How Netflix Characterizes Teen Programming and its Audiences to Press.......................................77 Inspire and Empower Young Women: Netflix Press Releases for Teen Content ....................................................................................................83 Piercing the Cultural Zeitgeist ......................................................................88 Conclusion ....................................................................................................97 Chapter 3: Helping Parents and Befriending Teens: Marketing 13 Reasons Why ............99 Preliminary Promotion of 13 Reasons Why via Social Media ....................100 A Netflix Guide to Connecting with your Children: Targeting Parents .....104 Instagram Stalking and Tumblr Style: Emulating Teen Lifestyles and Practices ................................................................................................112 13 Reasons Why You Matter to Us: Targeting Teens ................................116 Conclusion ..................................................................................................125 Chapter 4: Romcoms, Hot Boys, and Strong Female Leads: Marketing To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to Teens and Adults .............................................................128 Romcoms are the supreme genre? @netflixfilm’s promotion of To All the Boys .................................................................................................133 If you like '90s romcoms…: @netflix Twitter promotion of To All the Boys .......................................................................................................140 Charm Battles, Crossovers, and Glam Aesthetics: @netflix Instagram and YouTube Promotion of To All the Boys .........................................150 Conclusion ..................................................................................................160 Conclusion: Deconstructing Netflix’s Personalization Rhetoric and Clearing the Ground for Future Work ............................................................................................164 Works Cited .....................................................................................................................172 viii List of Tables Table 1: Netflix Social Media Accounts Related to Demographics, Geographic Region (December 2019) ..............................................................................16 Table 2: Netflix Social Media Accounts Related to Demographics, Other (December 2019) ..........................................................................................17 Table 3: Netflix Taste-Related Social Media Accounts (December 2019) .................17 Table 4: Other Netflix Social Media Accounts (December 2019) ..............................18 ix List of Figures Figure 0.1: A Twitter thread from August 2018. (Netflix US 2018p) ............................12 Figure 0.2: A Twitter user expresses skepticism of Netflix’s use of personal address. Netflix humorously reiterates their direct address with a movie reference to 1999’s Notting Hill. This exchange demonstrates several major strategies Netflix uses to relate to subscribers on social media. (Netflix US 2018x) .....................................................................................................20 Figure 1.1: The CW’s Social Directory page during the TV Now campaign. (Author’s screenshot from retired CW website page.) .................................50 Figure 2.1: Graphic of Google trends from Netflix shareholder letter, “evidence” of 13 Reasons and Stranger Things’ popular appeal. (Netflix 2017b)..............91 Figure 2.2: Graphic from Netflix shareholder letter showing “explosive growth” in Instagram followings of Netflix stars. (Netflix 2018e) .................................94 Figure 2.3: Graphic from Netflix shareholder letter claiming actors in teen-targeted series Élite have all become stars. (Netflix 2019a) .......................................95 Figure 3.1: Selena Gomez Instagram post on left and @netflix Twitter post on right of first teaser trailer for 13 Reasons Why. (Gomez 2017; Netflix US 2017a) .........................................................................................................101 Figure 3.2: On the left: Netflix infographic recommending shows for parents to watch to connect with teens. On the right: Netflix infographic based on Zeno Group survey, finding that watching the same shows gives parents a way to bond with children. Notably, 13 Reasons is visually highlighted in both graphics. (Dave, I Love My Kids Blog 2017) ................................111