7 Marketing Lessons from Squid Game

Squid Game wasn’t just another TV show – it was a complete marketing masterclass and a prime example of innovative marketing strategies! Big companies learned many valuable marketing lessons from this Netflix series, which has become a cultural phenomenon. As a Netflix marketing case study, let’s explore these lessons and see how we can benefit from them in our marketing and digital marketing strategies, focusing on the latest digital marketing trends and viral content creation.

1. Know Your Audience Well

Squid Game managed to attract many different types of viewers through effective digital audience segmentation:

• Action and thriller fans
• People interested in social issues like poverty
• Marvel fans (when they included a Thanos-like character)
• Rap and music scene fans (when they included the rapper)
• Gen-Z audiences
• People from different nationalities around the world

Lesson: When creating an ad, you need to know exactly who you’re talking to for the success of your brand strategy. What’s their age? What are their interests? What do they like and dislike? Learn how to tailor your content to attract different audiences and target your desired audience with the right messaging. This data-driven audience targeting approach is crucial for successful marketing campaigns.

2. Timing is Crucial

This Netflix original was released at two strategic times, demonstrating a keen understanding of digital consumer behavior:

• Season 1: During COVID when everyone was at home
• Season 2: During Christmas break when people had free time to watch

Lesson: Find out when your audiences are most active and available, then share your content at peak times based on real data about your audience’s behavior. This approach to content creation and distribution can significantly boost your social media engagement.

3. Visual Design Makes a Difference

Squid Game used attractive colors like pink and green and created distinctive designs for costumes and sets. Even Puma partnered with them to create special clothing inspired by the show, highlighting the power of visual identity in brand recognition.

Lesson: Branding matters! Make your ads, products, and packaging visually appealing and with distinct branding to set you apart from competitors and create immersive brand experiences.

4. Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC)

Netflix and Google created online games similar to those in the show. People played, enjoyed, and shared them. They also created TikTok filters that let users become characters from the show, further enhancing social media engagement.

Lesson: Create opportunities for people to participate, not just watch. Try competitions, games, or surveys. This approach to gamification in marketing and user-generated content campaigns can significantly boost customer engagement and create shareable content.

5. Tell a Great Story

Netflix’s Squid Game wasn’t just about events – it used powerful brand storytelling techniques to create human stories that made people empathize with the characters and feel connected to them. This transmedia storytelling approach contributed significantly to the show’s success.

Lesson: Use narrative marketing through telling real stories about your customers or employees in testimonial campaigns. People love authentic stories. If you don’t have that, create stories that your audience can relate to.

6. Speak Your Audience’s Language (Localization)

Did you know that Squid Game was available in many languages? It also discussed universal problems like poverty, debt, family ties, and nobility, demonstrating effective global marketing adaptation.

Lesson: Use a customer-centric approach to connect with your audience on a deeper level by communicating in their language and talking about issues that matter to them, like supporting boycotts or partnering with charities. Cultural phenomenon analysis is also crucial to know what to address.

7. Gamify Your Marketing

Squid game used simple games like “Red Light, Green Light” and made people interact with them in real events, drawing attention to the importance of gamification in marketing.

Here’s how to gamify your marketing:

• Set your goal: Do you want to increase sales? Boost engagement? Build brand recall?
• Understand your audience: Know what motivates them (points, rewards, challenges)
• Design the system: Create a simple, clear system like point collection or contest participation
• Offer attractive rewards: Make them valuable to customers (discounts, free products, or public recognition)
• Encourage participation: Use social media and ads to promote your contests and challenges

The Bottom Line

Squid Game taught us that successful marketing requires understanding your audience, choosing the right timing, paying attention to design, encouraging participation, telling great stories, speaking your audience’s language, and making things fun. These Squid Game marketing strategies demonstrate the power of innovation in digital marketing.

If you follow these principles, you’ll see great results in marketing your products or services! Your campaign strategy should also focus on creating viral content, leveraging influencer marketing, and optimizing for various platform trends.

Remember: Marketing isn’t just about selling; it’s about creating experiences that people want to be part of. By focusing on content virality factors and cross-platform marketing, you can create a powerful word-of-mouth effect that amplifies your message across various interactive storytelling platforms.