Dive Brief:
- Netflix and Google have partnered to bring a shoppable integration to the latest season of the streaming platform’s popular series “Emily in Paris” via Shop with Google, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The partnership celebrates the fashion of the series and invites viewers to use Google’s Lens technology to scan looks on screen using a mobile device to find similar items. A pop-up event in Los Angeles helped to introduce the partnership.
- The effort also includes custom features within Netflix’s ad supported plan, including shoppable pause ads, title sponsorships and 15-second commercials that tie “Emily in Paris” to Shop with Google. The effort arrives as the streamer’s ad-supported tier sees significant growth.
Dive Insight:
Netflix is leveraging a Shop with Google tie-in to promote season four of its romantic comedy-drama “Emily in Paris,” which debuted on the streaming platform on Aug. 15. The effort, which also includes integrated advertising and title sponsorships, could help the platform attract and retain audiences as streaming wars intensify and competition for media buyers’ attention persists.
Through the partnership, viewers on all Netflix plans can leverage Google’s Lens technology by using their mobile device to scan looks worn by Emily, played by actress Lily Collins, to be directed to similar items directly on their personal devices. Promoting the tie-in are 15-second ads, viewable for those on Netflix’s ad-supported plan, that see Collins reprise her role as Emily to showcase how Google Lens can be leveraged to discover new fashion.
The effort includes additional features within Netflix’s ad-supported plan, including shoppable pause ads that encourage members to scan the image on screen using Google Lens to be directed to a shopping page. The effort notably marks the first time Netflix has partnered on co-branded pause ad creative. Google is also a title sponsor for season four of “Emily in Paris,” as well as having sponsored the previous three seasons, marking the first time Netflix has executed title sponsorships on existing library content.
With ad pricing models not meeting Netflix’s initial expectations, the streamer seems to be turning to other offerings that tie brands to its library of popular content. Ahead of its latest tie-up, the company previously launched co-marketing campaigns that linked Geico and “Leo,” Domino’s and “Stranger Things,” and Old Spice and “The Witcher.” The Google and “Emily in Paris” tie-in takes things a step further, linking the show’s content directly to the functionality of Google’s Lens and Shop with Google technology.
“By organically tapping into the fandom of the show, and leveraging engaging formats, it offers our members a creative and entertaining experience and showcases to our partners the breadth at which we can build these unique opportunities with them,” said Magno Herran, vice president of marketing partnerships for Netflix, in a statement.
The companies also extended their partnership to an in-person activation in Los Angeles where fans could use Google Lens to explore some of the show’s past iconic outfits and shop the looks. The event also offered an opportunity for attendees to answer trivia questions about the featured styles for a chance to win a trip to Paris.
The effort from Netflix arrives as it reports growth, with its ad-supported tier expanding its membership 34% quarter-on-quarter in Q2. While the company did not break out specific subscriber numbers during the period, the offering had around 40 million global monthly active users as of May. The ad tier, which costs $6.99 per month in the U.S., now accounts for over 45% of sign-ups in all markets that carry the offering. Netflix launched its ad business in 2022.