With the streaming industry becoming more crowded, Netflix had the opportunity to flex an action slate brimming with A-list talent, and entertain global audiences at the same time.

Most multi-title campaigns are stale and generic. But when done right, multi-title marketing can make for a campaign where the sum is far greater than the individual parts. So we sought to flip the typical formula to stand out and be effective.

Given the star power of the names attached, Netflix’s action titles offered a distinct advantage to market around. Our primary goal was to raise broad awareness for recent and upcoming action titles, defining the brand as the unequivocal home of great action content. Simultaneously, the campaign needed to generate positive brand sentiment, reassociating the brand favorably.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an action institution. Why not draw off his credibility by appointing him to Netflix’s newest post: Chief Action Officer.

Across a series of three short films, Arnold would settle into his new role across various hangouts at Netflix HQ. Rolling into the office in his vintage tank, Arnold would work tirelessly to bring fans “the biggest action on Earth,” while simultaneously establishing Netflix as the premiere destination for action titles.

This format flipped the script on the standard multi-title formula used by most entertainment companies. Arnold’s credibility helped elicit intrigue for the Netflix lineup among “fans of action content.” And crucially, these Chief Action Officer films were entertainment-first, rather than feeling overly promotional in nature.

And we activated our partnership during the highly talkable NBA Playoffs and Finals, capitalizing on an extended stretch of increased online conversation among our target audience.

Netflix’s Consumer Insights research revealed A-list stars correlate more strongly with audience interest in action compared to other genres. Our target audience, “fans of action content,” encompassed a large population of entertainment enthusiasts.

But we didn’t need just any A-lister - we needed someone who could represent the face of the genre, and who could also appear alongside other talent to complement the promotion of their own projects - without overshadowing them.

With Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new show Fubar debuting on Netflix, we decided to capitalize on his return to form. Given his mass appeal in the genre, we established a mutually-beneficial arrangement to boost awareness and viewership of both Fubar, and the action slate at large.

Celebrity involvement is a major virality driver on social media. To establish Netflix as the premiere action destination, we went all-in with the ultimate action hero, enlisting Arnold as a spokesperson for the genre.

During the NBA Playoffs, we announced Schwarzenegger as our new Chief Action Officer.

The first spot found him crashing into Netflix HQ for his first day of work, presiding over an imposing desk, pumping iron while watching Extraction 2, and admiring a massive poster for his series Fubar, released later that week.

In the follow-up, Arnold rubbed elbows with Chris Hemsworth in the elevator, with the two exchanging hilariously awkward banter as they discuss Hemsworth’s upcoming film Extraction 2.

We posted the first two spots on Netflix’s primary YouTube, cross-promoting to Arnold and Hemsworth’s social channels.

To maximize reach and conversation, we amplified the first two promos with 0:60 broadcast spots throughout the NBA Playoffs.

The third promo found Arnold meeting Gal Gadot at an espresso machine. Released in the promotional window of Gal’s film Heart of Stone, we posted the spot on our owned and affiliate channels.

Schwarzenegger’s turn as Netflix’s Chief Action Officer upended the multi-title promo formula, proving a massive hit.

In total, our campaign reached 117M global owned impressions, significantly higher than Netflix standards for single-title posts.

Our announcement tallied 5.7M organic views within the first 24 hours, Netflix’s 2nd-highest viewer retention rate ever.

By the second installment, action fans were hooked. “Awkward Elevator Ride” garnered 25M organic views in the first 24 hours, the second-highest traffic driver for Extraction 2.

And despite no cross-posting from talent due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, the third spot earned 7.4M organic views, the second-highest traffic driver for Gal Gadot’s Heart of Stone.

On the main @netflix Youtube handle, all campaign videos had an average view rate of 70%, significantly above the platform average for a 2+ minute video.

The view rate across all three paid assets averaged far higher than other Netflix boosted posts.