A new company that because successful quickly is a beautiful thing. It's like a flower popping out of the ground, it has a great chance to not survive at all, but then there are the ones that do. Netflix was an almost instant success with it's business model of charging a flat price for keeping a DVD for however long you wanted, with choices of up to 3 DVD's at a time. My dad was thrilled! No more late fees. We can watch the movie over and over again for a month if we wanted to, hallelujah!
Ten years later, as I watch the Netflix stock fall with each passing hour, I wonder what they were thinking.
I have been a Netflix customer for the past year, and my family has had a Netflix account since the beginning of it all. Since I don't have a TV in my room, the ability to watch shows and movies online on my laptop was wonderful. I loved getting DVD's in the mail, because the online selection is crap compared to the DVD selection. I watched so many movies the first few months of starting my account, it wasn't even funny! I caught up on all the 80's and 90's movies that I was never allowed to watch. I never knew how Harry Met Sally or how Julia Roberts was a Pretty Woman.
After reading the e-mail from Netflix CEO Hastings yesterday, I was very irritated for many reasons. So irritated that, even though I love getting my Netflix in the mail, I cancelled my DVD subscription. I will also be cancelling my streaming subscription in a few weeks when I move into my new home with my (almost) husband, since I purchased an Apple TV for my parents I think it would be cruel & unusual punishment if they could not watch their Arrested Development re-runs without notice.
For me, I felt that Netflix needed to financially know how dumb (for lack of a better word) their decision is to split up their company into two seperate companies. I don't know if they all have hover crafts and hologram messaging, but down here on earth we like our DVD's. We like to hold them, a DVD wont have a slow network. A DVD wont have site maintence.
I like seeing my collection, physically browsing through my own DVD's, and the excitement of popping in a new one into my DVD player. Not everyone has a device like an Apple TV where they can connect their online streaming choices to straight to their television. The DVD player did not come out that long ago, and Netflix is trying to bury their own product so quickly it's making people's heads spin. By trying to predict the future and be ahead of the game, they are infuriating their customers and yanking away something that is so comfortable, something that we love.
I refuse to log into two seperate websites, get charged by two seperate "companies" for my DVD services. I would much rather go check out Blockbuster's DVD services, or continue to rely on the trusty RedBox. Netflix has made it easier than ever for their competitor's to slide into first place.
The name of the second company Netflix is splitting into is called "Qwikster." I took many branding and marketing classes, and have created brand names and marketing pieces for freelance clients, so if this new name is baffling to me, I understand why it is baffling to everyone else. It is unfamiliar, it isn't even the same font and doesn't have any "flix" association with it. Any smart marketing director would be able to see the need to create an association between the two.
Netflix has tried to defend itself saying that they don't want to hurt Netflix's brand name by the inevitable erosion of the DVD industry. While I understand that, their timing was all wrong. DVD are still very much apart of our society and daily lives, and will be for a long time. I purchased my DVD's, I spent money on them. I will not be throwing them in the trash simply because a corporate bafoon is re-routing his company in hopes that millions of people will in fact do so.
In summary, the marketing director, creator of the name "Qwikster," individual who spurred on the price increase, and Hastings for his tone-deaf messages sent to MY e-mail account...all should be fired.
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