• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 29, 2020

Netflix is reportedly changing its marketing approach to include more promotion of the service as a whole, and the shift is expected to result in at least 15 layoffs this week.

The leading SVOD — which spent $1.8 billion on advertising in 2018, per an SEC 10-K filing — is still working out the specifics of the new strategy, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s sources. Netflix declined to comment. 

The shift doesn’t necessarily mean that Netflix will reduce its promotion of specific titles or series, but that it wants to accompany such promotion with brand messaging conveying Netflix’s overall value as “the home for thousands of premium movies and awards-caliber shows,” said sources inside the company. 

The increased brand focus — which follows Netflix’s report that, while it added 8.3 million global subscribers in the fourth quarter, its 420,000 sub growth in the U.S. fell short of its 600,000 target — is reportedly being driven by the company’s new CMO, Jackie Lee-Joe. 

“Lee-Joe is said to have felt that Netflix over-hired in the marketing department and is looking to structure the team in a more effective way,” reports THR. 

If 15 layoffs occur (the number could be higher), they would represent a small portion of Netflix’s overall workforce, which totals about 6,900.