Netflix tries “Kids” menu
Several months ago, I sat through several meetings with a particular movie server company who had felt the effects of the economy decline just like everyone else. Instead of shrinking back in the face of the new economic reality, they refocused their brand through the use of market research in order to actually increase business even in these times. Their results were surprising.
This company surveyed their clients to see what movies are actually being watched the most. It wasn’t Gladiator, The Matrix or Iron Man. In fact, of the top 5, 4 of them were Pixar, and one was Dreamworks Animation. And this was by a lot. As it turns out, children love watching the same content over and over again. And often.
Considering the market I’m in tends to target the techie guy, this was like a splash of cold water.
What this company did was create a new menu for children, and even a new child-friendly remote control. This way a child only has access to kid-friendly content, and they have it quickly and easily without having to learn how to read.
This is the general concept behind the new feature Netflix is testing. Called “Just for Kids,” the new Netflix menu only shows children’s content, and in an easy-to-use interface.
Scrolling across the top of the page horizontally is a small icon of dozens of famous children’s characters, like Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Hello Kitty, etc.
Once selected, a new menu appears with only episodes from this series.
There is no indication if this will roll out to everyone, or if they’re just testing it out. There is also no news on if the kid’s menu will lock out access to adult content so parents can let their kids have full reign without worry.
UPDATE: August 16, 2011
Netflix has rolled this out today. movies.netflix.com/Kids
