Streaming giant Netflix is looking to keep its position on top of the streaming platform food chain with its hiring of Bozoma Saint John as its new chief marketing officer.
Variety reports that Saint John will be taking over for Jackie Lee-Joe, who held the job for 10 months. Lee-Joe replaced Kelly Bennett, who parted ways with the streaming platform a year prior. Saint John will be taking the reins by August of this year.
Prior to this new role with Netflix, Saint John was chief marketing officer of Endeavor, where she handled multiple brands like Miss Universe, UFC, IMG, and WME. Before Endeavor, she was chief brand officer at Uber, who brought her on board during a period where the company was being criticized for its lack of gender diversity.
Other positions Saint John has held previously include head of consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes as well as head of music and entertainment marketing for Pepsi North America.
Forbes quotes Saint John’s statement on her new job, where she said she is “thrilled” and looking forward to increasing audience engagement with the company in the coming months. Saint John also emphasized Netflix’s “dynamic legacy” and how important the stories it tells is to the well-being of society and the world.
For his part, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos praised Saint John for being an “exceptional marketer” and expressed admiration for her ability to spark buzz and conversations around pop culture. Sarandos also expressed confidence that Saint John would do an exceptional job in connecting with Netflix’s customers.
A renewed marketing push is certainly needed to keep the momentum that Netflix has gained ever since the global coronavirus pandemic has confined people to their homes. Netflix was able to grow its number of paid subscribers by 16 million, bringing its total to 187 million paid subscribers.
However, its competitors have also enjoyed a boost because of the pandemic. Disney+ was able to reach the 50 million paid subscriber milestone a few months ago and will probably gain more as Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox has allowed it to premiere content like the X-Men movies on the platform.
The competition to gain more subscribers and successfully engage with them will probably not ease anytime soon as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage and keep people in their homes with only streaming services for entertainment.
According to the June 30 situation report from the World Health Organization, there are now 10,185,374 confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world. Fatalities from around the globe now amount to 503,862 deaths.