Hello and welcome.

My name is Bert.

I was chosen to run this case study as I'm a real-life binging expert....

True story.

Anyway, hands up if you've been guilty of binging on your favorite streaming platform throughout the past year of lockdowns... 

I certainly have! And it's not just the content that made me go "just one more episode..."

I'll walk you through how the design of these streaming platform influence our screen-time choices  (not to mention making me forget to change my underwear for the past week...).

These guys here, you see, they're the three leading streaming platforms... We're gonna go through their behavioral designs and uncover their secrets.

And here's the overview of how we're going to approach this mission.

CASE STUDY

OVERVIEW

1.   The Contenders

2.   Friction and Fuel Framework

3.   Getting Subscribers

4.   Getting you to binge

5.   Getting you to come back

Part 2

Part 1

First up, let's get to know our contenders....

We have to start with Netflix when discussing streaming services. You know, the one with House of Cards!

No, not that one... The better version with weird masks.

That's the one! Anyway, where was I...

Right, introducing Netlflix – this Blockbuster slayer first offered an online streaming service in the 2007 and claimed to have over 195.5 million paid subscribers worldwide as of Q3 of 2020.

Next up, we got Disney Plus.

Here's some of the many Disney owned brands... What!? [Spits out coffee] 🥸

Mickey mouse owns Star Wars? That's a bigger plot twist than what happened in Empire Strikes Back!

I'm lost for words.

Disney

Star Wars,

Alright, it's safe to say the happiest place on earth has also expanded its presence onto the online world. 🌈 🏰

Launched in November 2019, Disney+ has already gained over 86.8 million paid subscribers in just a year. 

Lastly, we cannot forget Good Ol' HBO (max). Goddamn I love the Sopranos!

The long time cable TV dominator launched its streaming service in May 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, gaining over 12.6 million activated users as of early December 2020. This does not include users from AT&T partnership.

That's the contenders, so how do we evaluate their use of behavioral design (other than my extensive research exploring their offerings)?

To analyze these streaming services, we'll throughout the user journey use the Friction & Fuel Framework developed by the Center for Advanced Hindsight.

The framework is based on the idea that there are two forces influencing our behaviors (which we can think of as a rocketship).

We can consider anything that gets in the way of the target behavior, like obstacles or some biases, FRICTION.

Conversely, FUEL is anything that makes the target behaviors more appealing.

There are many behavior change tools and techniques we can use to add fuel or remove friction for our desirable behaviors.

However, you and I both know that we need to first define our target behaviors before we start conducting this type of analysis... We might both be sitting in just our underwear, but we're not amateurs!

Corresponding to these target behaviors, people in product usually look at various product metrics in order to evaluate how well their products perform with respective to various goals.

And they tinkle with the product to optimize for those metrics.

PS. I approve of this gif.

In other words, streaming platforms want that 1) user visits the service, 2) subscribes to the service, 3) watch the first video, and 4) frequently comes back to the platform to watch more videos.

So for our first round, we are going to look at how well our contenders nudge their users to subscribe.

Let's start 🚀

This case study is interactive and you will need to be attentive in order to uncover all behavior change tactics. Time to clean off your popcorn fingers and roll up your sleeves. Ready?

Let's try finding one now, shall we?

Hint: Which component attracts your attention most?

Hover & tap on the friction / fuel for the target behavior.

Well done, you found your first behavior change technique! Not bad. So what can we learn from this?

Instead of "signup" or "join", the call-to-action (CTA) here is framed as "get started". Pretty smooth!

Bonus point for being a salient CTA, I'd be able to see it even if I couldn't find my reading glasses.

Here's the Subscription Meter 🚀 - every time a behavior change tool is used to add fuel to a target behavior, the meter will go up. Opposite happens if friction is added. The higher the meter, the more likely that I'll buy and keep my subscription. 

Alright, next one! Any fuel or friction here?

I don't know about you, but if I'm told there's only three steps, I'll be more likely to go "I can do that."

Alright, notice any fuel here?

By hinting that there's only a few more steps left, I know I'm on the home stretch and close to the finish line. And I do hate paperwork! Great example of how to provide some relatable humor 👍

Oh no, there are options? I hate navigating these screens! I just want to watch some binge-worthy shows. Just give me the option that will do that job...

Well, if we zoom in, there are some commonly used behavior change tactics here to support my choice.

Can you find the two in question?

People often judge things relatively. Framing options by putting them next to each others helps highlight certain aspect of the decision. If we know there are "better" options, why shouldn't we go for the "best"? 

This also tells me more about video quality than "480p" vs "4K+HDR" – what the heck does that mean?! Sounds like R2D2 trying to speak!

Alright, there's another one here. This one is obvious!

"Premium" is set as the default option! We know what usually happens to the default....

That's why I set "camera off" as default on my Zoom settings. I'm pretty smart! Or at least I learn from my mistakes... Anyway, where were we? 

Right, we're on the third and final step! What can you see here?

Ugh, there is no getting around it. Reaching for your credit card sucks!

At least they're doing something to mitigate this... can you see it?

Alright, I've painfully paid for the basic plan and we're in. But wait! I spy something interesting!

I got an upgrade! I love free upgrades. In fact, who doesn't? The only odd thing is, Netflix could have framed this better...   

There's many ways to improve this frame, but here is one version that better emphasize the benefits.

It might still need some tweaking to remove worry about getting stuck in the upgraded plan.

Free upgrade on us! 🎉

How your Standard upgrade works

Old vs. New Frame

But darn, if I get used to watching my movies in full HD, I know I could never downgrade from that... SD will look terrible in comparison!

That's right. Netflix aren't doing this for charity. They know that luxuries becomes necessities as we adapt to them over time. What do you think, is this smart or unethical behavioral design?

Smart or Unethical?

Vote by clicking one of the options below.

Thanks for voting! So, let's see how Netflix did in the first round. In short: Pretty good! While they utilized several behavior change tools, we care about quality and not quantity. Also, the friction was undeniable!

B-

 Grade:  

Next up! We got HBO Max. I see one powerful behavioral tool right on the landing page.

Seven days free trial? Why not? The power of FREE gives HBOmax a huge boost here, I'll say.

I don't know about you, but I mostly let my future self deal with the consequences of my actions (like joining free trials). I live in the moment. Carpe diem 🧘

Time to create an account. However, I sense friction here...

First name, last name, email address AND password, all in one go? Dang, they might as well ask for my mother's maiden name....

This is an example of high perceived friction and a missed opportunity. Chunking the steps would make it seem easier and people would be more likely to fill in the information.  

Uh oh, my friction-sense is tingling again....

Alright! We're ready to roll on HBO max now!

Bert!

Very average grade for HBOmax, and it's sad as it was off to such a great start! What the heck happened? Well, friction happened. The greatest nemesis for all behavioral designers.

C-

 Grade:  

My nemesis? Tom Selleck.

I hate that guy.

Next up we got Disney Plus! 

Boy, that button is definitely screaming at me. Difficult to find a more salient call-to-action (CTA) than that.

I see another sneaky trick here as well...

Yes, they're making that option less salient. And adding dollar sign there makes it even less desirable. If nothing else, this definitely makes me curious to explore the first option just to find out the price.

This is definitely an example of aggressive choice architecture. What say you, smart or unethical behavioral design?

Smart or Unethical?

Vote by clicking one of the options below.

Thanks for voting! Now to the first step...

Providing this information is good from an ethical perspective. The user is nudged to at least read some of the terms of conditions. BUT, it's impossible to get away from the fact that this adds friction. 

Anyway, step two is up! Notice anything here?

Step one: Email. Step two: Password.

One screen. One action. Breaking down tasks into smaller achievable steps do make things look much simpler! 

Seems like someone heard my HBO rant 😅