Hello, Netflix – Are You Listening to What People Are Saying About Your Pop-Under Ads?
What’s up with Netflix? The internet is rife with complaints from Internet users – including current Netflix customers – about the company’s use of pop-under ads. And you can 
count me among those who are irritated by constantly being bombarded by these ads.
Netflix Underground, an unofficial company blog that bills itself as “the dark side of Netflix, laments the overuse of these ads, which far surpass the annoyance of all of the company’s other forms of advertising:
“Here’s how it works. You visit a Web site, complete your business, and close the browser window. That should be the end of your experience, but do not be surprised to find another small window remaining on your desktop after you are finished. In bold and bright letters, Netflix beckons you with tantalizing offers of free trials and low introductory pricing. Even though you did not intentionally open the advertisement page, it is there whether you care to see it or not. If you want the obnoxious ad to go away, you must manually close the window. That is when you start to wonder what sort of cookie data is now on your computer and how much extra bandwidth the ad page consumed while loading. If you did not want to see this sneaky Netflix pop-under ad, why were you inconvenienced by it? Sure, you can install software to fight these ads, but the software is not 100% effective. Besides, why should you have to install software on your computer to battle Netflix’s marketing efforts? Why should you have to take any steps to close or impede a window you did not want to open in the first place?”
Another site, Netflixsux, urges visitors to complain to Netflix. Netflix pop-under ads are a popular subject on Twitter, as well. Here’s a recent sample from one of its customers:
“Please, you NetFlix pop-under scumbag pieces of garbage, I am ALREADY A CUSTOMER! Stop it, I beg you. I hope you die. Seriously”
Bloggers have plenty to say about it, too:
“… Just got off the phone with Netflix. Apparently they have no control over how their ads are served. The person I spoke with said that anybody can sign up to be an affiliate and as a result they have no way of doing any sort of quality control with their ads. It sounds like the format of the ads are controlled by individual websites and/or ad services. Boo! Looks like we won’t see an end to this anytime soon. However, the person I spoke with did say that they would do an investigation if they get enough concerned calls about this issue, so call in and voice your opinions about these pop-unders!”
In looking at the Netflix site, I wasn’t able to find anything that addresses the pop-under issue, which is a shame considering the amount of online complaining. Nor did I run across any replies from Netflix representatives to these complaints.
It may very well be that pop-under ads are pulling traffic to Netflix where they are successfully being converted into customers. I haven’t found any data that indicates just how effective this is for Netflix, so I will assume that is. Nevertheless, I think it is poor strategy on Netflix’ part to ignore what so many people are saying about the use of these ads and the Netflix brand.
Online discussions in forums, on blogs or elsewhere are a modern replacement for customer satisfaction surveys or focus group reports, which can take months to compile and analyze. The discussion is taking place in real time and companies can pick up very quickly on what consumers are saying. Ultimately, the point of tracking what online consumers are saying about brands is to be able to react quickly if something bad happens or learn from the good things people say. Either way, companies are learning they have to pay attention. (Terdiman, 2006)
According to Gillin: (2008)
- Silence is the worst response to criticism – it simply becomes another negative.
- Most negative customers simply want to be heard. If you engage with them constructively, you almost always turn them around and they often become your most vocal fans.
- A few angry customers can’t do much damage and, in fact, they’re usually shouted down by supporters. Negativity is only a problem when a large number of voices are involved; and the earlier you head off that mob the quicker you put down the revolt.
Do you think Netflix should be addressing the issue of its pop-under ads?
References
Gillin, P. (2008, February 11) Learning to live with a bit of negativity. B to B, 93(2), 10. Retrieved June 25, 2009, through the EBSCOhost database.
Terdiman, D. (2006, January 3) Why companies monitor blogs. CNET News. Retrieved June 26, 2009, from http://news.cnet.com/Why-companies-monitor-blogs—page-2/2100-1030_3-6006102-2.html?tag=mncol.
Tags: blog, bloggers, complaints, Netflix, online discussion forums, pop-under ads, social media, Twitter, unofficial company blog
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June 28, 2009 at 3:17 PM
This is s-o-o-o old media, but it makes a point: A local dealer of siding for the home sponsored a print advertising circular that wrapped around the Sunday comics. The guy got zillions of complaints. His theory, however, was the reader HAD to do something with his ad, either tear it off and throw it on the floor to be picked up later (tar baby) or remove it and lay it aside, also to be dealt with later. Netflix apparently thinks it is worth it to piss off 100 consumers in order to reach the one buyer, and if that is the case, they don’t care about me and you.
June 28, 2009 at 4:59 PM
This is where I feared the the internet would go. Shotgun marketing, just like the Sunday newspaper example noted by GT, without significant expenditures and mass reach. Applying old marketing methods in a new channel for much less cost to the marketer. Typically, these methods are pushed by those with less knowledge about targeted marketing or are too cheap to invest in learning about best practices for tracking traffic to help them identify initiatives for targeted marketing — likely with much better results and less complaints. It seems to me the attitude is “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” rather than knowing your audience and marketing to their buying patterns. They’ll soon learn that their shotgun efforts are wasted time and gradual market/brand erosion.
June 28, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Like any other annoyance you can stop going on Netflix or put up with the annoyance for the good deal on rentals. I know if my membership was up Id think twice about renewing. They’ll stop if membership drops.
June 28, 2009 at 5:37 PM
This type of ad is a personal intrusion – no different than getting a sales call at home. I don’t do business with companies that do that.
June 28, 2009 at 7:20 PM
I noticed these pop under ads as well , but have no expressed my frustration on the internet or to Netflix. Luckily, my pop-up blocker catches most of these ads. And true, the software isn’t 100% effective. I really question the effectiveness of these ads. Like, who sat around in a room and decided that they should try to annoy people as much as they can just to get their brand name in front of people. What goals does this accomplish in terms of overall brand management? I wonder what the success rate of actual “clicks” and the number of new customers that are a result of the pop-up ad. Because if the rate is low, then why would someone continue to do this. Also, I wonder if they are tracking or able to track the number of people that have stopped using Netflix because of the annoying ads. Because of the number of individuals that are complaining about Netflix online, I’m shocked that they haven’t changed or attempted to change to crack down of the annoying pop under ads.
June 28, 2009 at 7:24 PM
Here is another link from a blogger complaining about the annoying Netflix ads.
http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2009/02/netflix-popup-ads-still-annoy-.html
June 29, 2009 at 8:53 AM
I have always found these pop-unders to be extremely irritating but I have never complained or called Netflix about the issue. They come up all the time for a variety of different sites. The reason I find it particularly interesting is because I have always been interested in purchasing Netflix and I have been putting it off for a few months. When I see the pop-under, it doesn’t even remind me that I wanted to purchase the product because at that point I am so annoyed I just cancel out of the advertisement. I think it is a major issue that Netflix does not have control over how their ads are distributed and who can use them. If this is true than Netflix should consider how they can solve this problem. As you mentioned above, a Netflix spokesperson said that if they received enough complaints they would run an investigation. Maybe the company should research online and I am sure they will find blogs and feedback about their company and their annoying advertisements. People are becoming accustomed to annoying advertisements and many of us have learned to ignore them and consequently will not take the time to call the company to complain about them.
June 29, 2009 at 9:00 AM
Further, we mentioned in our class this week: unofficial blog sites and how they can help the real companies. The bottom line is that companies can read the unofficial site and receive real customer feedback on their product or services and learn how to better themselves. Netflix should read the unofficial Netflix customer service blog:
http://getsatisfaction.com/netflix/topics/why_does_netflix_still_use_pop_under_advertisements
June 29, 2009 at 10:02 AM
I hate those ads. These days it is very hard to get away from the pop up ads because they are everywhere.
June 29, 2009 at 12:57 PM
No pop-unders appear on my desktop with my iMac — I have seen them on other computer screens though and they are irritating… but the purpose of marketing is to get people talking, so they’ve accomplished their goal.
June 29, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Okay, so I’m going to play devil’s advocate. Without a doubt, pop-unders are viewed as a nuisance within the online community. As your post suggests, complaints against pop-ups are plentiful and site visitors want so desperately to be heard. Why then do marketers continue to allow pop-under advertisements to appear on their sites?
For one, pop-under advertisements, as obtrusive as they are, generate revenue and act as an additional “passive” source of income for the Web site owner. Consider, Infinity Ads plug on why you should sign up for their pop-under service:
http://www.infinityads.com/ —
In today’s tightening economy, it’s important to think of your website in terms of ‘Passive Streams of Income’. You can easily and discretely generate real additional revenue from your site by displaying our multi-pops advertising windows. InfinityAds advertising windows are a great source of additional revenue and can really maximize the benefits your traffic creates.
Are they better than banners? In a recent article on addressing the benefits of pop-unders, the author notes that “Banners are not seen and because most people can scroll past them every day without noticing them, it’s easy to understand why they are not a good means of driving traffic and hopefully business to your website”. Follow this link to read the rest of the article: http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/increasing-website-traffic-with-pop-unders-33909.html
Love it or hate it, pop-unders have been proven to be an effective marketing communications tactic in reaching a target audience. Unlike a pop-up, pop-under advertisements are less like to be “in your face”. Sure, you may not want it to appear as you close out your browser, but one cannot deny that it adds the visibility needed to create brand recognition of a product or service offering.
Compared to RSS feeds, and static banners on a Web site, several marketers actually do believe that pop-unders is an effective use of emerging media technology to foster new customer relationships. There is very little data to support its inefficacy. Rather, pop-under service operators are more apt to prove new site visits, as well as increased traffic and product exposure from these pop-under advertisements — another way marketers can prove quantitative ROI for this type of technology.
July 1, 2009 at 11:20 AM
They can tell how many people respond–albeit to complain. But is there any way of knowing how many people (like me!) just live with it, silently vowing to “boycott” the product because of the annoyance…. Does anyone in Marketing take that into account?
July 1, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Totally agree that pop-under ads are annoying. I suspect the purveyors of these ads are counting on most web surfers being pretty ignorant. Most users probably think their firewall isn’t working.
July 1, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Pop-under ads are annoying. I hate them and rarely read what they have to say.
July 7, 2009 at 8:04 PM
Since people already are complaining it’s interesting the company hasn’t taken action. Perhaps they only consider it a complaint if it came in as a phone call. If Netflix wants to be associated in the same category as those annoying screen saver ads, they must know what they’re doing.
July 11, 2009 at 1:17 PM
Netflix says it has no control over its ads? Hogwash. The company has its eyes and ears covered.