Taking a big leap forward to create more show awareness and drive global membership, streaming giant Netflix is on the lookout for a licensing and merchandising exec to lead its fledgling consumer products business.
According to a job posting on the company’s website, the search is on for an L.A.-based senior manager position in licensing, merchandising and promotion.
“We are pursuing consumer products and associated promotion because we believe it will drive meaningful show awareness/buzz with more tangible, curated ways to interact with our most popular content,” the posting states. “We want licensed merchandise to help promote our titles so they become part of the zeitgeist for longer periods of time.”
The successful candidate will license Netflix content to retailers and suppliers in global territories across books, comics, gaming toys, collectibles, soundtrack and apparel.
Other tasks will include the development of go-to-market plans for consumer, trade and retail marketing to increase demand for licensed Netflix products, as well as creating growth strategies through both e-commerce and physical retail.
While no specific titles are mentioned in the posting, the move could potentially impact how the company works with many of its kids content partners—like DreamWorks (Dinotrux, pictured) and Saban Brands that have already launched or plan to launch consumer products programs based on their Netflix original series.
With the advent of full series dropping all at once on streaming services, licensors have already had to rejig their retail strategies as timelines continue to shrink between show premieres and product launches.
Netflix’s more strategic move into L&M comes after the company broke its quarterly record for global subscribers in Q4 2016, adding 7.05 million new subscribers worldwide.