a case study on netflix for house of cards

How Netflix Built its House of Cards (and Changed TV Forever)

Brian Kenny: Since breaking the industry barriers with its launch of the political drama "House of Cards" in 2011, Netflix has spent billions on new content and has been rewarded with steady user growth. In 2016 they're doubling down on original content with plans to produce 600 hours, up from 450 the previous year. Yes, Netflix has changed the landscape of the business of television, but the story may not have unfolded that way were it not for MRC, a film and television studio that was willing to flip the script. Today, we'll hear from Professor Anita Elberse about her case entitled "MRC's House of Cards." I'm Brian Kenny, and you're listening to Cold Call .

Anita Elberse is an expert in the business of entertainment, media, and sports, and the creator of an Executive Education program at Harvard Business School that carries that very name. She's written extensively on this topic including the case that we're discussing today. Anita, welcome.

Anita Elberse: Thank you, it's great to be here.

Kenny: Could you start by setting this up for us? Who are the protagonists and what's the dilemma they're facing?

Elberse: Sure. The case is set in 2011, we go back a little bit, which is a time when "House of Cards" was not yet on the air. There was an idea and there was quite a bit of development that had taken place at MRC, Media Rights Capital, led by two executives, Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, and they had shopped this idea around to various networks. To their big surprise—and that's where the case really focuses on—Netflix came along and said, “We might want to take this as our first major bet in original programming.”

Kenny: Which was a revolutionary concept, and we'll get into the details about why that is. What prompted you to write this case?

Elberse: Now looking back on it, and I wrote it a few years ago, for me it's a pivotal moment in television history, actually. Of course we all know now, it turned out to be Netflix's first major bet in the world of online video. This was a very expensive show for them, a huge risk, and I think it has prompted many such investments by Netflix, but also by other players since then.

Kenny: Are you a viewer of "House of Cards"?

Elberse: I am a viewer, yes. You’ve got to love Francis Underwood.

Kenny: Only a mother—only his mother could love him, I think. To lay this out and help people to understand, we need to talk about the prevalence of television in America. We know it's a big deal, but you have some great statistics in the case. It's a $200 billion industry?

Elberse: Yes, it's a gigantic industry. The statistic I love the most is that the average US consumer watches five hours of television every day. We spend an enormous amount of our time and of our money on watching television, so these kinds of investments that companies are making can have huge consequences for popular culture.

Kenny: Right, and now we compound the traditional television viewing experience with the online viewing experience, and there's more than enough opportunity to spend five hours a day watching something, right?

Elberse: Exactly, and sometimes multiple things at the same time, apparently. That's all the rage now.

Kenny: That's the shortening of our attention spans. Can you describe the TV landscape to us? You break it out very nicely in the case with the different types of TV that are out there.

Elberse: The way I think about it—I mean obviously we have a number of different producers (and MRC is an independent, relatively small production company) but we have huge producers of television content as well. Many of the major studios, the major television studios, are part of these huge conglomerates, right, the Disneys, and the Time Warners. That's where television shows originate, and then there's a range of distributors of that content, a range of intermediaries that make sure that that content actually gets to the consumer.

There I think of four major groups: the broadcast channels, the ABCs and the NBCs and the CBSs. There are basic cable networks, cable networks that are part of your cable bundle but that would still carry some advertising, so they make their money partly from that advertising and partly from the cable fees that consumers pay. There are premium cable networks, the third group, HBO and Showtime are examples of that, and they don't run advertising. They solely depend on the subscription fees that we as consumers pay. Then the fourth group, which is obviously a major focus in this case, are these online services, Netflix, and Amazon has come up strongly in recent years. They introduced binge viewing. They, too, depend on subscription fees, but it's quite a different experience to be watching these online services.

Kenny: Binge viewing for those listeners who don't know what that is, that's when you find a rainy day and you sit down and you watch an entire season of a show, which is really relative to this case.

Elberse: Yeah, I saw recently (and it's not in the case) that I think on average people watch four or five episodes in one go, which is quite amazing.

Kenny: There's your five hours right there. It's complicated about how shows get created and sold. Can you describe that as you do in the case?

Elberse: Sure. There's obviously a number of different ways in which this goes, and the way in which it went in the case for MRC is different from how it usually goes. The typical process you have to picture as several steps. It starts with an idea, and someone might say, “Hey, we should do a television show on X.” In this particular situation and very often you see that you need to get the rights to actually do that, right, if it's based on an existing book or an existing character or something else that already resides in popular culture. You need to make sure you get the rights. Another step might be to make sure you get the team, get someone who could be the executive producer, someone who could be the writer. Usually there's a quick pitch that happens at that moment, right, so someone might write a few pages that says, “Here's the idea.” But very often they go to the networks relatively quickly and say, “Would you be interested in helping us fund this idea and helping to make it possible?”

In this particular situation, MRC chose to do something very different. They said, “Actually, we'd like some time to develop this.” They invested in the development of a pilot, they invested in what we call a show bible, which is—this is not just what's happening in episode one, but we're going to be describing what's happening across the season, what's the story arc, what's going to happen to the major characters. They also did a lot of work in trying to get the director. David Fincher signed on to be a director and actually ended up directing the first episode, which is a really big deal. They also invested in getting cast members. The major players, the major actors and actresses involved were cast at a relatively early stage, even before there was a network deal. They took one and a half years, which is a really long time. As I said, usually they go to networks really fast and spend what they describe as a high six figure amount—not a great deal of money, but substantial if you have no idea whether this is actually going to be sold. They spent that money and they spent that time, and only then did they go to the networks.

Kenny: This is part of what differentiates MRC in this space is they had had some success, they had quite a bit of success, out of the gate with some movies that got great critical review. But their emphasis on building a relationship with the artists, with the creative talent, was something different, yes?

Elberse: Yes, absolutely, and that might be their main point of differentiation, the fact that they had these really strong relationships with the talent and that they gave the directors and the cast members and the producers and the writers this time to really develop this idea and make it their own. That might be a reason why they decided to go with this idea as opposed to pick from all the other opportunities that come from the major studios.

Kenny: You describe in the case how the seasonality of how some of these pitches are made and how it differs from the broadcast networks to now we've got these online. There's a different approach these days and it's not as regimented, and it allows for a little bit of this creativity to come into the process that really wasn't part of it before.

Elberse: Yeah, absolutely, and what you also see is that—and this is a major part of the decision here—that networks increasingly are willing to make full season orders. At the time in 2011, the idea that Netflix was going to put in a full season order, that they were saying, “We'll take thirteen episodes…in fact we'll take two seasons, we'll take twenty-six episodes,” that was really unheard of at the time.

Kenny: But not without some trepidation, I guess, on the part of MRC because Netflix was a new player in this space. Let's talk about some of the concerns they had about that.

Elberse: Yeah, there were lots of concerns, and I think that's what makes the case so interesting. We know that it worked out well, that show became really successful, but if you go back and analyze the decision they made at the time, it's not at all obvious that going with Netflix was the right choice. No one knew how they were going to be marketing the show. There weren't other hit shows that they could use to market this show to consumers, which is usually what the traditional networks do. No one knew if the show would qualify for awards, for instance, right? Could you win an Emmy if you go on online video? There were lots of unknowns about the situation.

Kenny: You point out in the case also that politics as a theme doesn't necessarily translate so well internationally, and the way this deal was cut, they needed to rely on that international audience to make up the difference of what Netflix was offering them.

Elberse: Yes, the way it works is that if you sell a show to network, usually you do it under what's called a deficit financing deal, so if an episode cost $3 million to produce, the network licenses that show but for a fee that's not quite allowing you to recover all those costs. They might pay $2 million for an episode, which means that MRC has to make up $1 million each episode and they do that by going for these other windows. Netflix just says, “We want to be the first window, so everyone in the US and Canada can see this show first on Netflix,” but MRC can still go to the international market and get it on television, can still sell DVDs, they retain the ownership, can still find other sources of revenue. If the show had failed on Netflix, it's not entirely clear that they would have been able to go for these other sources of revenue. In fact, the fact that they made the deal with Netflix made it very uncertain that they could cut deals with international television companies because they were wondering: what kind of show is this? I don't understand what they're trying to do, so how do I fit this into my regular way of doing business?

Kenny: You've discussed this case in class?

Elberse: I have, several times in both my MBA course and in Executive Education.

Kenny: I'm curious, what's the difference in the way that it's received from MBA students versus Exec Ed students? Do they come at it differently?

Elberse: This may be disappointing, but I think they come at it exactly the same way. I think they're all really keen to discuss it. The show is popular across the world, so it works well with the international audiences, too. They seem really interested in understanding what would have been the right decision at the time, would I have made that decision myself to go with Netflix? I think they enjoy diving into the development process and learning what is it usually like and why did MRC decide to change the process so significantly, and is that something we'll see more often? They enjoy looking at the television industry as a whole and say this is one example of a distributor trying to become an original programmer. Will we see this more often? What does this mean for the world of television? I've taught it with audiences where everyone in the audience was part of the television industry in one form or another, so you can imagine that those become very heated discussions.

Kenny: This leads me to my last question, which is if you look at MRC and what they've done, would you categorize them as a disruptor in this space?

Elberse: I think they certainly were very innovative and they were extremely gutsy. I think even now if you look at the decision, it's not clear that this was necessarily the safest or the most logical decision, but it certainly was very gutsy. As I said early on, I think it became a pivotal moment in television history, so in that sense they may deserve that stamp of being a disruptor.

Kenny: Well, I for one hope that they find some more breakout series like "House of Cards.” It's a great show.

Elberse: Yes, but "House of Cards" is still on the air, so...

Kenny: I need to catch up.

Elberse: You have a lot to look forward there to.

Kenny: I need some rainy days. Anita, thank you so much for joining me.

Elberse: My pleasure, my pleasure.

Kenny: You can find this case along with thousands of others in the HBS case collection at hbr.org. I'm Brian Kenny and you've been listening to Cold Call , the official podcast of Harvard Business School.

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The Media Equation

Giving Viewers What They Want

By David Carr

• Feb. 24, 2013

In the television business, there is no such thing as a sure thing. You can have a gold-plated director, a bankable star and a popular concept and still, it’s just a roll of the dice.

In any business, the ability to see into the future is the killer app, and Netflix may be getting close with “House of Cards.” The series, directed by David Fincher, starring Kevin Spacey and based on a popular British series, is already the most streamed piece of content in the United States and 40 other countries, according to Netflix. The spooky part about that? Executives at the company knew it would be a hit before anyone shouted “action.”

Netflix, which has 27 million subscribers in the nation and 33 million worldwide, ran the numbers. It already knew that a healthy share had streamed the work of Mr. Fincher, the director of “The Social Network,” from beginning to end. And films featuring Mr. Spacey had always done well, as had the British version of “House of Cards.” With those three circles of interest, Netflix was able to find a Venn diagram intersection that suggested that buying the series would be a very good bet on original programming.

Big bets are now being informed by Big Data, and no one knows more about audiences than Netflix. A third of the downloads on the Internet during peak periods on any given day are devoted to streamed movies from the service, according to Sandvine , a networking provider. And last year, by some estimates, more people watched movies streamed online than on physical DVDs.

Film and television producers have always used data, holding previews for focus groups and logging the results, but as a technology company that distributes and now produces content, Netflix has mind-boggling access to consumer sentiment in real time.

How much data does it have at its fingertips? According to GigaOm , Netflix looks at 30 million “plays” a day, including when you pause, rewind and fast forward, four million ratings by Netflix subscribers, three million searches as well as the time of day when shows are watched and on what devices.

Jonathan Friedland, the company’s chief communications officer, said, “Because we have a direct relationship with consumers, we know what people like to watch and that helps us understand how big the interest is going to be for a given show. It gave us some confidence that we could find an audience for a show like ‘House of Cards.’ ”

In addition, movies and TV shows on the service are annotated with hundreds of tags — metadata descriptors — inserted by viewers commissioned to describe the talent, the action, the tone and the genre, among many, many other things. In the past, those tags were used to recommend other shows from the long tail of content on the service, essentially building profiles based on the preferences of individual subscribers. But now Netflix is commissioning original content because it knows what people want before they do. “There are 33 million different versions of Netflix,” said Joris Evers, the company’s director of global corporate communications.

Based on that information, Netflix bought “House of Cards.” It is also producing new episodes of “Arrested Development,” and in April, it will begin streaming episodes of “Hemlock Grove,” a horror-thriller based on a novel of the same name.

Netflix has always used data to decide which shows to license, and now that expertise is extended to the first-run. And there was not one trailer for “House of Cards,” there were many. Fans of Mr. Spacey saw trailers featuring him, women watching “Thelma and Louise” saw trailers featuring the show’s female characters and serious film buffs saw trailers that reflected Mr. Fincher’s touch.

It is impossible to say that “House of Cards” is a hit because Netflix, to the consternation of some of its more traditional competitors, is not participating in ratings. But social media is thick with mentions of both the new programming and the new paradigm. The show made the front page of The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times , and was on the cover of Emmy magazine, a good omen for its awards future. And when your price is as low as Netflix’s — $7.99 a month for streaming — a flurry of buzz can pull plenty of people off the fence.

While careers and entire networks have been made and lost based on the mysterious alchemy of finding a hit, Netflix seems to be making it look easy, or at least making it a product of logic and algorithms as opposed to tradition and instinct.

A cable executive who has talked to Amazon says that its Prime service, a nascent effort to get into original content, will also lean hard on data-driven approaches to determine its programming. The executive, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private, said it would change the way that business operates sooner than people thought.

“I think it is a little hysterical to say that Big Data will win the day now and forever, but it is clear that having a very molecular understanding of user data is going to have a big impact on how things happen in television,” he said.

Others aren’t so sure. John Landgraf, who, as president and general manager of FX Networks, has had a good run at the channel in finding hits, said he thought numbers-crunching would never have predicted the success of “The Sopranos,” “South Park,” and “Mad Men,” among others, including hits he has said yes to, like “Sons of Anarchy.”

“Data can only tell you what people have liked before, not what they don’t know they are going to like in the future,” he said. “A good high-end programmer’s job is to find the white spaces in our collective psyche that aren’t filled by an existing television show,” adding, those choices were made “in a black box that data can never penetrate.”

The rise of the quants has some worried about the impact on quality and diversity of programming. Writing in Salon , Andrew Leonard wonders “how a reliance on Big Data might funnel craftsmanship in particular directions. What happens when directors approach the editing room armed with the knowledge that a certain subset of subscribers are opposed to jump cuts or get off on gruesome torture scenes” or are just interested in sexual romps?

Netflix insists that actual creative decisions will remain in the hands of the creators. “We don’t get super-involved on the creative side,” Mr. Evers said. “We hire the right people and give the freedom and budget to do good work.” That means that when Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig are announced as special guests on coming episodes of “Arrested Development,” it is not because a statistical analysis told Netflix to do so.

But there are potential conflicts. Given that Netflix is in the business of recommending shows or movies, might its algorithms tilt in favor of the work it commissions as it goes deeper into original programming? It brings to mind how Google got crossed up when it began developing more products, and those began showing up in searches.

And there are concerns that the same thing that makes Netflix so valuable — it knows everything about us — could create problems if it is not careful with our data and our privacy. But many think the trade is worth it.

“Netflix and Amazon know when you stop and start a program, whether you wanted the whole thing, all of that,” said Rick Smolan, whose most recent book was “The Human Face of Big Data.” “Programmers have been wandering out and shooting a shotgun into the night sky and hoping they hit something, and I end up paying $150 for channels full of nothing I want to watch. These guys know what they are aiming at.”

Netflix’s command of data, including mine, isn’t foolproof. It thinks I like “The West Wing,” which I don’t, and it thinks I am a sucker for every quirky little indie movie that floats in, which I am not. But when it came to guessing if “House of Cards” might appeal to me — politics, media and Mr. Fincher are all hot buttons — the deck was stacked in its favor.

Not long after the series became available, I found myself in a dark room, surrounded by empty food wrappers and unmet deadlines, wondering when the second season was going to start. I never had a chance.

E-mail: [email protected]; twitter.com/carr2n

Never second-guess again. The new Creator License covers personal projects online and on social media. See details .

Home » Industry » Behind The Scenes on NetFlix $100 Million House of Cards

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Behind The Scenes on NetFlix $100 Million House of Cards

Hooked on NetFlix House Of Cards? Get the inside scoop on the creatives behind the hit show with this round up of the best of the web…

House of Cards is now NetFlix most watched show and could hail the beginning of the next era for home entertainment where the best shows are only available online. Having stumped up $100 million for the first two seasons of the show, staring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher, Joel Schumacher and James Foley among others, NetFlix are more than putting their money where their mouth is. Satisfy your curiosity with this round up on the uber talented creatives behind  House of Cards – a great real world case study for video editors and producers!

Working with David Fincher

Evan Luzi’s fantastic blog The Black and Blue provides a great insiders view of what its like to work as a freelance camera assistant and in this great post he draws out 5 lessons of what its like to work with David Fincher (based on some House of Cards related interviews) and how to apply them to your own on-set creative career. A must read for any Fincher fan.

Shooting The House of Cards Title Sequence

If you love watching the superb timelapse opening credit sequence for House of Cards then you’ll enjoy this technically detailed interview with DP Andrew Geraci who spent 6 months shooting the sequence for Fincher and generated nearly 6TB of imagery in the process. To find out what motion control rigs, lenses and cameras Andrew used and to watch the sequence a fresh jump over to Alexandros Marango’s blog .

Creating the look of House of Cards

If getting behind the camera and crafting a visual style is more your thing then check out this revealing interview with House of Cards’ director of photography Eigil Bryld:

“Bryld worked without a DIT on set, setting the look in the camera as much as possible. He usually adjusted the camera and lighting to a base of about 4,000° K. He used 6:1 compression (Fincher often opts for 5:1) because it allowed the use of secondary exposure, usually one stop under, which helped to achieve a more dramatic look.”

What’s great about this interview is not only the technical detail but the insights into the creative decisions too. A great read from David Heuring on Creative Planet Network.

House of Cards – Post Production Pipeline

Assistant editor Tyler Nelson and post production supervisor Peter Mavromate share their insights into how they created the post-production pipeline to manage the first seasons 13 episodes of RED EPIC footage using FotoKem’s nextLAB system. Thanks to the ever brilliant Creative Cow you can immerse yourself in plenty of post-production workflow detail:

“Any data that that went into the nextLAB system would be manicured and passed along to PIX and our FileMaker codebook for later reference and use,” said Nelson, who notes that NextLAB also automatically populates files with a standard Scene/Take/Camera format that is easier to organize than the original RED file numbers.”

Big Data- The Basis for NetFlix’s bold decision

What makes a company like Netflix pump $100 million into producing a political drama series directed by David Fincher and staring Kevin Spacey? The fact that their data tells them its a good idea.

Netflix’s data indicated that the same subscribers who loved the original BBC production also gobbled down movies starring Kevin Spacey or directed by David Fincher. Therefore, concluded Netflix executives, a remake of the BBC drama with Spacey and Fincher attached was a no-brainer, to the point that the company committed $100 million for two 13-episode seasons.

Staff Salon writer Andrew Leonard has written up a really interesting article on just how much data Netflix is tracking of your viewing habits and what that means for the creative content they will be producing in the coming years. Leondard questions whether basing creative decisions on user data will only serve to create a ‘feedback loop’ that will end up serving creatively draining re-hashes of the same old thing. (A bit like a whole summer of sequels, prequels and comic book movies.)   Image from Newfangled.com’s post on Web Tracking .

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Is Netflix Building a House of Cards?

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Netflix's stellar growth is jeopardized by a changing competitive landscape and fluctuating trust from the market related to its strategy of extensive proprietary content development. With the rising presence of Google's YouTube and Amazon's Prime Video, as well as Apple's Apple TV Plus and Disney's Disney Plus entry into the ring, customers get access to a broader range of content and aggregated offerings. Still, content seems king, and Netflix seeks to outrun competitors with their own award winning and broad video library. That however requires increasing content investments followed by costly marketing efforts to sustain growth. Critics wonder if Netflix's continued binge-spending will translate into sustainable growth while debts increasingly weight on the balance sheet and cash flow remains negative. In a time when most competitors seek to vertically integrate or platformize, often fueled by deep pockets, is Netflix pursuing still the right strategy? Or does Netflix need to revise its business model in order to successfully compete also in the future? This case explores what's going on for and around Netflix, inviting students to redefine Netflix's future strategic direction.

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MRC's House of Cards

By: Anita Elberse

In March 2011, Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, co-chairmen and co-chief executive officers at independent production company Media Rights Capital (MRC), are debating whether to accept a licensing offer…

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In March 2011, Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, co-chairmen and co-chief executive officers at independent production company Media Rights Capital (MRC), are debating whether to accept a licensing offer from Netflix for their most ambitious project to date, a new television series called House of Cards. MRC executives had begun to pitch the series to each of the major premium cable networks in the US, including AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, and Starz. To the surprise of the two entrepreneurs, Netflix executives had made it known they were prepared to make a bold step into the world of original programming. As thrilled as Satchu and Wiczyk were about Netflix's offer, accepting it-and thus forgoing a sought-after one-season offer from a traditional premium cable network-raised major concerns, for instance about MRC's ability to secure international rights fees, to obtain sufficient marketing support, to gain the necessary credibility in the marketplace, and to satisfy artists and other key constituents. Was Netflix the right partner for MRC?

Learning Objectives

To understand the impact of advances in digital technology, in the context of the changing television and online video industry. To assess the reasons for -- and likely pay-off of -- product portfolio strategies that are characterized by sizeable ("blockbuster") investments in one or a select few key products. To examine the rise of new entrants in an entrenched industry, and resulting lessons for product- and talent-management strategies.

Aug 26, 2014 (Revised: Jun 6, 2019)

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How Big Data Helped Netflix Series House of Cards Become a Blockbuster? 

House of Cards is one of the most watched TV series in the Netflix library.  It also represents one of the first attempts by the company to use a data-driven approach to content creation.

It involved Netflix examining data for patterns of preferences and then creating the show around it. One example of how big data influenced the film was the pairing of Kevin Spacey with director David Fincher, both of which the data suggested would bring in big audiences .

In this article, we will look at big data analytics and examine how Netflix used it to build their hit show House of Cards.

Big Data Analytics at Netflix

Netflix programming is huge . Despite being one of the most valuable companies in the world, Netflix is actually losing money. This is because it is pouring billions of dollars every year into making original content.

With so much money at stake, it is vital that Netflix scores big successes.

But how exactly does Netflix make sure that they will create hits?

Netflix is known as one of the foremost innovators in big data analytics.  Let’s take a closer look at what big data analytics is and how Netflix uses it.

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What is Big Data Analytics?

Let us first discuss big data analytics . Are you one of the people who have yet to grasp the potential of this powerful technology?  Well, here is how it works.

Big data analytics help industries of all kinds to gain valuable insight into their customer’s wants and needs.

It is the primary goal of companies to make sure that they understand and serve their customers well. Through the data that companies manage to gather, from a range of different sources, companies can create refined marketing strategies as well as creating the best product for their clients.

Without the help of big data analytics, companies such as Netflix will be blind and would not understand what their customers like and dislike.

Big data analytics is able to quantify massive pools of data in a way so as to identify patterns. These patterns relate to customer behavior, which gives companies a better understanding of their customers.

So, for example, Netflix’s recent release Black Mirror: Bandersnatch , was an interactive show that allowed audiences to choose what actions they would like characters to do at certain points throughout the episode.

Every choice made by viewers was recorded by Netflix, something which gave the company massive insight into how the minds of its viewers worked.

This data will allow Netflix to create even more refined choices for its next interactive episode, something that will help the company better tailor its future products to improve customer satisfaction even further.

This is an ever-improving cycle as the more data Netflix gets, the more it can refine its future products.

What is the difference between Netflix shows and traditional television?

Most TV companies don’t have the luxury of such huge amounts of data like that of Netflix.  Their ratings/feedback for traditional television shows are just approximations, usually the result of on the street surveys.

Since Netflix is streamed online, the company can record every aspect of their customers’ behavior.

How does big data analytics work on Netflix? 

Netflix tracks the subscribers viewing habits such as when you pause, rewind, or fast-forward the show you are watching.  It can also track the time and day you watch the shows to get a better idea of your exact viewing habits.

The platform can also track the location where you are when you watch any given show and what devices you are using to watch the content.  Netflix also tracks when you leave a show or movie without finishing it.  It also tracks your ratings, searches, and scrolling and browsing habits, amongst over things.

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So how did Netflix use big data analytics for House of Cards?

Netflix has around 139 million subscribers worldwide .  This large user base allows them to collect huge amounts of data.

Using this data, Netflix can create better programs and keep their subscribers happier. The company has even suggested that the use of big data saves it more than one billion dollars annually.

In 2011, the program House of Cards, a remake of an earlier British TV series, was released. Netflix aired the US version of House of Cards, produced at a cost of over $100 million.

Even for Netflix, the investment of more than $100 million, when including other expenses, was a huge risk. The pressure was on for it to be a success.

Through big data analytics, Netflix was able to secure its success.

Netflix identified that the British version of House of Cards was watched by many subscribers.  Those members who watched the British version of House of Cards also seemed to favor movies starring Kevin Spacey.

This was one of the patterns that led to Kevin Spacey being cast in the lead role.

In fact, big data was instrumental in how most of the characters were cast. It had a role in how the script was finalized and how the overall narrative progressed.

Big Data is a powerful weapon

Any business must plan for the future, and act fast upon gaps in the market.  Netflix started out as a company that mailed DVD’s to their subscribers but quickly evolved into something much more profound.

They are now the most successful online streaming service, with over a hundred million subscribers over the world.

After identifying another gap in the market, they began to create original content, which helped them become a huge new player in the TV and movie marketplace. Data analytics was another step that allowed them to dramatically change their business approach.

The company is constantly evolving, and big data is at the forefront of this change. It gives them an accurate and reliable base for effective decision-making.  It is not by accident that Netflix became such a smash hit, or that House of Cards also became one, rather it was because of successful analysis of big data.

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• Harvard Business School →
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MRC's House of Cards

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About The Author

Anita Elberse

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A Case Study on Netflix’s Marketing Strategies & Tactics

As the spread of COVID-19 has affected most industries and economies worldwide, people have been forced to stay contained at home to prevent the spread of coronavirus. People have also been bored to death as they have nothing to do.

In this locked-up scenario, your best partner could be your Netflix account which contains thousands of interesting movies, series, and shows. We were discussing which brand to take up for this week’s case study, and then one of our team members got an idea, let’s take the famous OTT platform Netflix which has managed to entertain a large population in no time.

Today, we are going to discuss the story of a platform that is providing us streaming services, or as we call it video-on-demand available on various platforms- personal computers, iPods, or smartphones. Netflix cut through the competitive clutter and reached out to its targeted audience by curating some interesting  brand communication strategies  over the years.

Let’s get into the success story of Netflix’s Journey.

Netflix was founded on August 29, 1997, in Scotts Valley, California when founders Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings came up with the idea of starting the service of offering online movie rentals. The company began its operations of rental stores with only 30 employees and 925 titles available, which was almost the entire catalog of DVDs in print at the time, through the pay-per-rent model with rates and due dates. Rentals were around $4 plus a $2 postage charge. After significant growth, Netflix decided to switch to a subscriber-based model.

In 2000, Netflix introduced a personalized movie recommendation system. In this system, a user-based rating helps to accurately predict choices for Netflix members. By 2005, the number of Netflix subscribers rose to 4.2 million. On October 1, 2006, Netflix offered a $1,000,000 prize to the first developer of a video-recommendation algorithm that could beat its existing algorithm Cinematch, at predicting customer ratings by more than 10%.

By 2007 the company decided to move away from its original core business model of DVDs by introducing video on demand via the internet. As a part of the internet streaming strategy, they decided to stream their content on Xbox 360, Blu-Ray disc players, and TV set-top boxes. The ventures also partnered with these companies to online streaming their content. With the introduction of the services in Canada in 2010, Netflix also made its services available on the range of Apple products, Nintendo Wii, and other internet-connected devices.

In 2013, Netflix won three Primetime Emmy Awards for its series “House of Cards. By 2014, Netflix made itself available in 6 countries in Europe and won 7 creative Emmy Awards for “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black”. With blooming streaming services, Netflix gathered over 50 million members globally. By 2016, Netflix was accessible worldwide, and the company has continued to create more original content while pressing to grow its membership. From this point, Netflix was unstoppable and today it has a worldwide presence in the video-on-demand industry.

Business Model of Netflix

The platform has advanced to streaming technologies that have elevated and improved Netflix’s overall business structure and revenue. The platform gives viewers the ability to stream and watch a variety of TV shows, movies, and documentaries through its software applications. Since Netflix converted to a streaming platform, it is the world’s seventh-largest Internet company by revenue.

Now, let’s have a look at the business model of Netflix. 1. Netflix’s Key Partners:

• Netflix has built more than 35+ partners across the world. They have partnered with different types of genres for subscribers to select from and enjoy watching.
• Built alliances with Smart TV companies like LG, Sony, Samsung, Xiaomi, and other players in the market.
• Built alliances with Apple, Android, and Microsoft platforms for the purpose of converting business leads from mail-in-system to streaming.
• Built alliances with telecom networks like Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone.

2. Netflix’s Value Proposition:  Netflix aims to provide the best customer experience by deploying valuable propositions. Here is how the online streaming brand strives to do so:

• With a 24*7 streaming service, users can enjoy shows and movies in high-definition quality from anywhere whether they are at home or traveling.
• Users get access to thousands of movies and tv shows and Netflix Original movies or shows.
• New signups can avail of a 30-day free trial and have the option of canceling their subscriptions anytime.
• Receive algorithmic recommendations for new items to watch.
• At Netflix, users have the flexibility to either turn on notifications and suggestions or keep them switched off.
• Netflix’s “user profiles” give leverage for users to personalize their user accounts and preferences. The User profiles allow the “admin-user” to modify, allow or ever restrict certain users.
• Sharing account options is one of the rarest features a movie platform can provide. Sharing accounts feature on Netflix allows spouses, friends, or even groups to share an account with specific filters and preferences already set.

3. Netflix’s Key Activities

• Maintain and continue to expand its platforms on the website, mobile apps
• Curate, develop and acquire licenses for Netflix’s original content and expand its video library.
• Ensure high-quality user recommendations to retain the customer base
• Develop and maintain partnerships with studios, content production houses, and movie production houses.
• Operate according to censorship laws. Netflix always promotes and operates within the boundaries of censorship.

4. Netflix’s Customer Relationships:  Netflix has designed a customer-friendly platform that offers:

• Self-Setup:  Netflix platform was originally designed to ensure that it is simple and easy to use. Developers of the website ensured to associate elements and themes that serve, promote friendliness, and provide self-setup.
• Unbelievable Customer Experience:  Customers can solve their queries by reaching the Netflix team through the website portal, emailing inquiries, and directly reaching the representative on call or live chat.
• Social Media Channels:  Netflix also engages its audience through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. It advertises and offers deals to gain high attraction customers and enhance its customer base.
• Netflix Gift Cards:  Netflix offers its customers special promotional discounts and other gift cards as a part of their subscription plan.

Netflix’s Revenue Model

Netflix gained major popularity when the platform launched online streaming services. Let’s have a look at how the platform earns.

• Subscription-Based Business Model:  Netflix offers monthly subscription fees with three different price options basic, standard, and premium plan. Today, Netflix has over 125 million paid members from over 190 countries and generates $15 billion annually.
• Important partnerships:  Built alliances with a wide range of movie producers, filmmakers, writers, and animators to receive content and legally broadcast the contents required by aligning licenses.
• Internet Service Provider:  One of the most influential tactics implemented was its ability to build alliances with a wide range of movie producers, filmmakers, writers, and animators to receive content and legally broadcast the contents required by aligning licenses.

Netflix was able to establish a well-reputed image worldwide and increased its customer base day by day. When it comes to giving competition, the brand has devised various digital marketing strategies and has gained wide popularity on digital media platforms. With the help of the best digital marketing services, they have kindled the excitement and craze in the people to travel and host.

Digital Marketing Model of Netflix

In less than 4 years, Netflix has gathered a major share of the Indian market. Today a majority of households in India subscribe to Netflix, and that number is expected to rise this year and further in the years to come. The product is designed so well, that you remain engrossed in the content they deliver. They adopted top digital marketing strategies. Consult the best brand activation agencies. Further, let’s talk about a few of the digital marketing principles that Netflix has successfully implemented to gather customers.

1. Personalised Content Marketing:  People love using Netflix because they get a broad range of things to watch. Netflix’s library of TV shows and movies from all over the world is there for consumers to choose from at any time.

The reason that Netflix won the personalization game is that its advanced algorithm continues to rearrange the programs overtime on the basis of your viewing history. Hire some of the best  performance marketing agencies  for personalized content.

2. Website Development:  Netflix has designed its website with a user-friendly interface that allows customers to rate TV shows and movies, which then goes through Netflix’s algorithm to recommend more content they might enjoy. With the onsite optimization for the website, they have optimized each and every page for enhanced customer experience.

To easily get in the minds of customers, they have optimized their website for content by title, by an actor’s name, or even by a director’s name. By leveraging the  best website development services , they added a host of personalization features to their website with clean looks no matter which platform you are using.

3. Email Marketing:  Netflix tapped on email marketing techniques as a part of its digital marketing strategy and as a key component of customer onboarding and nurturing. New Netflix customers receive a series of emails that make content recommendations and encourage new users to explore the platform. Netflix marketers invest hours in building creative email marketing campaigns designed to engage and delight recipients. With the help of the  best email marketing services , they continue to enhance the experience of the customers

4. Search Engine Optimization:  Netflix makes use of search engine optimization services for the sake of improving organic research and establishing its brand presence. The brand aimed at the  best search engine optimization services  to drive traffic organically and adopted both on-page and off-page SEO strategies. They optimized their content with potential keywords that show up high in search results. They also tapped the strategy of International SEO to gain organic leads from the worldwide stage.

5. Social Media Optimization:  Today, social media platforms have become an integral part of digital marketing strategy. If you want to connect with your audience in real time, then it is the best platform to establish your brand image. As social media plays a vital role in the lives of people, Netflix decided to leverage the  best social media optimization services  that made them earn billions. They made use of the following platforms:

Through  creative social media optimization strategies,  Netflix has garnered more than 61 million Facebook followers. In just one year, the brand added 11 million followers to its account. Netflix posts nearly 90% of videos and the rests images. Videos featured on Netflix’s

Facebook pages are typically clips from interviews with the actors from the upcoming movies, clips from the upcoming movies and TV shows, offering audiences a sneak peek into what’s in store for them. Besides videos, the OTT platforms share images, GIFs, funny memes, and simple text posts featuring questions about current movies and TV shows.

Netflix carries 19 million followers. The majority of Netflix’s posts on Instagram are images, post scenes from TV shows featuring engaging captions to get a conversation going, and behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with actors. A recent video featured a behind-the-scenes bloopers video from the set of Stranger Things, which garnered 1.2 million views and almost 3,000 comments. Netflix uses a simple approach to posting, with most posts not featuring any hashtags at all.

Netflix carries 6.8 million followers on Twitter and has tweeted over 30,000 times. Netflix is renowned for its witty replies and comebacks on Twitter, and the brand tweets an average of 14 times a day. This shows just how important engagement is for the brand and how much it values brand awareness. These are the digital marketing techniques that the famous OTT platform adopted from time to time to the subscribers’ engagement and retention. Hence it has yielded high returns for their business.

Campaigns of Netflix

1. Netflix: The Spoiler Billboard:  Netflix’s new campaign uses spoilers of its most popular shows, including Stranger Things, Money Heist and Narcos, to promote social distancing amid the COVID-19 crisis, and while the effort is getting a lot of buzzes, it’s a fake.

2. FU2016:  To launch season four of the political drama House of Cards, Netflix worked with BBH New York and built a fake presidential campaign around the show’s lead character Frank Underwood. The campaign became the top trending topic on Facebook and Twitter during the debate, and it won a Grand Prix in the Integrated category at Cannes in 2016.

3. The Censor’s Cut:  The streaming company wanted to advertise Narcos Mexico in Thailand. Netflix worked with JWT Bangkok and cut around the offending images within each scene, leaving a clear enough outline that anyone could still identify what had been removed. The campaign achieved the opposite effect of what censorship is supposed to do by reaching 34 million people.

Conclusion Netflix is a rare example of a company doing everything right. From its branding and content right down to its business model and product, the company has always excelled at making smart, strategic decisions. With its large market share and focus on numbers, Netflix has managed to develop a deep understanding of its audience that very few others have. With this knowledge, paired with a strong, affordable product, there’s no limit to what this brand can do in the future.

Reach out to  Digital Marketing Agency for the best marketing strategies among different marketing platforms.

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“house of cards,” netflix, and big data ambivalence.

Netflix seems to know what I like… and I have mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, the ubiquitous streaming service informed me, a few weeks ago, that a hot-out-of-the-oven season of House of Cards, one of my favorites, was available for viewing. I still recall my Pavlovian gratitude when the nav bar “dinged” with the notification. A reliable Netflix recommendation cuts down considerably on search time.

But nearly as often Netflix gets it wrong. For instance, while I did check out a music documentary called History of the Eagles —I wanted to see if Glen Frey came off as badly in the documentary as I had remembered—that didn’t mean I wanted to watch a doc called The ’85 Bears (no offense, Coach Ditka!). This recommendation was so wrong it was actually funny: “You must be interested in documentaries set in the recent past with the names of animals in the title.”

When Netflix makes comically incorrect assumptions about my viewing habits, I think: (1) the Netflix algorithm is far from perfect; and (2) it’s a relief to know that neither Netflix, nor I, know exactly what I want to see until I see it. This uncertainty is what makes the search for compelling content—on Netflix, in a bookstore, or anywhere else—fun. There’s also something repulsive about a machine knowing too much about our aesthetic preferences. Netflix has clearly not reached the point where it uses customer data to make inappropriate suggestions based on our viewing habits . The imperfection of many of the recommendations makes Netflix feel weirdly human (or at least, non-robotic). As author John C. Havens recently said, “For the time being, we can still see Oz behind the curtain—at least some of the time.”

As someone who works for a company that does human-centered design, the human-feeling thing is a big deal to me. What I like so much about House of Cards is that it illustrates what life might actually feel like for Washington power players. But when I scroll back to the creation story of the Kevin Spacey series… I feel, again, ambivalence. Listen to how the late great David Carr wrote, in 2013, about how Netflix had data mined its way to House of Cards:

Executives at the company knew it would be a hit before anyone shouted ‘action.’ Netflix, which has 27 million subscribers in the nation and 33 million worldwide, ran the numbers. It already knew that a healthy share had streamed the work of Mr. Fincher, the director of The Social Network, from beginning to end. And films featuring Mr. Spacey had always done well, as had the British version of House of Cards. With those three circles of interest, Netflix was able to find a Venn diagram intersection that suggested that buying the series would be a very good bet on original programming.

The idea of art being so specifically informed by big data gave me a chill. Was there something, I don’t know, manipulative, about using this kind of calculation in producing House of Cards? It seemed to me, at least at the time, somehow unfair that they knew it would be a hit before anyone shouted, “action”!

But now I’m thinking that maybe this was just my humanistic bias. It seems heretical to think of databases as a way to create art…but if we looked at data as simply another artistic tool, we might feel differently about it. (We must also note that data informed only the creative parameters of the show. The real magic is in what Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, David Fincher, and Co. contributed.) I recall the great Vladimir Nabokov once asking: “Does there not exist a high ridge where the mountainside of ‘scientific’ information joins the opposite slope of ‘artistic’ imagination?” I think, in a weird way, that Netflix might be the magic mountain of which Nabokov spoke.

Vladimir Nabokov once asked: “Does there not exist a high ridge where the mountainside of ‘scientific’ information joins the opposite slope of ‘artistic’ imagination?” I think, in a weird way, that Netflix might be that magic mountain.

Having finished watching season four of House of Cards, one notices that the show is quite aware of the dangers of data and customer manipulation. Without revealing any spoilers, I can say that the idea of collecting user data for extreme targeting is something the producers of House of Cards clearly understand. The show suggests that Pollyhop has so much data at their fingertips that they can significantly sway the outcome of an election.

Scary? Yes. And not just for its political implications. The Pollyhop plot seems to be House of Cards’s way of warning the audience about the dangers of making data acquisition and analysis perfect and invisible. It may well be that they’re expressing their own ambivalence toward it. Clearly someone at Netflix understands the moral dilemma, or that there is at least something potentially dangerous about all this useful data. This is something all businesses must attend to as we move toward digital transformation.

Think about how the use of big data might affect your employees and your customers. Not just by how much you’ll profit from it, but by how it might wind up crashing into their lives, for good or ill. It’s clear that big data is a power tool that companies are still learning how to handle. Now is the time to imagine how big data will affect not just the bottom line but humanity as well. And if the responsibility that this carries creates a sense of ambivalence in you, don’t worry—that reaction is perfectly human.

Image by MEDIODESOCIDO / CC/by-sa/2.0

About the Author

Ken makes EPAM Continuum’s work visible to the necessary people. He creates superlative content, works with colleagues to do the same, and employs social networks to share it widely.

A card-carrying humanist, Ken co-founded QuickMuse, the improvisational writing website, and JEDLAB, the Jewish education community. He has written for TheAtlantic.com , the New York Times , and many other pubs.

Ken has an English degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MA in English from the State University of New York at Albany. He framed both diplomas long ago, but can’t seem to find them now—a fact he considers all-too-human.

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Mrc's house of cards description.

In March 2011, Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, co-chairmen and co-chief executive officers at independent production company Media Rights Capital (MRC), are debating whether to accept a licensing offer from Netflix for their most ambitious project to date, a new television series called House of Cards. MRC executives had begun to pitch the series to each of the major premium cable networks in the US, including AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, and Starz. To the surprise of the two entrepreneurs, Netflix executives had made it known they were prepared to make a bold step into the world of original programming. As thrilled as Satchu and Wiczyk were about Netflix's offer, accepting it-and thus forgoing a sought-after one-season offer from a traditional premium cable network-raised major concerns, for instance about MRC's ability to secure international rights fees, to obtain sufficient marketing support, to gain the necessary credibility in the marketplace, and to satisfy artists and other key constituents. Was Netflix the right partner for MRC?

Case Description MRC's House of Cards

Strategic managment tools used in case study analysis of mrc's house of cards, step 1. problem identification in mrc's house of cards case study, step 2. external environment analysis - pestel / pest / step analysis of mrc's house of cards case study, step 3. industry specific / porter five forces analysis of mrc's house of cards case study, step 4. evaluating alternatives / swot analysis of mrc's house of cards case study, step 5. porter value chain analysis / vrio / vrin analysis mrc's house of cards case study, step 6. recommendations mrc's house of cards case study, step 7. basis of recommendations for mrc's house of cards case study, quality & on time delivery.

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Case Analysis of MRC's House of Cards

MRC's House of Cards is a Harvard Business (HBR) Case Study on Sales & Marketing , Texas Business School provides HBR case study assignment help for just $9. Texas Business School(TBS) case study solution is based on HBR Case Study Method framework, TBS expertise & global insights. MRC's House of Cards is designed and drafted in a manner to allow the HBR case study reader to analyze a real-world problem by putting reader into the position of the decision maker. MRC's House of Cards case study will help professionals, MBA, EMBA, and leaders to develop a broad and clear understanding of casecategory challenges. MRC's House of Cards will also provide insight into areas such as – wordlist , strategy, leadership, sales and marketing, and negotiations.

Case Study Solutions Background Work

MRC's House of Cards case study solution is focused on solving the strategic and operational challenges the protagonist of the case is facing. The challenges involve – evaluation of strategic options, key role of Sales & Marketing, leadership qualities of the protagonist, and dynamics of the external environment. The challenge in front of the protagonist, of MRC's House of Cards, is to not only build a competitive position of the organization but also to sustain it over a period of time.

Strategic Management Tools Used in Case Study Solution

The MRC's House of Cards case study solution requires the MBA, EMBA, executive, professional to have a deep understanding of various strategic management tools such as SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

Texas Business School Approach to Sales & Marketing Solutions

In the Texas Business School, MRC's House of Cards case study solution – following strategic tools are used - SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis. We have additionally used the concept of supply chain management and leadership framework to build a comprehensive case study solution for the case – MRC's House of Cards

Step 1 – Problem Identification of MRC's House of Cards - Harvard Business School Case Study

The first step to solve HBR MRC's House of Cards case study solution is to identify the problem present in the case. The problem statement of the case is provided in the beginning of the case where the protagonist is contemplating various options in the face of numerous challenges that Mrc Netflix is facing right now. Even though the problem statement is essentially – “Sales & Marketing” challenge but it has impacted by others factors such as communication in the organization, uncertainty in the external environment, leadership in Mrc Netflix, style of leadership and organization structure, marketing and sales, organizational behavior, strategy, internal politics, stakeholders priorities and more.

Step 2 – External Environment Analysis

Texas Business School approach of case study analysis – Conclusion, Reasons, Evidences - provides a framework to analyze every HBR case study. It requires conducting robust external environmental analysis to decipher evidences for the reasons presented in the MRC's House of Cards. The external environment analysis of MRC's House of Cards will ensure that we are keeping a tab on the macro-environment factors that are directly and indirectly impacting the business of the firm.

What is PESTEL Analysis? Briefly Explained

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in MRC's House of Cards case study. PESTEL analysis of " MRC's House of Cards" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

How to do PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis? What are the components of PESTEL Analysis?

As mentioned above PESTEL Analysis has six elements – political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. All the six elements are explained in context with MRC's House of Cards macro-environment and how it impacts the businesses of the firm.

How to do PESTEL Analysis for MRC's House of Cards

To do comprehensive PESTEL analysis of case study – MRC's House of Cards , we have researched numerous components under the six factors of PESTEL analysis.

Political Factors that Impact MRC's House of Cards

Political factors impact seven key decision making areas – economic environment, socio-cultural environment, rate of innovation & investment in research & development, environmental laws, legal requirements, and acceptance of new technologies.

Government policies have significant impact on the business environment of any country. The firm in “ MRC's House of Cards ” needs to navigate these policy decisions to create either an edge for itself or reduce the negative impact of the policy as far as possible.

Data safety laws – The countries in which Mrc Netflix is operating, firms are required to store customer data within the premises of the country. Mrc Netflix needs to restructure its IT policies to accommodate these changes. In the EU countries, firms are required to make special provision for privacy issues and other laws.

Competition Regulations – Numerous countries have strong competition laws both regarding the monopoly conditions and day to day fair business practices. MRC's House of Cards has numerous instances where the competition regulations aspects can be scrutinized.

Import restrictions on products – Before entering the new market, Mrc Netflix in case study MRC's House of Cards" should look into the import restrictions that may be present in the prospective market.

Export restrictions on products – Apart from direct product export restrictions in field of technology and agriculture, a number of countries also have capital controls. Mrc Netflix in case study “ MRC's House of Cards ” should look into these export restrictions policies.

Foreign Direct Investment Policies – Government policies favors local companies over international policies, Mrc Netflix in case study “ MRC's House of Cards ” should understand in minute details regarding the Foreign Direct Investment policies of the prospective market.

Corporate Taxes – The rate of taxes is often used by governments to lure foreign direct investments or increase domestic investment in a certain sector. Corporate taxation can be divided into two categories – taxes on profits and taxes on operations. Taxes on profits number is important for companies that already have a sustainable business model, while taxes on operations is far more significant for companies that are looking to set up new plants or operations.

Tariffs – Chekout how much tariffs the firm needs to pay in the “ MRC's House of Cards ” case study. The level of tariffs will determine the viability of the business model that the firm is contemplating. If the tariffs are high then it will be extremely difficult to compete with the local competitors. But if the tariffs are between 5-10% then Mrc Netflix can compete against other competitors.

Research and Development Subsidies and Policies – Governments often provide tax breaks and other incentives for companies to innovate in various sectors of priority. Managers at MRC's House of Cards case study have to assess whether their business can benefit from such government assistance and subsidies.

Consumer protection – Different countries have different consumer protection laws. Managers need to clarify not only the consumer protection laws in advance but also legal implications if the firm fails to meet any of them.

Political System and Its Implications – Different political systems have different approach to free market and entrepreneurship. Managers need to assess these factors even before entering the market.

Freedom of Press is critical for fair trade and transparency. Countries where freedom of press is not prevalent there are high chances of both political and commercial corruption.

Corruption level – Mrc Netflix needs to assess the level of corruptions both at the official level and at the market level, even before entering a new market. To tackle the menace of corruption – a firm should have a clear SOP that provides managers at each level what to do when they encounter instances of either systematic corruption or bureaucrats looking to take bribes from the firm.

Independence of judiciary – It is critical for fair business practices. If a country doesn’t have independent judiciary then there is no point entry into such a country for business.

Government attitude towards trade unions – Different political systems and government have different attitude towards trade unions and collective bargaining. The firm needs to assess – its comfort dealing with the unions and regulations regarding unions in a given market or industry. If both are on the same page then it makes sense to enter, otherwise it doesn’t.

Economic Factors that Impact MRC's House of Cards

Social factors that impact mrc's house of cards, technological factors that impact mrc's house of cards, environmental factors that impact mrc's house of cards, legal factors that impact mrc's house of cards, step 3 – industry specific analysis, what is porter five forces analysis, step 4 – swot analysis / internal environment analysis, step 5 – porter value chain / vrio / vrin analysis, step 6 – evaluating alternatives & recommendations, step 7 – basis for recommendations, references :: mrc's house of cards case study solution.

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Wooden round table

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Hurley Dry-Fit Chino Short. Men's chino short. Outseam Length: 19 Dri-FIT Technology helps keep you dry and comfortable. Made with sweat-wicking fabric. Fitted waist with belt loops. Button waist with zip fly provides a classic look and feel .