There are times when you can increase your return if you reward specific sets of consumers, not the entire consumer base, every time.  Segmented offers can present special pricing, extra loyalty points or rewards to a targeted set of consumer that fall within a particular segment. Have a specific geography that is full of rabid sports fans? Using these segmented offers create discounting that gives only that set of consumers the chance to access a particular sporting event.  Everyone likes discounted pricing on their next movie, but adding extra incentive to that targeted segment of subscribers that you want to entice to buy more can lead to a boost of revenue.

Lastly, set recurring promotions to create a sense of anticipation for consumers. Each Tuesday new movies are released and, because of their brand loyalty, consumers know that they can receive a 10% discount on a sub-set of those new releases because you, as the provider, have created that recurring promotion on a fixed schedule. Even this simple discount provides an incentive for your subscribers to return to you as their source for new releases as soon as they come out, creating that stickiness we all value.

Create Impulse-Buy Opportunities

Rewarding loyalty can lead to a more stable customer base and more predictable revenue over time, opening the doors to become even more creative with merchandising. At some point we all learned about economics and its fundamental principle: supply and demand. Creating scarcity in merchandising creates a sense of urgency for your consumer. After building that brand equity through rewards and segmented offers, that consumer will not want to miss out on the latest promotions.

Flash sales offer a limited time discount that can be based on a time period (through noon today) or number of purchasers (for the first 100 customers only). This tactic not only plays upon the urgency of a deadline, but also makes subscribers feel like part of an exclusive group that received something special - powerful motivating factors in buying decisions.

Consumers also like to see more of what they like; for example, if a consumer purchases a single movie title, "Iron Man" – present that consumer with an up-sell of the Marvel bundle that includes "Iron Man" and other Marvel movies.  Or, a cross-sell of a “recommended for you” set of products or services based on what the consumer is currently browsing, or has purchased in the past.

Lastly, all of our lives are constantly in motion, and we are never without our devices, which can enable impulse content purchases on the go.  So tie a promotion to the purchase and/or activation of a specific device.  If a subscriber purchases a Roku box and authenticates through their AVOD account using that box, a device bundling strategy can be set in motion to offer a gift card or voucher for content purchase or rental on that Roku box.

Think of your merchandising platforms as an endless canvas of possibilities where you can experiment with different forms of loyalty rewards, incentives, and tactics to turn consumers into subscribers.  The trick is to enable quick experiments, to move with changing market demands and consumer preferences.  DSPs today offer something the new entrants to the digital content space do not: a trusted long-term relationship. Coupling that trust and brand equity with this powerful merchandising strategy, positions DSPs to achieve the competitive differentiation required to stand out among the crowd and build an engaged and profitable subscriber base.