Money Likes Me Too - Chapter 75



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Episode 75.

Netflix’s Andy Hastings felt the need to completely revise its Korean market strategy.

‘Did I take it too lightly?’

In 2015, when we left the North American market, we developed a two-track marketing strategy. One was Europe, the other was Japan. We considered the other markets as side markets.

It was the same in Korea.

After taking over the Japanese cultural content market, which is ranked first and second in the world, Netflix naively thought that it would automatically take over the Korean market as well.

But it wasn’t.

Even after half a year since its launch, it has not even managed to secure 50,000 paid members. It is not just a poor performance. It is a poor performance.

There are several reasons.

The territoriality of existing IPTV operators, the absence of localized content, and a customer environment where illegal downloading is still rampant, but that’s not all.

This is a problem I wouldn’t have encountered if I hadn’t thought of it as easy from the beginning.

The door opened.

“Andy.”

“Okay, tell me.”

“Google’s Chief Services Officer Alan Davis has requested an interview. If you’d like, Alan will call you.”

“okay.”

I heard that Google is also keeping an eye on Korea. Among them, Alan Davis is a leading expert on Korea. It was a good thing.

I got a phone call.

“Alan, it’s been a while.”

– Andy, how are you?

Ceremonial greetings followed.

– You said you were going to Korea?

The two companies are like neighbors in Silicon Valley. Because of the nature of the IT industry, members have close networks, so news like this comes quickly.

Andy Hastings stuck out his tongue and replied.

“How did you know?”

But Alan Davis did not answer and just spoke.

– We’re also planning to go to Korea. Come with us.

“yes?”

– It’s no use pretending not to know. You promised to meet with the CEO of Cocoa Labs after the press conference, right? I mean, let’s meet together.

How did you know that? Are you eavesdropping or something? Andy’s eyes narrowed. As if reading her thoughts, Alan smiled.

– That’s not it, Andy.

Then he came clean. There was no reason to hide it.

– The Korean market is not a place that Andy has his eyes on. It is a Northeast Asian emerging market that is telling Japan to go away. YouTube and Netflix are competitors in terms of DAU (daily active users) and retention (app reuse rate), but that is not the place to talk about it now. I don’t want to start a fistfight when we meet.

“What do you want to say?”

– I’ll send you a link. Take a look and then we’ll talk.

After a while,

Tiring, an email arrived with a beep. It was Google Mail.

‘Cocoa ding dong?’

It’s an app that’s not on the North American store. I sent him the APK. He skillfully called up the Korean Android Studio virtual device that he had used to test the Netflix app several times.

Turned on the installed app.

I was surprised from the first screen. It was because a woman who was immersed in a sexy dance appeared. I swallowed my saliva.

The screen flashed telling me to scroll.

I flipped through the screens without realizing it. This time, the Ice Bucket Challenge appeared. Next was the Frank (surprise) video, which is also popular in the US. I did it just once, just once, and five minutes passed by as if I was possessed.

‘What the heck is this······.’

It was a style of SNS that he had never seen before. He couldn’t define it. However, his intuition was telling him this. This will be popular. It will definitely be popular.

– Andy? Andy?

The phone rang.

“Oh, I forgot the phone was connected.”

Alan’s voice once again drew his attention to his awkward speech.

– Are you done with it?

“I think so.”

– You know what’s even more amazing? They deliberately avoided going head-to-head with YouTube and Netflix, and instead, they developed a killer app that would steal our users’ time in an instant.

Andy nodded, even though the interpretation seemed excessive. Clearly, this would be a strong contender.

– What do you think? Still don’t understand why I’m going to Korea?

I thought I knew.

“great.”

Andy Hastings was the first to react positively.

“Let’s coordinate our schedules together. I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to meet up and get some advice on the Korean market and talk about various things.”

– Don’t do that. Let’s go together.

“Together?”

– Yes, let’s go on Google’s private plane. I’ll lend it to you.

Alan was an extreme sports fanatic who had a pilot’s license. Andy shook his head. No matter what, he didn’t want to fly a plane driven by his friend.

“Let’s think about it little by little.”

* * *

The date has been set.

“······The media day is set for June 30th. We’ve arranged to have a meeting, including lunch, with Google’s CSO Alan Davis on July 1st.”

Chairman Han Jang-soo finished speaking as he entered the chairman’s office.

“thank you.”

“But.”

“yes.”

“Don’t you need a board of directors office? It seems like I have to come up and report every time······.”

I shortened my speech.

“Is this okay? If it’s urgent, Manager Lim is here with us.”

“······.”

“Why? Is it because it’s annoying?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then let’s keep it this way for a while. If you find me as the chairman of the board uncomfortable, think of me as the largest shareholder. Isn’t it natural for the CEO to report to the largest shareholder?”

He closed his mouth at my answer. His dissatisfaction was evident.

‘Why don’t you spend money here when you spend so much money elsewhere?’ was the expression on his face.

That’s a misunderstanding.

It’s not about saving money. It’s just better to have one representative report. It’s also about venting my frustration at not being able to spend money on decorating the office. I laughed to myself.

“Dingdong, that’s right.”

He opened his mouth.

“The number of downloads has already exceeded 1 million. It is time to gradually prepare a global version. It will definitely be a hit overseas as well.”

The tables were turned. This time, I cried and he laughed. As expected from someone who has been through all kinds of hardships in front of me.

You hit my weak spot exactly.

I don’t know if you did it knowingly or not.

He smiled broadly at me as he told me that the Dingdong Project had already grown too large for TF to handle alone and that he had created a new business division with the goal of spinning it off. His smile tickled my competitive spirit.

There is still a chance.

‘You can make up for it globally.’

The Korean market is at most 40 million, but the global market is at least 50 times that size.

There is a chance of winning.

Netflix was the same. Even though it became the best OTT in North America, it did not give up and kept trying. The simultaneous entry into 130 countries is an example of this. As a result, it ultimately experienced failure in Korea.

Dingdong must go that way too.

There are still many opportunities left. Opportunities to fail. It’s not over until it’s over. You’re not alone. We just have to follow the path that Netflix has taken.

“North America and Japan.”

“yes?”

“Let’s also go with a two-track approach. We will work with Cocoa Global to divide the market into two, North America and Japan. The sooner the better.”

Netflix also rushed into the market.

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“And, you should never adopt a localization strategy.”

“Then how······.”

“Do you know about Pum-A-T-I and Dure?”

“Yes, I know.”

A representative answered in a trembling voice.

“The unique sentiments of our country, which are embedded in the DNA of Koreans, met with the ‘pattern algorithm’ that encourages close bonds between users, and created a unique trend called the ‘Ding Dong Challenge’ that forces competition and collaboration. However, North American and Japanese cultures are different from Korea’s. They value individuality much more than we do.”

‘What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?’

Even though he couldn’t say it with his mouth, his eyes definitely said it.

“If that’s what you’re saying, shouldn’t we localize it instead?”

“No, that’s not true.”

I said it bluntly.

“There is no need to adapt to local sensibilities. The most Korean is the most global. Don’t you know this saying? People adapt to Dingdong’s sensibilities. That’s the only way to succeed.”

Only then can you fail.

“Dingdong is going to be the same model as before. Do you understand?”

But I hid my true feelings. I couldn’t say that. A representative nodded to my firm words. Dingdong will follow Netflix’s example.

Only then did I feel relieved.

The door opened. Song Yu-hwa appeared.

“Mr. Song?”

“I called. Mr. Song, please take a seat too.”

Song Yu-hwa sat down. She was holding a thick document in her hand. It was the information I had asked her to give me.

Naturally, the topic changed from Dingdong to Netflix.

“Mr. Chairman, these are the plans you requested.”

“Okay, let’s take a look.”

It has been a while since Netflix attempted to sign agreements with content producers and mobile carriers to provide original content as it prepared to enter the Korean market.

All of this was in vain due to the excessive requirements of a ratio of 8:2 and free use of IDC.

But I thought differently.

‘The conditions are too good. Let’s lower them even further.’

I proactively proposed a 9:1 ratio contract. It was my order. Of course, 1 is us.

Thanks to this, the agreement was concluded smoothly.

Instead, there was a clause that the ratio conditions would be changed to 5:5 for any additional net profits that were made if the net profit exceeded $100 million. I had no choice but to accept it.

But that’s okay. I wasn’t planning on giving away a work that would make more than $100 million anyway.

“I’ve picked out a few of the ones that came in.”

Song Yu-hwa said.

Several works passed by.

There was nothing I liked. It seemed like they had only picked out the good ones. It seemed like they would all be successful.

‘I feel sorry for Netflix, though.’

My nose is three inches long.

Eventually, the documents that were as high as a mountain gradually fell to the floor. Song Yu-hwa handed me the documents in a reluctant voice. It was the last.

“I don’t really recommend this one, but it’s .”

“The title itself is like that.”

One representative clicked his tongue. Isn’t this a bit tempting?

“Still, it is the work of writer Yang Eun-soo, who has written several great works such as and .”

“Oh, really?”

“But since it is a military drama and has a lot of war scenes, the pre-production cost is too high. It’s not for nothing that all the broadcasting companies rejected it.”

“So what’s the conclusion?”

“The writer said he would understand if we could just upload it to Netflix. But we also feel the burden is too much······.”

She looked back and forth between me and the representative.

‘This is it.’

If it costs a lot of money to produce and even fails, that would be perfect. Representative Han spoke first.

“If it’s writer Yang, isn’t it a star writer?”

“Yes, that’s true. But there’s no merit to it, because Netflix wants 100% pre-production. It’s a loss for us.”

“The former would be better.”

“I think so too. What do you think, Chairman?”

I made a decision.

“Let’s go with .”

I continued talking, not paying attention to the changed expressions on their faces.

“Is there anything more to say about the work of writer Yang Eun-soo? This is clear. Isn’t Netflix a global platform? There is also a saying that the most Korean thing is the most global thing. I decided on this drama.”

I was drawn to it because I thought it was a work that wouldn’t even make 10,000 dollars, let alone 100 million dollars.

“No, Mr. Chairman.”

A representative started it up.

“If it were just us, it wouldn’t be a problem, but this is a drama that we’re going to make in collaboration with Netflix. Shouldn’t we be more careful about this? I don’t think it’s something that needs to be decided right now.”

“I think so too. If you like , I’ll pick one or two more dramas and discuss them with Netflix.”

Okay, I can compromise on that much.

“I’ll leave that part up to you two. But you absolutely must not miss .”

They both sighed.

I had my own calculations. I just had to convince Andy Hastings anyway. In the end, the first Netflix original was pretty much a done deal.

Now all you have to do is wait.

‘What kind of failure know-how can I learn this time?’

My heart was pounding.

* * *

July 1, 2016.

[ ‘Netflix founder’ Andy Hastings visits Korea, holds press conference and media day. ······ Promises to ‘secure many original contents in the future’ ]

The previous day’s media day ended successfully.

This was the promise he made.

First, Netflix has pledged to adopt the same strategy in Korea, where it has increased the percentage of locally produced content to 40% in the Japanese market alone.

“As expected of Andy.”

First came Alan Davis, who was sitting in my office, watching the news on TV.

“That’s one of the nine Netflix values ​​he talked about. ‘Courage,’ the driving force that allows you to make difficult decisions quickly.”

“You know Mr. Gangdo.”

“Andy’s book is famous in Korea too. It’s a book that every manager should read.”

It was a good book, but it had its drawbacks.

It was a shame that there was so much talk about success, but not a single word about how to fail.

“You said you prepared a gift?”

“yes.”

Original content created through collaboration between Netflix and Coco I&M, that was my gift. Song Yu-hwa was waiting next to me to explain. It was reassuring.

“Coming up soon.”

Just then, word came that Andy had arrived in front of the building.

Song Yu-hwa, who was listening to their conversation, was shocked.

‘What? A gift?’

He told me to decide on all three candidates except for , but in the end, Kang Si-hyeon decided on all three candidates.

It was a decision I made after coming to the Coco I&M office.

The scenario I was given was scratching the surface.

In the end, the lineup is packed with content, from the alternate history zombie film to the KBO baseball drama , with alone being enough.

‘We’re completely screwed.’

The future of Netflix and Cocoa was almost a done deal.

A doomed future.

The last hope was Andy Hastings. Everything depended on his decision.

‘Please, just pick one. Not all three. Please.’

Song Yu-hwa prayed in her heart.

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