hbo max brand strategy
In Fall 2021, a strategic project was launched to imagine how HBO Max could better position its portfolio of brands on-platform and prepare for scale as more brands came to platform. This initiative was intended to guide stakeholder strategy/roadmap, spark conversation, and lead to resource allocation for further design and implementation.
role
Co-designer with Madeline Courtney and Hakha Mashayekhi
deliverables
Initial round of conceptual designs for feedback + single top concept for testing
kpis
Improved browsing experience + user retention
foundational research
The existing experience offered little contextualization for brands and created dead ends for users exploring brands by offering no connection from one brand to another.
Brands as identity
Users equated fandom of certain brands with identity. Users who engaged with brands also had longer LTV.
Genre/content type
Users used genre as the primary method for browsing. Brands had value and could even be viewed as a genre of their own.
Brand confusion
Users had inconsistent familiarity with different brands and viewed tapping into an unfamiliar brand as high effort.
concepts
We identified the need to contextualize brands within the experience in order for users to more quickly identify brands of interest. Once introduced to a brand they like, we could relate that brand to others as a way of broadening fandom.
channel surfing
A full lean-back experience for users to browse brands without picking titles, introducing brand identity through a traditional linear playback experience with serendipitous brand discovery.
brand spectrum
An expansion of the existing model, segmenting brands into smaller, more understandable brand/genre hybrids as a way to improve recognizability and nest them under genres.
traditional browse
An expansion of the existing model, relating brands to one another through “contextual footers” and nesting brands within existing genre pages for improved discovery.
refinement
The team internally aligned on the traditional browse model for showcasing brands, as it was the most incremental shift from the production experience.
homepage personalization
The D0 experience introduces users to HBO Max’s tentpole brands, before shifting into a more personalized experience by D30, as the user provides playback signal.
brands within genre
Brands representative of a given genre could be introduced towards the top of a genre page, using brands a stand-in for sub-genres.
branded theme tray
An immersive micro-storefront component was conceptualized to introduce key brands within genre pages without requiring tap-through.
contextual footer
A footer component was created to introduce brands that don’t neatly fit into a given genre. This footer could scale across both genre and brand pages and serve as a way to reduce dead-ends.
research and next steps
We conducted additional research with 8 US-based participants to validate some of the key features and understand if the presentation of brands resonated.
User feedback
Users responded favorably to seeing brands within genre and to visual presentations of brand that helped them preview content as a way of understanding the brand.
However, brands were still considered a secondary consideration to genre and content type so guidance was to not over-index on brand on-platform.
Next steps
At the time that I left HBO Max, these designs were being further iterated upon in preparation for being prioritized for product roadmap.