The ultimate guide to CDPs for media & entertainment
Learn everything there is to know about CDPs in media & entertainment, including global trends, key insights, use cases, how leading media & entertainment companies are leveraging personalization, and a framework for evaluating CDP vendors.
Trusted by leading media & entertainment companies
Why are media & entertainment companies adopting CDPs?
Media and entertainment is an incredibly saturated market. You’re not just competing against your competitors; you’re competing for attention. Customers have endless choices for content, platforms, and experiences.
The key to maximizing customer lifetime value and increasing customer retention is delivering relevant and consistent experiences that anticipate customer preferences. And the best way to differentiate is to curate personalized experiences that keep your audience loyal and active.
Industry leaders in media & entertainment differentiate themselves with personalization
Netflix personalizes recommendations for 80% of all hours streamed through the platform
Spotify analyzes data from over 600M users to deliver a personalized “year-in-review” each year to every user
YouTube generated over $30 billion from targeted advertising
media & entertainment use cases
Acquisition campaigns
Drive new subscription sign-ups by using behavioral and interest data to target potential users and lookalike audiences with offers like free trials or exclusive content, expanding your subscriber base.
Suppression campaigns
Reduce wasted ad spend by suppressing active subscribers from acquisition campaigns using CRM data, reallocating budget toward lapsed or new users to maximize efficiency and ROAS.
Retargeting campaigns
Re-engage users who signed up for a trial but didn’t convert by serving reminders and incentives, recovering lost opportunities and increasing subscription conversions.
Cross-sell campaigns
Promote premium add-ons or services by using viewing behavior to upsell features like ad-free experiences, family plans, or content bundles, increasing ARPU.
Conversion APIs
Share online and offline conversion data with ad platforms, enabling algorithms to better identify and target users with a higher likelihood of converting to improve campaign performance.
Media networks
Monetize anonymized audience insights by creating targeted segments for advertising partnerships with entertainment brands, generating incremental revenue through premium data sales.
Upsell & cross-sell campaigns
Recommend premium content upgrades like ad-free plans, live sports, or family bundles to increase LTV.
Churn prevention campaigns
Identify and re-engage subscribers who haven’t streamed recently by offering personalized content recommendations.
Reactivation campaigns
Use exclusive discounts or content previews to win back former subscribers and boost revenue.
Seasonal content campaigns
Promote themed collections like holiday movies or seasonal blockbusters to increase engagement.
Loyalty campaigns
Reward long-term subscribers with early access to new shows, exclusive content, or discounts on premium plans.
Milestone celebrations
Reward users for completing series or reaching engagement milestones to boost retention.
Dynamic home page content
Display trending shows, top picks, and personalized recommendations to increase engagement and drive more streaming hours.
Dynamic app experiences
Simplify content discovery by prominently featuring favorite genres, personalized playlists, and unfinished episodes to improve retention and usability.
Dynamic search results
Tailor search results based on user preferences, highlighting new releases in frequently watched genres to increase search-to-view conversion rates.
Recommended playlists
Use viewing history to curate personalized playlists or recommend similar content, encouraging longer streaming sessions and deeper engagement.
Next best action
Suggest enabling offline downloads, joining watch parties, or setting up parental controls to drive feature adoption and improve user experience.
Proactive reminders
Re-engage users by sending alerts about unwatched episodes, expiring downloads, or upcoming releases to build excitement and boost retention.
Milestone celebrations
Recognize engagement milestones such as total hours streamed or number of completed shows to strengthen emotional connections and encourage continued usage.
Live viewing party suggestions
Promote shared experiences by recommending live viewing parties for major events like sports finals or series premieres to create community-driven engagement.
Local content recommendations
Highlight regionally relevant programming or special events based on the user’s location to drive engagement through culturally relevant content.
What media & entertainment companies should consider when evaluating a CDP
90%5 of marketers say their traditional CDP does not do what they need, so why do they keep buying them?
| Category | Traditional CDP | Composable CDP |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Operates as a separate entity, removed from your company’s data | Integrates directly within your company’s data infrastructure |
| Security & data storage | Data is stored and maintained in the CDP’s data infrastructure | Data is stored and maintained in your existing data infrastructure |
| Data access | Supports user and event data | Supports both online and offline data |
| Data modeling | Uses predefined models that may not fully capture content consumption patterns or platform engagement | Supports tailored models to handle viewer histories, subscription tiers, and viewing preferences |
| Audience management | Supports broad segmentation but struggles with categories like binge-watch behaviors or genre preferences | Enables granular segmentation using viewer habits, engagement metrics, and subscription types |
| Customer journey customization | Provides standard templates for campaigns like trial conversions or new content announcements | Powers fully adaptable journeys for events like subscription renewals, cross-platform engagement, and churn prevention |
| Identity resolution | Relies on out-of-the-box algorithms that may not unify profiles across streaming platforms and subscription services | Supports custom algorithms to unify customer profiles from streaming subscriptions and multi-device usage |
| Pricing | Bundled pricing: dependent on monthly tracked users (MTUs) & feature add-ons | Unbundled: individually priced features with no MTU billing |
| Average implementation time | 6-12 months | 1-4 months |
- ArchitectureIntegrates directly within your company’s data infrastructure
- Security & data storageData is stored and maintained in your existing data infrastructure
- Data accessSupports both online and offline data
- Data modelingSupports tailored models to handle viewer histories, subscription tiers, and viewing preferences
- Audience managementEnables granular segmentation using viewer habits, engagement metrics, and subscription types
- Customer journey customizationPowers fully adaptable journeys for events like subscription renewals, cross-platform engagement, and churn prevention
- Identity resolutionSupports custom algorithms to unify customer profiles from streaming subscriptions and multi-device usage
- PricingUnbundled: individually priced features with no MTU billing
- Average implementation time1-4 months
- ArchitectureOperates as a separate entity, removed from your company’s data
- Security & data storageData is stored and maintained in the CDP’s data infrastructure
- Data accessSupports user and event data
- Data modelingUses predefined models that may not fully capture content consumption patterns or platform engagement
- Audience managementSupports broad segmentation but struggles with categories like binge-watch behaviors or genre preferences
- Customer journey customizationProvides standard templates for campaigns like trial conversions or new content announcements
- Identity resolutionRelies on out-of-the-box algorithms that may not unify profiles across streaming platforms and subscription services
- PricingBundled pricing: dependent on monthly tracked users (MTUs) & feature add-ons
- Average implementation time6-12 months
Why Hightouch for media & entertainment?
Your CDP vendor should mold to your data — not the other way around. Hightouch is purpose-built to handle the complexity of media & entertainment.
Leverage any data point in your warehouse – not just users, accounts, and events.
Build and activate audiences directly from your warehouse.
Integrate with your existing data infrastructure on your warehouse.
Leverage any data point in your warehouse – not just users, accounts, and events.
A complete CDP for media & entertainment
Members
Overlap
Streaming & subscription trial drop-offs
2,988 members
1,974 members
Free trial cancellations 2,988
Newsletter subscribers 1,974
Member overlap 378 or 12.65%
Customer Data Platform resources
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Learn why Composable CDPs are seeing such rapid adoption, how they work, and why they're replacing traditional CDPs.
Free CDP RFP template: streamline your vendor evaluation
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