December 1st, 2023, Janice Fernandes
Earlier this year, HBO Max rolled out its revamped streaming hub, Max, boasting more content and improved features. The big question: did it pay off or backfire?
According to YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks daily consumer brand perception, the streaming giant took a hit in brand health post-launch.
Index scores (a metric that conveys overall brand health using the average of Impression, Value, Quality, Reputation, Satisfaction, and Recommend scores) were at 19.8 on 23 May 2023 and plummeted to a low of 11.1 by 26 June.
Six months later, while the brand has stabilized, it hasn't fully recovered its pre-launch glory.
The brand’s Buzz score, which monitors whether consumers have heard anything positive or negative about a brand, dropped from a steady 12-13 percentage points pre-launch to 4.4 on 24 June 2023, and have yet to climb back.
Digging into these metrics tells a similar story: Impression scores for Max, which measure overall positive and negative sentiment towards a brand, fell from 24.1 to 13.0. But as of 22 November 2023, these scores have since increased to 17.1, showing a modest improvement.
Customer Satisfaction scores, which declined from 19.4 to a low of 10.7 (26 June 2023) have since risen only slightly to 12.2 (22 November 2023), while Quality scores – which went from 26.8 to a 14.0 (24 June 2023) – have climbed and stayed at around 17% since. This drop could perhaps be connected to subscribers experiencing technical issues like log in trouble and overall confusion about the new app.
Further down the purchase funnel, Max’s Current Customer scores mirrored the decline since the day of the launch, going from 24.5 to 15.4 (27 June 2023), and the metric has since plateaued at around 16 percentage points.
Max’ Consideration scores – which ask Americans which streaming platform they’d choose from the next time they’re in the market – sank from 21.1 to a low of 12.9 (27 June 2023) and hasn’t managed to make a full recovery.
Even Reputation scores, which measure whether people would be proud or embarrassed to work for a particular brand, have been on a downward trajectory. Starting at 21.0 on 23 March 2023, these dropped to 10.8, and remained around a constant 13.1 as of November 22, 2023.
Max recently notified its loyal HBO Max customers that the 4K feature, previously included at $16 per month, will be discontinued in December, with the new rate set at $20. This fare hike may potentially fuel further dissatisfaction among subscribers and impact the brand's overall health.
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Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. A brand’s Index score is an overall measure of brand health, made up of General Impression, Customer Satisfaction, Quality, Value, Corporate Reputation and Recommendation and delivered as a net score. Its Current Customer score is based on the question: Do you currently have a car or truck from any of the following car makers? Data from surveys of adults aged 18 years and above residing in US from 23 May 2023 to 22 November 2023. The figures are based on a 4-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.
Image: Getty Images