Case Study

How SonyLIV Increased Conversions by Scaling Personalized Campaigns

16%More Conversions
25%Increased Campaign CTRs
SonyLIV App

The SonyLIV Story

SonyLIV is the first premium Video on Demand (VoD) service by Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) providing multi-screen engagement for users on all devices. Launched in January 2013, it offers 20 years of content from the network channels of Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd. It also provides an array of movies, live sports, TV shows, music, and product reviews.

With over 63 million app downloads so far, SonyLIV is the first of its competition to provide original exclusive premium content. SonyLIV was the official mobile and internet broadcaster for streaming the 2018 FIFA World Cup, making it the preferred destination for football fans around the globe.

Challenges

  • User Activate and Onboarding User Activation & Onboarding
  • Personalization at Scale Personalization at Scale
  • Monetization of Free Users Monetization of Free Users

As user acquisition took off, it became essential for SonyLIV to not only ensure they achieved consistent growth, but also maximized customer lifetime value. In order to differentiate themselves from competitors, SonyLIV wanted to go the extra mile and personalize their campaign messaging based not only on user preferences and behavior, but also geolocation targeting. This would allow them to engage users based on interests, as well as showcase localized content.

For successful geolocation targeting, it was critical to get users to opt-in to location access and push notifications the first time they launched the app. This would help SonyLIV tailor the onboarding experience for advanced personalization, and also ensure repeat app launches by promoting local content. They also needed detailed user profiles and real-time insights into in-app actions — which was a challenge considering the sheer volume of users they were adding on a daily basis.

Solution

SonyLIV partnered with CleverTap to make sense of the data generated by millions of their active subscribers. With a complete mobile marketing solution, SonyLIV can create micro-segments for enhanced personalization, and build sophisticated engagement campaigns for occasional viewers and binge-watchers alike.

SonyLIV encourages users to spend more time in the app by pitching new video content that matches each user’s viewing history. These related content notifications provide a customized user experience and promote content cross-sells.

With mobile deep linking, SonyLIV drives better content discovery. Users are guided to a specific screen within the app, such as a specific episode of a TV show or subscription purchase page instead of the home screen.

Live User Segmentation

SonyLIV segments users in real time, based on specific in-app actions or inactions.

Flows

By identifying the different ways users view content, SonyLIV can craft user journeys that not only increase app stickiness, but also boost conversions.

Cohort Analysis

SonyLIV tracks users based on their browsing/viewing history, consumption patterns, preferred genres, etc. on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Personalized Push Notifications

SonyLIV runs highly targeted push notification campaigns with parameters such as preferred content types and genres, content consumption history, app usage patterns, content followed, added to library, and more.

Abhishek Joshi

“With millions of active subscribers on the SonyLIV platform, personalization can be tricky. We partnered with CleverTap to make sense of our user data. Now we can target our users with the right messages at the right time.” Abhishek Joshi Head of Marketing, Subscriptions & Content Licensing at SPN