Storytime : My sister being an avid movie enthusiast, and her weekends often consisted of binge-watching her favorite films and TV shows. Her streaming service of choice was Amazon Prime Video, a platform she had been loyal to for months.

One evening she wanted to watch ’Pursuit of Happyness’ but when picking up the remote, she had sudden urge to share the opinions and thoughts about the shows and movies she had watched with her friends. She wanted to discuss her favorite scenes, her top picks, making memes out if it and discover what her friends and family were watching as well.

Then she began to think as to why there is no such feature in Amazon Prime where as it can be seen in various platforms. For ex - Spotify provides a feature to share their interests and playlists with their friends.

Redefining the Problem - Not able to share their opinions and thoughts about the shows and movies to their friends hence a solitary experience to watch.

Questions which comes to mind ….          

1. How can I talk about the movies I liked ?

2. How can I share my favorite shows playlist ?

3. Is there a definite need for a personalized page ?

4. What is the psyche of the users having its own personal informatic page ?

                         

Problems she faces while using Amazon Prime

1. No social/physical validation : When she finds an interesting movie and has unique perspectives, she might miss the people appreciating her thoughts about it.

Even social validation such as receiving likes and comments, she misses sense of belonging with the community. 

2. Lack of Discussion : the absence for platform for discussion could result in lack of meaningful conversations, which she enjoys. 

3. Reduced Engagement : Over time, she could lose the attention of the platform and might look for better alternatives.

There are various OTT platforms which provides personalization but it does not offers great variety of features to connect with others. Here are some :

Netflix : offers a “Viewing activity” section in the account settings where you can see the lists of the movies and shows that you have watched. It also uses this data to provide recommendations based on your viewing history.

Disney+Hostar : Offers “Recently watched” where you can basically watch previous movies/shows watched.

Hulu : Provides a “Watch history” feature where you can see lists of content you’ve watched recently. And yet another platform, famously where you can see videos you have watched i.e. Youtube

Offering only a single section ( Recently watched ) which is basically your history of movies/shows watched.

No interaction with other people for sharing and also viewing other informatic details ( most watched category )

Personalization is one of the major contributing factor why Spotify has a moat.

Collaborative Playlists: Spotify allows users to create and share playlists with friends, family, and the public. This feature encourages social engagement and music discovery. Collaborative playlists enable users to contribute to a shared playlist, making it a fun way to curate music for parties, road trips, or other events.

Custom Playlists: Spotify provides tools for users to create their custom playlists. Users can organize their favorite songs, create themed playlists, or craft unique listening experiences for different moods and occasions.

Spotify Wrapped: Each year, Spotify offers "Spotify Wrapped," a personalized recap of your year in music. It includes your most-streamed songs, artists, and genres, making it a fun and shareable experience.

Understanding from business perspective

One crucial point - many users couldn’t talk and share about the shows/movies. From a user’s view, this gives us clarity as to why Amazon Prime Video needed such a feature.

Here are the key points :

1. Retention and Engagement - The more the user has control the more the user will use the platform.

2. Cost Efficiency : Since the user retention will increase the cost of production or making the ads will decrease.

3. User incentives : This can bring various creative ways to diversify the revenue stream  ( winning the most interesting playlist of the month/year )

4. Competitive edge/ moat : In a crowded market, personalization for movie buffs will differentiate Amazon Prime Video from other OTT platforms.

Due to wide range of diverse, I aimed to capture a range of perspectives in my research.

Target users : Frequent and occasional users

User demographics : -20, 20-30,30-40

Interview method : Conducted 6 interviews and survey through questionnaires

Movie buffs : Sampling data of movie buffs who have urge to talk on online platforms.

User Psychology :People after watching show or movie often want to talk about it with others, but mostly talk with family members and close friends. There’s no community for it. They want social validation - likes and comments ; and physical validation - appreciating on their thoughts and opinions.

Here are the various points :

1. Curiosity: Users are inherently curious about their own preferences and interests. They are likely to engage with a personalization page to see what their data reveals about their movies/shows choices.

2. Self-Expression: People often use music preferences as a form of self-expression. So why not movies ? They want to share their favorite shows and films to communicate their identity and taste to others.

3. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Users may feel a strong desire to participate if they see their friends or peers sharing their personalized playlists and movie genre data. They don't want to miss out on this social trend.

4. Nostalgia: Seeing a summary of their most-listened songs or watched movies can evoke feelings of nostalgia and fond memories. This can make the personalization page a sentimental experience.

5. Validation: Positive feedback, such as "You have excellent taste in music," can boost a user's self-esteem and make them feel validated.

6. Discovery: Users might be interested in discovering new shows and movies from their friends and members. The personalization page can serve as a platform for recommendations.

7. Community Building: Users might see this feature as a way to connect with like-minded individuals who share similar interests. It can help build a sense of community.

1. User Interview - Conduct interviews to understand their motivations and challenges faced

2. User behavior and psychology - What triggers them to think a particular way and urge them to use/leave the platform.

If you’re interested in the interview questions, you can access them by clicking here

1. After clicking on a particular show, there are various options shown above - trailer, watchlist, like, not for me and share. Excluding the options ( like and not for me ), “Add to Moodboard” option will be shown.

2. A dropdown appears showing various playlist collections where a user can add that particular show watching.

3. These playlists can be made by a user having unique names for it.

1. After clicking on profile button on right top corner in the Home page, a new personalized page having informatic and engaging features is shown.

2. The user can get to know the number of liked movies, number of shows watched, the playlists shared with the user for discovering new movies from friends and members.

Not forgetting the settings, previously it was shown by clicking on the profile button. The user can access the settings by swiping right Home page. 

1. Adding a new feature “community” on the top at the home page along with options - cast to TV and profile settings.

2. Community will offer the user to have a conversation about various content shows with friends and members across the globe.

3. The user can share his/her own thoughts and opinions about any content topics.

Here is the video showcasing all the solutions applied. Click on the video link.