Netflix reels in viewers with three-word hooks

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Grey's Anatomy" is «soapy» and «emotional.» «Emily in Paris» is «campy» and «quirky.» «Our Planet II» is «relaxing» and «captivating,» while «Gravity» is «suspenseful» and «visually striking.»

Words such as these — displayed near the synopsis and movie poster-style tile for each one of the thousands of titles on Netflix — appear to be scooped out of a grab bag.

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In fact, they are a critical tool to induce viewers to click play, and a key to Netflix's dominance.

The two- or three-word tags, meant to convey the gestalt of a show or movie, regularly help viewers choose a show from the service's nearly endless library, the company says. The words are selected by about 30 employees — so-called taggers.

«Imagine magazines that have no cover lines, and there were just photographs on them,» said Allan Donald, a director of product at Netflix. «Tags make as much of a difference as a cover line in that snap 'This is for me' decision.»

As Netflix widens its Secretariat-like lead in the so-called streaming wars, the descriptive, if sometimes banal, tags stand out as an example of how the company stays ahead. Most rival streaming services don't bother displaying tags, or don't have the same financial resources to support a group of employees to do all the work behind them.

Netflix made about $4.5 billion in profit over the past four quarters, while most of its competitors continued to lose money in streaming. It commands 247 million