[imagesource: Netflix]

Sometimes I feel more seen by Netflix’s algorithms that personalise my experience on the platform than I do by some people.

Granted, the streaming giant does put a hell of a lot of effort into its machine learning and data collecting on each individual person.

The thumbnails you see for each movie and show you are recommended, are perfect examples of this.

While we are warned not to, most of us do indeed judge a book by its cover, and Netflix is well aware of this bias.

In fact, they take it incredibly seriously, because obviously, the more someone stays on the platform to watch things, the more money the company makes, notes Looper.

Interestingly, when it comes to the artwork Netflix chooses for the thumbnails, they don’t just target people universally and generally. Rather they analyse the media a specific person consumes to build a tailored experience throughout.

Netflix has been around since February 2007 (yikes, I feel old), so they’ve had a fair amount of time to figure everything out.

One thing is that they decidedly lean away from the usual movie posters, billboards, and DVD art:

“Some [images] were intended for roadside billboards where they don’t live alongside other titles,” the team explained. “Other images were sourced from DVD cover art which don’t work well in a grid layout in multiple form factors (TV, mobile, etc.).

Knowing that, we set out to develop a data driven framework through which we can find the best artwork for each video, both in the context of the Netflix experience and with the goal of increasing overall engagement — not just move engagement from one title to another.”

The way that Netflix grabs our proverbial eyeballs with thumbnails isn’t just about adapting the artwork to the platform, it is also about changing them up ever so often, so as to always stay fresh and interesting to the viewer:

For an original Netflix series like Stranger Things, for example, Netflix will generate multiple potential thumbnails. Armed with as many options as possible, the Netflix algorithm looks at your viewing habits.

Do you watch a lot of romantic comedies? Great, Netflix will show you a Stranger Things thumbnail with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour). Do you watch a lot of comedies? Great, you’ll see a Stranger Things thumbnail with the kids dressed up as Ghostbusters.

Which one would you click on?

Not only do they check out which genres you’re watching most, but they also factor in which performers you lean towards:

If, for example, you recently watched a movie starring Uma Thurman, you’ll see a Pulp Fiction thumbnail featuring Uma. Did you watch Grease or Urban Cowboy in the last weeks or months? Your Pulp Fiction thumbnail will center on John Travolta instead.

Take a look:

Folks on Twitter are also picking up on how this works for the latest hit Squid Game:

A Netflix user will browse the app for 90 seconds and leave if they find nothing.

Thumbnail artwork is actually NFLX’s most effective lever to influence a viewer’s choice. A user will look at one for only 1.8 seconds, so NFLX spends huge to optimize them.

Here’s a breakdown🧵 pic.twitter.com/xVcESYjHGj

— Trung Phan 🇨🇦 (@TrungTPhan) October 6, 2021

Netflix also thinks hard about how engaging a person’s overall mosaic layout will look so as to not overwhelm them or disinterest them.

Thumbnail artwork thus changes from day to day (rather than month to month) by considering a combination of what you watch, who you watch, and the titles you are being presented each day.

So in more ways than one, Netflix can often give you exactly what you want to watch, all just to keep you sitting tight for as long as possible.

[source:looper]