HBO MAX

Background on Launching HBO MAX

HBO’s evolution into HBO MAX was a pivotal moment in the brand’s history, marking a shift towards a more unified global approach. This transformation aimed to align HBO’s offerings across the globe, launching movies simultaneously in theaters and on streaming platforms. It necessitated significant changes in technology, tracking, design, reporting, and collaboration. Moving from a primarily European focus to a global stage presented unique challenges and opportunities.

Identifying the Challenges

The problems were quickly identified partly based on the US and LATAM experience.

  1. Customer Migration: Seamlessly transitioning existing customers to the new HBO MAX platform was paramount.
  2. Technical Overhaul: The shift to a new technical platform required setting up new measurement points, affecting both backend and frontend tracking.
  3. Tracking Data Continuity: New accounts for marketing disrupted the continuity of old tracking data.
  4. Expanding Customer Base: Growing the customer base for HBO MAX, especially with a unique once-in-a-lifetime offer.
  5. International Collaboration: Coordinating with new teams across different regions, particularly with counterparts in the US.

Implementing Solutions

With a meticulously planned strategy we managed the following:

  1. Segmented Launch Approach: The launch was segmented into backend, payments, and customer front-facing components.
  2. Intensive Cross-Departmental Collaboration: As the head of all customer-facing pages in Europe, ensured close coordination across marketing, CRM, legal, copy, and design departments. The complexity of managing 26 markets, including challenging regions like Gibraltar and Faroe Islands, demanded exceptional leadership and teamwork.
  3. Bridging Europe and US: A project manager in the US acted as the main liaison, facilitating smooth communication and alignment between the teams.
  4. Effective Project Tracking: Utilization of project tracking tools enabled efficient monitoring of various tasks’ progress.
  5. Innovative Prelaunch Strategy: A ’coming soon’ page was designed to gather email addresses, aiding in both customer migration and new user acquisition.
  6. Single Page Strategy: Contrasting with the approach in the US and LATAM, I adopted a single page strategy, simplifying the user experience and effectively meeting KPIs.
  7. Communication Plan: A comprehensive communication plan was established to keep various stakeholders updated on the progress.
  8. Focused Customer Migration: Detailed attention was given to migrating customers to the new platform effectively by creating a special path.

The Outcome

The transition to HBO MAX was praised internally:

  1. Unprecedented Launch Success: The launch was the smoothest and most successful across all HBO MAX territories.
  2. Near-Perfect Customer Migration: The migration of existing customers to the new platform was in the higher 90% after two weeks, a testament to the effectiveness of the strategies implemented.
  3. Exceptional New Customer Acquisition: New customer sales soared, credited to both the attractive offers and the streamlined migration and sign-up processes.
  4. Flawless Tracking Tool Implementation: The new tracking tools functioned flawlessly from day one, providing vital data and insights.
  5. Strong International Networks: The project fostered new and robust networks across the Atlantic, particularly with teams in the US and LATAM regions, enhancing global collaboration.

Conclusion

I must say that the strategic approach for the transition to HBO MAX was a masterclass in project management, international collaboration, and customer-centric strategy. It was definitely a team collaboration both from the European and US side. The success of this massive endeavor not only demonstrated our competence but also created new global ties. To be totally honest, in the end of the day it was a very demanding period but also something very special that I will cherish close to my heart.