Crunchyroll · B2C · anime streaming service
Sell merch, events and games to your most loyal subscribers
Let it compete on fan relationship instead of the best video player
Workedupsell-expansionpositioning-niche
What they did
Built a brand around the shows and the fan identity (the 'T-shirt test': would fans wear your brand's T-shirt). Introduced other revenue streams around subscribers: merch, events, gaming and more. Also tried products solving tangential needs for people who were cancelling.
What happened
Guest says the deeper audience relationship let Crunchyroll compete without matching Netflix or Amazon on player, payments or apps.
“And so we thought a lot about how do we build out a business around our subscribers and introduce other revenue streams, like merch and events, and gaming, and a bunch of different things.”
“We had this thing called the T-shirt test, which was like if you wear the T-shirt of that brand, then it's saying something about who you are, about your identity”
Related topics
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New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Crunchyroll: Hold the price for years while you grow subscribers every other wayGrew from 200K to 12M+ paid subscribers; first price rise after 6-7 years
- Crunchyroll: Change your brand's tone to welcome newcomers, not just diehard fansCalled a big change behind subscriber growth; no separate numbers
- Crunchyroll: Add the shows cancelled users asked for, then email them to come back
- Crunchyroll: Compare people who cancel in the first month with those who stay
- Crunchyroll: Survey what regular subscribers and your biggest fans would each paySomewhat helpful; people say different things than they do
- Substack: If your retention beats your peers by a lot, raise your priceSome writers keep 90% of subscribers after a year yet never change price
- Crunchyroll: Raise the price $1-2 for existing subscribers too, not just new onesLittle churn from existing subscribers; new signups dip somewhat
- Disney+: Announce a price rise weeks before big new releases, effective after they startPress backlash at announcement; no subscriber numbers given
- Disney+: Launch at $5 a month with free carrier bundles, then raise pricesAbout 100M subscribers fast, but revenue per subscriber lagged Netflix
- Substack: Offer a top tier where fans choose their own priceMany fans pay well above the regular price