The social purposes of the communicative message in Spanish teen series campaigns: : Youth concerns in the Netflix case

Abstract

Spanish teen series emerging in the streaming era have an impact on youth determined not only by their content, but also by marketing strategy. The analysis provides an overview of the tactics carried out by Netflix, the world's leading SVOD in subscribers and the main driver of teen consumption in 2024, when marketing a series for young people in Spain. The communicative message of youth fictions tries to respond to the concerns of Generation Z teenagers, addressing in their themes and, even more, in their advertising actions, the social purposes that move young viewers. The results show Netflix's interest in connecting with the public and establishing engagement with teenagers; in a society described as consumerist and hedonistic, the audience demands a social and committed and therefore the plots of the series and marketing campaigns promote personal or group interests, through concerns or emotions. The social purposes most used by the marketing campaigns of the series analyzed are mental health, gender issues, sexuality and inequality, and are consistent with studies on youth concerns at national and international level.