"How I Screwed Up A Great Brand" Starring Netflix

Netflix has really pissed off the people in my neighbourhood. Almost universally - with a little prodding and evangelizing from some of them - almost all of the people have the standard account. Unlimited streaming and one DVD at a time.

Then they go ahead and split the service announcing that they will let you do the same but in 2 separate programs and it will cost you 60% more at least.

Here is the email they sent out:

Dear Professor Sabena,

We are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into two separate plans to better reflect the costs of each. Now our members have a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan, or both.

Your current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:

Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming) for $7.99 a month

Your price for getting both of these plans will be $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). You don't need to do anything to continue your memberships for both unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs.

These prices will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.

You can easily change or cancel your unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both, by going to the Plan Change page in Your Account.

We realize you have many choices for home entertainment, and we thank you for your business. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to call us at 1-888-357-1516.

–The Netflix Team

WTF???

Well let me show you what I think of Netflix now....

Oops this is a family website I can't do that. But let me show you what it did to Netflix's brand.

Image courtesy of BrandIndex.com

Will I be using Netflix quite as much as before... no.

Redbox is laughing all the way to the bank. Blockbuster deserves to be shot as they were really stupid in how they responded. Special pricing to bring me - a lesser service than Netflix at the same price.

Are these people drinking from the same water fountain. Back to school chaps.

Cheers