Netflix’s AAA Play

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Happy Monday, Future Party. Even if you didn’t check out Netflix’s new sci-fi thriller, The Last House, this weekend, you may have still heard about its pretty creative billboard. Netflix put an actual person inside the billboard — well, the cut-out of a house on the billboard — to market the movie’s trapped premise. Ingenious idea… but probably best not to think too hard about how the plumbing worked.

Netflix’s partnership with Rockstar Games to show an early “extended look” at GTA VI proves just how much the platform is chasing YouTube’s dominance.

The Big Play: Netflix has recently struck deals with viral YouTubers, scored buzzy live events, and wooed influential podcasters. It’s all part of the streamer’s strategy to boost passive viewership — the thing that has turned YouTube into the streaming leader. But Netflix’s focus on top-tier talent and IP suggests it may be trying to become the premium version of the video-sharing platform.

Behind The Scenes: GTA VI isn’t shaping up to be just a big game, but a major cultural moment. And now Netflix gets to be part of it — even if it has nothing to do with the title.

Final Level: Netflix’s VP of nonfiction series Brandon Riegg said of the deal that “it’s a reflection of what we hope Netflix is becoming: a place where the most ambitious storytelling, from any medium, can find the biggest possible audience.” In other words, Netflix doesn’t need to be behind the project to be a gateway to it still — it’s all content that can drive engagement.

When it comes to GTA VI content, it’s about as close to a guaranteed hit as you can get. The game is expected to make anywhere from $3.3 billion to $5.2 billion in its first week when it comes out on November 19. That’s a lot of built-in hype.

Coming Soon: Netflix already partners with Take-Two on mobile games (including the GTA franchise), so this deal could be planting the seed to make GTA VI a streamable title on the platform.

Blu Dot used Roku Ads Manager to drive incredible results for its furniture sales event. Its strategy hinged on custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

“Roku has been a top performer,” said Blu Dot’s Claire Folkestad. “We have seen…CPMs lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

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Olivia Rodrigo tapped ten female Etsy merchants to create official merch for the artist’s upcoming Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival.

Why It Hits: Stock merch no longer cuts it with concertgoers, and there’s nothing more powerful than a musician tapping their fandom to become part of their art. Rodrigo working with these Etsy merchants is the perfect distillation of both trends — and provides a blueprint for how other artists can do the same in an organic way.

Behind The Designs: Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival — taking place in Irvine, California, on August 29 — features an all-female lineup and is raising money for charities that are “advancing and advocating for women and girls.”

So, it only made sense that the artist would turn to female designers to create handmade, daisy-inspired merch.

Final Set List: Rodrigo’s curation has been a huge win for Etsy. Three items in the collection were among the top 30 best-selling products on the site, per Fast Company. And the marketplace reported that the artist’s collection became the fastest-selling celebrity one in the site’s history (beating out curated ones by Kacey Musgraves and Nicole Richie). More than just a win for Rodrigo, it’s the type of success that puts small businesses on the map.

Encore: Maybe Rodrigo will fly out each of these merchants to the fest to make a limited number of products on the ground. Now, that would be a class act.

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40.2% of you voted No, I haven’t seen any in Friday’s poll: Have you seen any of the Spider-Man movies starring Tom Holland?

“Tobey Maguire is my forever Spider-Man!”

“Sorry, Gen Z, but Andrew Garfield is my favorite Spider-Man. And Tobey Maguire is still the OG — we love Tom, too. :)”

“I’ve already lived through two Spider-Man franchises. I don’t have room in my heart for a third.”

“Going to see #4 this weekend. It seems to be what everyone wants to watch — hero, bad guy, girl, and the hero gets the girl (again).”

“The most recent one might be the best of them all.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🍿 The Odyssey crossed $1 billion at the box office, putting it on track to become Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing movie yet.

🥊 Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions is merging with the Professional Fighters League in hopes of taking on the UFC.

👀 Suno is using Musixmatch’s Sentinel tool to determine which of its AI-generated tracks contain copyrighted music.

🤖 OpenAI’s upcoming AI device will reportedly look like a donut, be about the size of a hockey puck, and cost between $300 and $400.

🔋 Peak Energy has developed ion batteries made from salt that could help cut the battery supply chain’s reliance on China.

💻 Cloudflare is rolling out a browser called Kitesurf that’s built for using AI agents.

👗 Next year’s edition of Vogue World will be held in San Francisco.

👟 Jordan Brand is debuting a Space Jam-themed capsule collection to celebrate the movie’s 30th anniversary.

🚗 Mercedes-Benz is giving its classic cars “birth certificates.”