BEFORE — The Cultural
Intelligence Gap

During Netflix's hypergrowth period, traditional market analysis missed crucial cultural context for international expansion.

With $15.3 billion in content investment and expansion to 190+ countries, the fundamental challenge was understanding why certain narratives become part of the cultural fabric across diverse global markets.

SOLUTION — Business-Cultural Framework

Building on Reed Hastings' vision for cultural-business integration films, I developed a comprehensive methodology to bridge organizational silos and cultural understanding:

• Cross-Functional Business Intelligence: Collected and synthesized information across Netflix's entire ecosystem—product, content, legal, communications—creating the first unified view of how different business units approached international markets.

• Internal Translation System: Wrote scripts that enabled disparate Netflix divisions to understand each other's perspectives and priorities, breaking down organizational barriers that hindered global strategy execution.

• Cultural Research & Integration: Secured and conducted interviews with cultural stakeholders outside Netflix, then wove these authentic local perspectives together with business intelligence to create compelling, actionable narratives.

• Company-Wide Distribution: Produced impactful films distributed across Netflix during a massive hiring surge—1,900 new employees added between 2019-2020, ensuring organizational alignment during the company's largest expansion in history.

IMPACT — Exponential Growth & Organizational Transformation

Organizational Impact: My framework provided critical context for nearly 2,000 new employees, ensuring seamless scaling of cultural intelligence approach during Netflix's peak international expansion phase.

Strategic Achievement: Demonstrated that systematically bridging business intelligence with cultural narrative empowers sustainable competitive advantage, helping establish Netflix as the global streaming leader with 200+ million subscribers during peak competition.

Quantitative Company Growth:

• 36.5 million paid subscribers added in 2020

• 83% international growth (30.3M of 36.5M from outside US/Canada)

• Content investment scaled to $17.3 billion in 2020

• EMEA growth: 51.8M to 66.7M subscribers (15M increase)

THE CHALLENGE — Scaling Communications During Hypergrowth

Netflix was experiencing unprecedented workforce growth during its global expansion. The Co-CEOs, Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, needed a way to provide clear, high-quality information that energized business decision-making and created a shared context across siloed business arms..

At the time, this was done through a single-use, quarterly internal film that used blockbuster-level sets. While visually striking, each film carried a $250K+ price tag, required unsustainable effort from the production team, and was often watched only once. With Netflix’s workforce surging from 8,600 employees in 2019 to 11,300 in 2021 (a 30% increase in just two years), the company urgently needed more efficient and effective ways to unify its growing, globally dispersed teams.

STRATEGIC APPROACH — Building an Efficient Communication Framework

Partnering directly with C-suite executives and leaders from product, marketing, UX/UI design, content, and legal, I led the development of a scalable internal communications framework that transformed departmental achievements and strategies into unified, resonant narratives for the global workforce. By architecting a repeatable system for storytelling and driving business alignment across silos, I elevated operational clarity and enabled leadership insight to cascade effectively throughout the organization.

To amplify impact and ensure our communications matched the company’s vision and pace, I commissioned the world-class motion design studio Vucko (renowned for elevating brands like Google and Meta) to craft a visually stunning and highly adaptable identity system. Together, we developed a toolkit of motion assets and a serialized branded framework that preserved creative integrity, accelerated story deployment, and set a new standard for visual storytelling within the organization.

I was integral to shaping business decisions during Netflix’s period of massive growth, as the company added 53M+ subscribers and $9.5B in revenue.

Drawing from her academic research on the archaic use of military-influenced practices in Hollywood, Morrison's company aims to create a new framework for conscious production, emphasizing ethical practices, inclusivity, and innovation. As the company experienced rapid growth, its business strategy, operational framework, and client management needed a bit of recalibration. With major clients like Netflix, A&E, and Disney+, The Light needed to find cohesive internal operations, ensuring high-level performance across teams, and adapt its sales strategy to meet the evolving demands of the industry.

SOLUTION ORIENTED INNOVATION

As a consulting Executive Producer I led a strategic health check, refining messaging, team operations, and sales processes. Key outcomes included improved team camaraderie, cost savings, and fortified and fresh client relationships. Additionally, I prompted an innovative hiring practice, partnering with a third-party, holistic hiring manager. This collaboration helped secure high-caliber leadership talent that was not only aligned with the company’s values but also brought in fresh perspectives to drive innovation and growth.

CONCLUSION

The Light then operated with greater clarity, efficiency, and innovation, allowing them to continue driving systemic change in the film industry.