Bridgerton Promotion: A short return to the perception of Bridgerton and Netflix

I originally wrote about the perception some in the Bridgerton fandom has of the production, and of Netflix, based on the promotion for each of the season leads.  My first post was a re-write of a post from last year and was published in April, I then did a follow up post after part 1 released where I asked for feedback from the fandom on what their perceptions were about the promotion.  I have not sought feedback this time around, but have followed opinions and reactions on social media sites as to how may fans received the promotion leading into the release of part 2, and the post release promotion that is continuing. 

Image Credit: Jason Bell

At first glance, it appears that the official accounts have been making an attempt to promote others from the season, however, it is still very much focused on the lead couple in the posts, whether they are BTS photos/videos, photoshoots or show posts.  There is a much stronger focus on the lead couple by the official, and official adjacent, accounts than they have had in the past seasons of Bridgerton (I am not including Queen Charlotte as that is a different show).  This hyper focus on the leads this season makes any posts about other characters more noticeable, but also raises the suspicion of a fan base that has been repeatedly disappointed by the production. 

Image Credit: Liam Daniel/Netflix

The negative perceptions that many fans have about Bridgerton and Netflix, especially relating to the way they deal with people of colour, goes beyond the disparity in the promotion of the season leads, but to the introduction of book characters to the viewing audience, most notably the lack of any announcement of Victor Alli playing John Stirling.  In this instance the viewers found out via a leaked interview with Victor Alli and Daniel Francis, playing an original show character.  This negative perception also extends to the storytelling in season 3, comments by crew members and executives, and the seeming lack of support when actors are faced with racism from fans.  In isolation many of these issues may not seem overly serious, however, when looked at as a whole it adds up to give the negative perception that many of these fans have about the show an about Netflix, as well as around the perception of favouritism towards specific actors/characters.  

Image Credit: Netflix

Some of the negative perceptions may be misplaced, but in the world of marketing, PR and promotion it can be damaging to a brand. That the marketing team for Netflix and Bridgerton continued with a similar marketing strategy that was in play for the first months of season 3 promotion, despite a lot of negative comments, shows that they were unable to pivot their marketing strategy in the wake of negative feedback, they did not want to pivot their marketing strategy, or that they did not learn from the negative feedback and negative perceptions.