"Instead of just watching the dishes in the video and stopping there, you go to the restaurant yourself to taste and enjoy them."
Netflix is shifting its program content partnership strategy. In the past, brand sponsorships or indirect advertising (PPL) focused on product placement on TV screens were the norm. Now it is evolving into a structure in which brands participate directly around the content and it leads to real consumption and experiences. Culinary Class Wars: Season 2 (hereafter Culinary Class Wars 2), which began airing on the 16th, is the program where this change is most clearly visible.
Culinary Class Wars 2 is a cooking survival show where highly skilled but little-known "black spoon" chefs challenge star "silver spoon" chefs.
The core strategy of Culinary Class Wars 2's brand partnerships is "everyday expansion of the viewing experience." It was designed so that viewers don't just watch the food the chefs make on TV, but go to the restaurants themselves to try and enjoy it. The official partner restaurant reservation platform Catch Table rolled out a service that lets users easily search and book the establishments of Culinary Class Wars 2 cast chefs.
Through its "Ne-Net" (Naver–Netflix) partnership with Naver, Netflix published a list on Naver Map of restaurants run by Culinary Class Wars 2 cast chefs. It is also running membership events, including meal invitations prepared directly by a Culinary Class Wars 2 cast chef.
Partner brands also played a stronger role in boosting the completeness of the program's content. Home interior company Hanssem Co. joined as an official special partner of Culinary Class Wars 2, providing kitchen systems and equipment needed for cooking and missions. It created an environment where chefs could focus on cooking, while naturally conveying the kitchen brand's expertise to viewers.
CJ CheilJedang operated a chefs-only pantry centered on its food brand Bibigo. By providing basic ingredients such as sauces and seasonings, along with flagship products like dumplings and Hetbahn instant rice, it both built a stable competition environment for Culinary Class Wars 2 and naturally promoted Bibigo to global consumers.
Experts say this content partnership strategy by Netflix is possible because, as the world's No. 1 OTT, it has global influence. Brand partners judged that by collaborating with Netflix, which has hundreds of millions of subscribers worldwide, they could not only boost sales but also enhance their own brand value.
But there are limits. If brand collaborations become excessive, the program's quality could suffer. There is also a risk that commercialism could be overly emphasized.
Another challenge is that partnership outcomes hinge on whether the program is a hit. This could pose a risk even for corporations that have paid partnership fees amounting to hundreds of millions of won to Netflix.
A content industry expert said, "Netflix's partnership strategy is clearly attractive in that it expands program influence into an experience-based business model," but added, "Given that success is not guaranteed, the expense burden on partner corporations is considerable, so there needs to be a more flexible partnership model and a transparent effectiveness verification system."