HBO Max Homepage Personalization

Automation meets human insights to curate the everyday browsing experience for HBO Max subscribers

Overview

Working on Homepage for HBO Max, I oversaw the content merchandising strategy for the SVOD and AVOD personalized content . My building blocks were curations (aka the categories organizing content based on genre and/or theme). Operating in an algorithmic musical chairs, I selected curations on the basis of data, user behavior, and pop culture.

My objective was to capture a variety of viewing occasions: matching users with just the right film/series while giving our priority titles the context to perform. Every time a person logged on, I strived for them to see value in their subscription and seek to explore our library.

Timeline
Feb 2021 - May 2023

Brand
HBO Max

Working with my team on Homepage, we accomplished a variety of landmarks for the streaming service including:

  • Launching personalized curations in 2020, boosting clicks and conversion rates

  • Highlighting over 90% of the content library with 10,000+ titles shown to users

  • Differentiating the HBO Max brand with unique curations and brand voice

  • A/B testing layouts, features, and copy to improve page KPIS (CTR, Impressions)

  • Optimizing curations and component layout to suit various steps in the user lifecycle

While data informed my curation decisions, my favorite part of the process was collaborating with my team to find unique themes. I’ve listed my favorites below:

  • Bad Influences

  • Small Towns, Big Secrets

  • Don’t Skip the Intro

  • Tearjerkers

  • Visually Stunning