HBO Max is a subscription$-$based streaming platform built to capitalize on the expansive WarnerMedia content library, which includes ownership of HBO. Its mission, vision, and values are included below.

Mission: $"$At the heart of HBO Max is our passion for making a difference, and every day we are using our platform to educate, inspire thoughtful action and help make the world a better place."

Vision: "For over forty years, people who love entertainment have recognized HBO as the original$-$ the first and best place to find the world's most innovative programming. We believe that amazing things happen when gifted storytellers are allowed to pursue their own vision in their own way."

Values:

Intentionality$-$ As demonstrated in business decisions over the past $40$ years and defined in the company$$s strategic work plan.

Transparency$-$ Chris Spadaccini, WarnerMedia CMO, says, $$Culture eats strategy for breakfast,$$You can have the greatest strategy in the world, but if your culture is unhealthy, if there isn$$t transparency, if there isn$$t an environment of dissent where people can speak their mind, you$$re going to fail, because the velocity of change is too great.

Quality$-$ HBO Max is always looking for new audiences, then hiring the best talent to create top quality production of content that will turn those audiences into addicts.

Consumer testing showed that people had stronger brand recognition and favorability with the HBO brand rather than WarnerMedia itself, influencing the name choice. The launch tagline was "Where HBO meets so much more." Spadaccini said that he wanted to show that this isn't more of HBO$$it$\text{'}$s HBO and mass programming$$which was the antithesis of the HBO brand for the entirety of its history. The idea is to use class, prestige, awards, and so on$,$ as leverage to convince viewers that all of the programming on the platform is of that quality. Warner Media has made it clear that HBO and HBO Max are separate, distinctly different feeling brands and say they're taking steps to make that resonate with consumers. Almost two years after launch, the success of this strategy and consumer understanding remains questionable.

$1.$ During the $2022$ Superbowl, HBO Max released an advertisement teasing a first look at the new Game of Thrones $($GoT$)$ prequel, House of the Dragon, available to subscribers after the game. This advertisement drove new subscribers to sign up for the app because they$$re craving more GoT content. The streaming service successfully used advertising to $\_\_\_\_\_\_\_,$ which in turn $\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.$

Lay a foundation; attracted competition.

Boost production; increased supply.

Stimulate demand; attracted capital.

Raise capital; created demand.

$2.$ "It's not TV$,$ it's HBO" was a tagline used by the flagship HBO network that referenced the channel's contemporary, thematically edgy, and $($importantly$)$ uncensored and original programming$---$none of which were available on cable TV$.$ One reason this campaign was so successful was that it $\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.$

Leveraged the cultural trends and societal attitudes of the time to convey a unique value proposition to the audience.

Reminded the audience that HBO aired edgy movies and programming.

Was a reaffirmation of Traditional Family Values.

Defined the target audience by saying what the product was not.

$3.$ HBO has never had traditional advertising breaks during original programming, but brands can still receive exposure through $\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.$ For example, in the $2020$ HBO Max series, $\text{'}$We Are Who We Are,$\text{'}$ Frito$-$Lay hoped viewers would crave Ruffles potato chips as the cast munch away on them in clear view of the camera.

Scriptwriter partnerships.

Product placement.

Celebrity endorsements.

Consumer$-$generated content.

$4.$ Each of the following strategic choices was made by HBO Max in reaction to a sudden, external force that forced the brand to react except for $\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.$

Releasing movies like Dune on HBO Max that were intended to have a traditional, theatrical$-$only release before hitting the platform because of COVID$-19$ restrictions and movie fans craving the content.

Choosing purple as its primary brand color for its association with creativity and to differentiate it from the competitive offerings.

Scrapping all of the work it did to build out the first version of the HBO Max platform when it realized subscribers no longer had the patience to deal with bad UI $($like they did with the previous streaming platform, HBOGo$)$; plus, now they could take to Twitter to complain, influencing their social media peers away from signing up for a subscription.

Merging with Discovery, Inc. after being suddenly sold off by AT&T$,$ a telecom company that acquired them less than four years ago, following the "megacorp" trend of mergers and acquisitions most industries have experienced over the past decade.