Membership as a new way of Marketing

In addition to the traditional channels of digital marketing, a new trend seems to be cropping up in retail and media, that of a paid membership. And the marketing of this membership and all its benefits sometimes take precedence over the core product itself. We see that with Amazon and Prime, where most of the effort is on getting consumers to purchase Prime rather than simply making a purchase through Amazon, making the membership almost a product itself. With Disney+ hitting the market a few months ago and now Walmart+ coming soon (ARTICLE), it seems brands from various industries are seeking out a greater hold on their consumers by way of a paid membership. But so now it seems these brands need to market their membership, in addition to - or instead of - their core product. While there is some overlap in the membership and the product, there are also some key differences, and so I think it will become very interesting to see how brands and their membership programs perform based on how they're positioned and marketed to consumers in the coming months and years.