Consumer Journey Map
Letterboxd is a popular social platform in which you can track and review films watched. Letterboxd has 1.8 million followers on Instagram, 1 million followers on TikTok, and as of January 2025, they have over 17 million registered users. I chose to focus on Gen Z (film lovers and students) for the Consumer Journey because that is their typical user and targeted age range. For the maps, I chose the Path to Purchase and Cultural Moment quadrants.
Path to Purchase: How a Gen Z student thinks about and downloads the app.
Cultural Moment: How Letterboxd is involved in influencing the conversation about The Oscars.
For the first map, I chose to place Letterboxd in the Path to Purchase (Rational/Serious Involvement) because of how most people end up using it. Everyone I have interacted with who uses the app started by hearing about it via social media or a friend. They had a full journey of consideration before they downloaded it. Many of its users do think of it as a commitment, or as a diary of sorts, which requires some thought for anything that is a commitment. A Letterboxd user loves movies, they love watching/chatting about them with their friends, and getting updates on social media about the industry. Hence, the motivations of the consumer/user are very similar to how they typically come across/use the app. With that, it would be an interesting way to represent Path to Purchase and how Letterboxd’s unique presence as an app/media outlet plays into when/how the user downloads the app.
Letterboxd has a unique point of view in its relationship to the film industry and with that, the Oscars. As an avid movie lover, I interact with Letterboxd frequently. I follow their social media, I use the app, and it is apparent to me how relevant their content is in their coverage of the Oscars. This aligned well with the Cultural Moment quadrant because, for film lovers, the Oscars are their Super Bowl or their Christmas. Along with that, the Oscars for many people are rooted in emotions. It can remind people of their families, or promote excitement to see the films/actors/creators they love be rewarded and cheer them on. In that regard, it is a prime example of the Cultural Moment quadrant. Letterboxd’s strategy in interacting with its users is also very prevalent. It gets users engaged with their platform without really trying and with no real commitment. Simply by engaging with the app, whether that be logging an Oscar-nominated film or printing their ballot for the show, they get engagement with very little effort or commitment.
