Why Media, Technology And Retail Are Now One Market (Where Apple Is King)

We can tell the difference between a phone, a newspaper and a shop. Yet increasingly their individual success is becoming interdependent as major players attempt to dominate the market by forming partnerships with (or acquiring) prominent providers of complementing services.

Apple set the rules of the game. By providing a complete ecosystem of hardware (Macs and iPods,) software (iOS and OS X) and innovative services that people ‘[did] not even know they want[ed]’* (iTunes) Apple ‘trapped’ consumers in its comfy web where everything works great together. But the appeal extends far beyond functionality – Apple has created a desirable end-to-end customer experience that is aspired to in its own right.

Contenders for its throne include Google and Amazon, both of whom are busy filling in ‘gaps’ in their portfolio through launching hardware ranges (Nexus and Kindle) as well as offering additional services aimed to lock consumers in (e.g. Google+). Amazon’s announcement that Microsoft’s Bing will be the default search engine on the Kindle Fire HD (http://mashable.com/2012/09/07/bing-kindle-fire-hd/) is a clear strategic attempt to keep Kindle users away from Google.

But they are still missing the crucial ingredient – the gravitational pull of the Apple experience. Consumers crave to be trapped in their ecosystem because it makes them feel like a certain kind of person. But what kind of person would I feel like if I were trapped with Amazon/Bing?

As I write this in a trendy Brick Lane café, there are 4 other customers tapping away on their Macs. I doubt there’s a café anywhere that’s only full of HP or Sony users.  Until another brand – or a partnership – creates a cultural aura and a branded end-to-end user experience around their technology/media/search engine/retail offer, Apple will remain uncontested.

Fighting for leadership are brands originally known for hardware (Apple,) online retail (Amazon) and a search engine (Google). But what would you call that market..?

*Steve Jobs’ quote and innovation cliché. Aka Henry Ford (who invented the car): ‘If I had asked my customers what they want, they would have said a faster horse’

Sony’s Music Unlimited vs Spotify: the Battle for Streaming takes off

Sony’s release of its Apple (iOS) compatible Music Unlimited streaming service, intended to challenge Spotify’s iPhone app, is a natural and welcome step in line with changing customer music needs and behaviours. Streaming is the future for all forms of digital entertainment, and music is leading the charge.

But I think Sony is missing a trick here. They offer two subscription packages: $3.99/month for listening to pre-determined channels (radio-style?) and $9.99 for access to Sony’s music library consisting of 15 million songs. Spotify’s catalogue has long surpassed 15 million, but more importantly, there is no clear incentive for any one customer group to switch to Music Unlimited.

As I have argued before, Spotify’s finest trick was to get people hooked in the first place by offering free music access. Consumers do not appreciate the value of technological innovation until they’ve tried it themselves. There are high barriers to adoption in place, and only a truly motivating and appealing incentive will push people to give new technology a go – and therefore fully experience the benefits that innovation offers.

Sony is not offering any such incentive. There is no free service to get customers to buy in, so Music Unlimited will struggle to convert iTunes/CD people to streaming. And for those of us who are with Spotify – well, there are no clear benefits to switching. And switching is a pain in itself.

One thing’s for sure: the Battle of Streaming has only just begun.

Sony's Music Unlimited

Confessions of a Londoner: aka the genius of the Duracell Portable Charger

Oh, the perils of the iPhone battery running out when one is away from home... Sophisticated and adaptable beings we may be, but being forced to survive in the midst of the the urban jungle without a GPS or Night-bus app (let alone voice calling) fills us with a primitive panic.

Sadly, as handsets become more indispensable – and therefore more used – so the time available before charging decreases. The problem isn’t limited to Apple fans: the majority of smartphone users will appreciate the inevitable compromise made between technological sophistication and battery life.

With the introduction of its branded portable charger, Duracell has identified and met a critical need among a small but rapidly growing proportion of smartphone users. In doing so, it has begun to extend its footprint beyond the declining category of alkaline batteries into a new category that’s growing as rapidly as technology is changing.

Full marks, Duracell.

Impulse and Barry M’s Treasure Hunt hits the spot

Brands are becoming increasingly adventurous in their use of mobile applications and location-based marketing technologies. Last week, Barry M and Impulse followed trend with the announcement of a location-based marketing campaign, which take advantage of the social networking site Facebook and the Barry M mobile application.

Under the campaign, co-branded handbags containing both Impulse and Barry M products will be placed at different locations across the UK. The target audience (16-24 year old women) will then be encouraged to engage in a kind of “treasure hunt”; using GPS technology, social networking sites and the Barry M app to locate the handbags. Since the number of goodie bags is limited, this treasure hunt has a competitive edge as well and we look forward to checking out the photos of young women fiercely fighting their way to get their hands on these cherished prizes (I personally have a bit of a Lynx-ad image in mind, but let’s see what happens!)

This campaign is a great example of using – and in this case merging – social networking sites, mobile marketing and location-based marketing techniques. Whilst many companies now have an app of some sort, too many of these are of little use and benefit to the customer, discouraging them from engaging with the brand in this potentially powerful way.

But now Barry M is ensuring that its mobile application offers a tangible benefit to customers, thus strengthening the role of this particular channel in the customer relationship.

Mobile marketing is not the only sphere of digital that often falls short on engaging customers. Facebook pages with hundreds of thousands of fans have often been seen as proof of consumer brand engagement and a successful end in itself, rather than as a springboard and opportunity to reach out to this keen audience.

Impulse and Barry M are making the most of their online presence and encouraging their customers to use the digital relationship to receive a fun and rewarding off-line experience. In doing so, they are creating a powerful multi-channel brand experience – precisely what brands should seek to do in this day and age.