Consumer Product Strategy

Mobile Coupons - What about them?

Julie Ask — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:50:59 +0000

This is probably one of the top 10 inquiries I get from clients. Should I have a mobile coupon offering? If so, what form of mobile technology should I use? Our new report, "Mobile Coupons: Gold Rush or Fool's Gold?" addresses this question in more detail. This question was especially important in 2009 with the poor economy as consumers sought savings and deals.

Do consumers use mobile coupons today? A few do. Our surveys show that a few percent have at least trialed mobile coupons. There have been some usability issues - how to opt in to programs, download a coupon application, breadth of offers available - as well as demand. Heavy users of mobile coupons are not necessarily heavy users of mobile data services. My grandmother cuts more coupons than anyone else I know. She has a prepaid 100 minute per month voice plan. Will she ever use mobile coupons? Probably not. She turns 90 this summer. A lot could change in 10 years, but until her arthritis is so bad that she can use scissors, I think she'll still be clipping coupons from the newspaper. I see more opportunities in luring young mobile-savvy cell phone users into opting in for programs.

Why Mobile's Time Has Come

Ian Fogg — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:37:35 +0000

Virtually every firm has been burned in the past by failed mobile initiatives that launched before the market, consumers, or technology were ready. This time is different. Why? There's now the critical mix of great devices; widely available fast mobile networks; often unlimited data tariffs; a shift in mobile carrier attitudes; and a focus from US-based firms placing mobile as a core part of their strategy, this raises the amount of mobile services and content available and in so doing boosts the value of mobile to every consumer.

The spectre of Apple's innovation has driven every mobile handset maker, every mobile operator, and every media or entertainment firm to raise their game. It's taken a while for those new smartphones and service plans to come to market. Now they are, and it is changing everything.

We're in the process of ramping up our research around mobile product strategy to help all types of companies -- in essence every firm that has an Internet presence -- to determine when and how to embrace mobile. We've published numerous recent reports, some are referenced here.

And, to pull together in a little more depth why mobile and why now, and set out how we can help different types of firms with their mobile strategy, we've put together a short document. Anyone can read this, whether or not you are a Forrester client:- Forrester's CPS Mobile Consulting capabilities

For the cynics out there, especially those too lazy to follow that link, here's my take on why mobile's time really has come:

Pink Floyd Score a Pyrrhic Victory for the Analogue Age

Mark Mulligan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:52:18 +0000

Pink Floyd yesterday won a court battle with EMI over the label’s ability to sell individual songs from the band’s albums in digital format. There’s a fair amount of debate about what sort of precedent this may set and its implications for the broader digital music market. In my view though the ruling is an unfortunate and retrograde step that reinforces many of the 20^th century shackles that continue to prevent the 21^st century music business from truly breaking free of its analogue past.

As I proposed in my Music Product Manifesto, the future of a successful music business - if there is to be such a thing - depends squarely upon radical product innovation that follows consumer demand rather than try to dictate it. The world has changed markedly since the days when the needle was cutting grooves into the master lacquer of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’. In those days the record labels had a near-absolute monopoly of control of distribution. If you wanted to have a copy of ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ you had to buy a copy in your local high street music store. But in the digital age the audience has complete control. If a modern day fan only wants to download ‘Money’ they have the freedom to skip the other 9 tracks on the album. And it doesn’t matter if Pink Floyd have succeeded in stopping EMI from selling it that way, because if iTunes doesn’t let you download ‘Money’ on its own then BitTorrent certainly will.

Pink Floyd Score a Pyrrhic Victory for the Analogue Age

Mark Mulligan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:52:14 +0000

Forrester's New Blog Platform is Live!

Mark Mulligan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:15:50 +0000

As many of you will know, Forrester has been busy building its new blog platform and last night it went live. We hope you like the new look and feel, and all of the new tools (e.g. “Polls” and “Most Recommended Posts”) that will help us analysts engage more with you the audience

* Everyone’s welcome here. Forrester analysts use blogs as an input into the research they produce, so having an open, ongoing dialogue with the marketplace is critical. Clients and non-clients can participate – so I encourage you to be part of the conversations on Forrester blogs.

* We still have team blogs focused on role professionals. Our role blogs, such as the CIO blog and the Interactive Marketing blog, are a rollup of all the posts from the analysts serving that specific role professional. By following a role team blog, you can participate in all the conversational threads affecting a role.

* And now we’ve added analyst blogs as well. If you prefer to engage directly with your favorite analyst, you can. Look on the right-hand rail of the team blog and you’ll see a list of the analyst blogs. Just click on their name to go to their blog. Or type their name into “Search”. An analyst blog is a place for the analyst to get reaction to their ideas and connect with others shaping the marketplace. You’ll find the blogs to be personal in tone and approach.

* You can monitor analyst tweets. On role team blogs, you will see the recent tweets on the right-hand rail from analysts serving that role. On analyst blogs, the tweets shown are specific to that analyst.

* New “Recommend this post” functionality makes it easy to weigh in. If you find a post useful and insightful but don’t have time to post a comment, simply click “Recommend this post” to encourage others to read it.

Why You Must Evaluate Owned Media

Nick Thomas — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

The media meltdown has been a major theme for the Consumer Product Strategy team at Forrester. We have of course covered its impact on traditional media companies (see my last blog post about the BBC’s latest strategy review, which elicited a response from a senior BBC exec).

How Many Chris Moyles is 6 Music Worth?

Mark Mulligan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

One of the most emotive aspects of the proposed BBC cuts (see Nick Thomas' post for more detail) is the closure of niche digital music radio channel 6 Music. Without getting too caught up in the emotionally charged arguments (or the theory that it could be part of a BBC conspiracy) it is interesting to consider the scale of budgets in

Does the BBC still believe in digital?

Nick Thomas — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

This morning, the BBC’s Director General Mark Thompson launched a new strategy document outlining the future direction of the BBC. Beneath the headlines about the cuts to its digital radio and online activities, what does the BBC’s positioning tell us about not just the corporation’s own priorities, but about the digital content landscape for broadcasters? And why is this important for the wider media industry?

When the BBC sneezes, much of the rest of the world’s media catches a cold.

What Johnny Cash tells us about Apple

Mark Mulligan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Apple just announced the 10 billionth iTunes music download sale. An impressive statistic for sure but not the end of the story.

MOG to Launch in the UK: First Take

Mark Mulligan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

US music subscription service MOG is set to launch in the UK by the end of the 2^nd quarter off the back of a 2^nd round of investment totaling $10 million.

Mobile World Congress 2010: a wrap up

Thomas Husson — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I posted some thoughts when in Barcelona last week.

Why SellaBand's Demise is the Music Industry's Loss

Mark Mulligan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Yesterday fan funded band site Sellaband was declared bankrupt by a Dutch court. This may be ‘just another digital music start up that burnt through its investment money with no proven business model’ but its demise is disappointing.

Music Strategy For Brands: When Brands And Bands Collide

Mark Mulligan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

My latest report - Music Strategy For Brands: When Brands And Bands Collide - has just been published. This report is a bit of a departure, looking very specifically at the burgeoning trend of non-music companies using music to help sell their core products and services. Of course Apple set the trend with the iTunes music store, but nowadays we’re seeing many non-tech brands picking up the baton.

People will still pay for (access to) content

James McQuivey — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Just came off the stage at PaidContent 2010, a day-long summit here at The Times Center near Times Square, dedicated to the question of if/how/when people will pay for content.

The new digital home audio device – the television

Sonal Gandhi — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

…or something connected to it.

The addition of Internet radio feature (Pandora/Slacker/Last.fm) to Internet connected televisions and set-top boxes (Blu-ray players, Tivo, Roku, Xbox etc) raise this existential question - do we need a stand-alone device for audio in the home?

I know what you’re thinking. Adding a radio channel to a primarily video device does not mean the end of the audio only product category. But it could very well be the beginning of the decline. And here are some of the reasons why.