27 July, 2006

Corporate Competition and A Product Launch!

http://www.tweakers.net/ext/i.dsp/1091789585.jpgApple computers reinvented itself through i-pod. From sagging revenue, Steve jobs showed a remarkable turnaround in Apple computers. I-pod symbolises a gadget can create it's own market. Nobody would have thought about the market of personal media players till then. Now everybody jumps in to say I want a pie in it. After I-pod' phenomenal success, samsung came with Yep, Flextronics has Hip and host of electronics giants has their PMP. The best i-pod can cost me more dosh than buying a great television set for home. Besides I-pod comes with a tiny display, plays only audio and can't receive any broadcasted audio or video signal. Don't you think it is dumb gadget? But it is selling like a hot fudge. Believe me, its USP stand on simple belief, that it is my own media player.
Apple's I-pod success envy Samsung a lot. Samsung last year publicly vowed to take away Apple's top spot in music players by 2007. This year, the South Korea-based company will kick off that effort with a slew of products and large ad campaigns, Peter Weedfald, senior vice president of consumer electronics for Samsung's North American division, said during an interview last week at the Consumer Electronics Show. "What's the difference between how they have gone to market and how we have gone to market? It's real simple. They spent $165 million last year to advertise Apple MP3 products. We spent $1 million," Weedfald said. "We are going to break the code. In 2006, we are going to over-invest in advertising and marketing around these really hot, new digital video and digital audio products, and we will spend tens of millions of dollars."
 
Internet moguls spoke about Video-On-Demand for long time. Now technlogy become matured enough to cater to this market. Google announced video store in CES 2006, which is a convergene of entertainment media like sony, CBS, NBA with Google. Watch the video of Larry page explaining what is google video store all about here.  You can understand how casual a product launch can go. Their business tagline is: 'You have the show "Desperate Housewives," and you spend maybe a million to produce one episode. That thing is going to sit on a shelf for a year or two until it goes into syndication or DVD. What if the next day, Mr. ABC, after you've made money on advertising, I could take the fresh lettuce of content and sell it the next day for $1.99 and give you back $1.50?' And someone at ABC says...'That's a good idea."
 


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