This Week in Marketing: October 23, 2010

This week's highlights (with applicable teaching topics and links to discussion below):

 

Lending comes to the Kindle

  • The article: Amazon: 14-Day Lending Coming to Kindle "Later This Year", from Mashable.com.
  • The facts: Amazon has reported that it plans to allow 14-day lending of e-books starting later this year. Not all books will be eligible (it will be up to the publisher), and you can only lend a particular book to a particular individual once. The Barnes & Noble Nook already has the lending feature.
  • Classroom uses: What I find interesting about this announcement--even though it's a feature that already existed in competitive models--is the potential for public libraries to lend out e-books. Some libraries do e-book lending already, but given the Kindle's larger market share, this announcement may get the attention of more libraries, assuming that Amazon's lending capabilities support this type of use. In addition, could someone start the e-book equivalent of Netflix, electronically delivering you a "rented" book, if libraries don't jump on the bandwagon or can't afford a large inventory of e-books?

Marketer of the Year and the Decade

  • The article: Marketer of the Year: Ford Motor Co. and Marketer of the Decade: Apple, from Advertising Age.
  • The facts: Advertising Age anoints a "Marketer of the Year" each year, and this year Ford Motor Company was chosen. The story focuses on Ford's refusal to accept TARP bailout funds; instead, Ford achieved a turnaround through internal resources and commercial lending. Apple, unsurprisingly, was chosen as "Marketer of the Decade," and the article outlines the good choices Apple has made in a wide range of marketing decisions.
  • Classroom uses:  There is some evidence that consumers now view Ford in a more positive light specifically because it didn't take bailout funds. Has General Motors, for example, damaged its brand image by accepting help? There is also an interesting discussion in the comments section about Ford's brands; a Ford employee involved in corporate communications weighs in.

Streaming-only Netflix subscriptions?

  • The articles: Netflix CEO: We're a Streaming Company, from Fast Company, and Netflix Tests Streaming Subscriptions in the U.S., from Mashable.com.
  • The facts: Netflix announced huge earnings and subscriptions growth this past week, but what the CEO also attracted attention with a statement that Netflix is now "a streaming company which also offers DVDs." The following day, several sources reported that Netflix had begun to offer streaming-only subscriptions.
  • Classroom uses: If you have talked to your class about marketing myopia, perhaps in the context of Blockbuster's downfall, these developments are an example of how not to fall victim to myopia regarding your mission and strategy.
  • Going deeper: Visit Pearson's My Marketing Community website to view a set of discussion questions about Netflix and its strategy.

Innovation Lessons from Electric Cars

  • The article: Innovation Lessons from Electric Cars, from Harvard Business Review blogs.
  • The facts: The short driving range and relatively lengthy recharge times of electric cars seem to present a significant barrier to their adoption, but are these really problems for most consumers? How can creators of innovative products determine customer needs when the customers cannot envision the ways in which the product might change their lives and habits?
  • Classroom uses: A concise, readable discussion of what's so hard about developing a disruptive innovation. He points out that marketing research is of relatively little use due to consumers' uncertainty and argues (consistent with common sense) for an alpha/beta testing approach.

Hallow-Green?

  • The article: Halloween takes on a shade of eco-friendly green, from MSNBC.com
  • The facts: Organic food companies are jumping on the Halloween bandwagon, offering a range of healthier, organic treats to distribute this year for Halloween. Reusable trick-or-treat bags and costume swaps are other green tactics being tried.
  • Classroom uses: Organic and eco-friendly products are obviously a growing trend in the US, and this article is topical with Halloween coming up. Also, I was astonished to read in the article that "one-third of consumers now buy organic products monthly." (And although this article doesn't mention it, a few weeks ago I wrote about a plan on the part of some carrot farmers to sell small packages of baby carrots for Halloween as "Scarrots." Not necessarily organic carrots, but still in the vein of healthier fare in the trick-or-treat bag.)