Insights
Does your business need a genius bar?
Apple retail stores seemed like a move backwards in the world of build to order customization. Why invest in bricks and mortar when cyberspace is so inexpensive. True, a Mac is still a thing of beauty- a piece of art, that people want to get their hands on, to touch, to feel, but, at the most expensive locations in retail? Something didn’t make sense. What did Apple know that everyone else was missing?
Well, one thing about the brand- just like Harley Davidson, Mac heads like to congregate with each other and the stores serve as a place to hang out with like minded folks. Just as Starbucks is trying to be that third place between home and work, Apple stores are a place where Mac people feel comfortable.
But the big news is that the Genius bars, where Apple trained support people offer free support, end up selling something to 70% of the people that come in to see them. Face to face support is becoming rarer by the day- and this is Apple’s secret weapon. Where did they get this idea? From the hospitality industry- the model was the conceirge service of five star luxury hotels.
So next time your are thinking about how to increase customer volume, the answer might be personalized support from your very own geniuses.
AdAge – Viewpoint – Voted & Quoted VOD
70% of AdAge.com voters are concerned about the ultimate impact of video on demand on the TV advertising business. The remaining 30% are not worried that the growing popularity of VOD will dent the industry.
What David, Chief Creative Officer, of The Next Wave had to say…
“My only concern is that VOD won’t get here fast enough. It is the only savior for the TV advertising. Once viewers demand their own show, we’ll be able to hone our target audiences and gladly pay on Tuesday for the exact eyeballs we get today.”
Business Week
“The Vanishing Mass Market” was the cover story, a special report, in the July 12, 2004 issue.
David Esrati, Cheif Creative Officer and Owner of The Next Wave, had his letter published among 3 others including Laurence Feldman, Professor Emeritus of Marketing at the University of Illinois.
“With more media options than ever, which should have improved segmentation, advertisers now find formulaic media. Clear Channel radio stations sound the same in Portland OR as they do in Portland ME. The same is true for Network and local news, magazines, and newspapers.
The great copywriter Howard Luck Gossage predicted that when the revenue from advertising exceeded the revenue from subscribers for print publications, the content wouldn’t be worth paying for. Forty years later, we’re paying the price with media outlets fearing offending the advertisers, or, worse yet, their corporate masters stock price by doing anything that different from the next guy.
When your product becomes homogenized, it loses value to the advertiser faster than it does to the consumer. But the real problem was there was never really a mass market to begin with, just big players in a small sandbox. Now advertisers are forced to think smarter about how to connect, and in this new world, formulaic media isn’t going to cut it.”
AdAge – Viewpoint – Voted & Quoted TiVo
“57% of AdAge.com voters think it is unlikely that TiVo will survive and prosper in the long-term. Of over 500 respondents, 43% think the TiVo product is strong enough to carry the company through troubled times.”
David Esrati, Chief Creative Officer was quoted…
“TiVo was the technology company for early adopters,
but their lack of HD product, stupid pricing moves and
lackluster ad presence spells doom for the best thing to happen to TV since color and the remote control.”
