When things are going really well, we think we’re really something.
We describe it as being in a groove, smooth and steady, in a rhythm or “working like a well-oiled machine”.
In electrical engineering, steady state describes the “normalcy” of a current or signal after it settles down shortly after being powered up.
Sometimes, normal is the last thing you need and a groove is really a rut.
A Normal Example
An easy to understand example is how NBC’s coverage of the London Olympics and Paralympics is made available to the public.
They’ve got covering the Olympics down to an art. Unfortunately, they’re wasting a huge opportunity because they’re mired in trying to protect what was rather than take advantage of what is.
With millions of iOS and Android mobile devices sold and in action around the U.S. (and many more outside the U.S.), you’d think that high quality coverage would be more accessible than ever and available for purchase on your mobile device and/or computer.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Fact is, U.S. viewers can see events live via NBCOlympics.com only if you have a cable or dish subscription. The Apple iPad app also has this limitation and has no purchase options.
The thought process seems to be “How can we limit access to coverage and protect our business so it never has to change?” when it should be “How can we get coverage to as many people as possible and grow our business like crazy by reaching more eyeballs for our advertisers?”
Abnormal isn’t the opposite of normal
Requiring a wannabe viewer to have cable or dish coverage ignores the economics, scale and current markets/platforms for content delivery. It reminds me of the state of the music industry, which ignored the modern world until the modern world ignored them back because there were better solutions for music lovers.
It ‘s why Def Leppard recently re-recorded all their classics. Their record label is too mired the now-dead vinyl era to work with Def Leppard to get their music on iTunes and sell a few million copies of Pour Some Sugar On Me or Rock of Ages.
Why iTunes, you ask? Because they’ve been the number one retailer of music since 2008. Yes, that’s PAID not pirated. And yes, bigger than Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon or Target. Paid music is today’s normal for the post-Napster world because it’s easy to buy and use on your various music devices.
Just like the Olympics should be.
WWAD?
That’s “What would Apple do?” if they had the rights to sell access to Olympic coverage. This isn’t just about Apple. Someone with an Android-targeted distribution system could also play the game, but let’s stick with Apple for now because it’s familiar.
My guess is that Apple would sell Olympic coverage via app or the iTunes store’s Newsstand, but they’d be wise to offer browser-based support as well.
We might have access to the following:
- A raw feed with no commentary, just one big stream of coverage in chronological order from start to finish.
- A raw feed with commentary from a selected country
- A raw feed with commentary from the host country’s announcers.
- All the above in whatever the top three or five languages are in iTunes land.
- An option that features nothing but Bob Costas all the time.
- Dual-labeled NBC/Apple coverage just like you’d see it on U.S. cable TV.
- Dual-labeled NBC/Apple U.S. cable TV events-only coverage, without profiles and Bob Costas color pieces.
In addition, maybe you could purchase/subscribe to:
- Coverage of a particular sport (ie, selections that included swimming, gymnastics, sh0oting sports, track and field, team sports, individual sports, etc)
- Coverage of a particular athlete
- Coverage of a particular country’s athletes
- Coverage of a particular state’s/province’s athletes
- Premium-priced commercial-free coverage
And of course, live alerts based on your chosen criteria – like the ESPN app has had for years.
Forget the Olympics, how about my small business?
For you, the point is to brainstorm what your customers could buy based not just on “what was”, but to consider “what is”. What’s possible when you aren’t trying to preserve what market forces are going to dismantle anyway? It’s always better to reinvent your business on your terms and timeframe rather than have someone else do it to you.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a strategic, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, contact him on Twitter, or email him at [email protected].