For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Music And ISPs: The Time Is Right For A New Relationship

by Sonal Gandhi, July 14, 2009

Universal Music and Virgin Media's launch of an unlimited MP3 subscription service in the UK marks a new era in the music label/ISP relationship. While labels and ISPs have not had much success at forming mutually beneficial partnerships in the past in . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Convenience Quotient Of Consumer Storage And Backup

by Nathan Safran, July 6, 2009

The consumer backup and storage space has become increasingly crowded — and sophisticated — over the past 24 months. From burning a DVD to using a full-blown home server, there are a wide variety of options today, with varying features and degrees of . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Lower Prices, Better Devices, And The Democratization Of The TV Market

by Nathan Safran, Abe Garon, June 30, 2009

Forget the 1950s: Consumers are living in the golden era of television, whatever the problems of the broadcast TV industry. Not only do consumers have more control over when and where they watch TV, but they also have access to more shows and more channels . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Building The Perfect Bundle

Use Quantitative Methods To Pinpoint What Consumers Want And How Much They Will Pay

by Doug Williams, June 29, 2009

Bundles have emerged as a strong opportunity for service providers to drive acquisition and improve customer retention, but only 20% of US online consumers subscribe to voice, broadband, and pay-TV service from a single provider. Today's consumers have . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Eight Models For Monetizing Digital Content

Ad Revenue Softens, And Publishers Seek New Ways To Make Content Pay

by Sarah Rotman Epps, June 25, 2009

History repeats itself: As they have in other economic downturns, publishers are considering offering paid content products as a way to wean themselves off the shrinking teat of advertising. In this report, we examine the four qualities that characterize . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

How Consumers Get Online Video To The TV

The Convenience Quotient Reveals The TV-Connected PC Is The One To Watch

by James L. McQuivey, Ph.D., June 8, 2009

Online video has finally come to the living room. Forrester estimates that nearly 9 million homes in the US watch at least some online video on a TV set in a typical month. Why they do so is obvious: They get more control over when they watch their favorite . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Competing With Hulu

The Battle To Be The Internet TV Destination

by Bobby Tulsiani, May 11, 2009

In just one year since its public launch, Hulu has climbed to the top of the video site rankings and is becoming one of the Internet's premier brands. However, numerous competitors are lining up to challenge the young company in a battle to control the . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

How Digital Consumption Is Reinventing The Media Industry

How The Forrester Content Strategy Review Can Help

by Nick Thomas, May 1, 2009

The media industry is in the middle of a revolution, and it's tough out there. As content and consumption become increasingly digital, old business models based on tightly controlling the distribution of premium content are no longer relevant. As we shift . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Digital Camera Purchasing Criteria In A Slow Market

by Paul Jackson, Seth Fowler, April 27, 2009

Digital cameras, like many other electronic consumer goods, will suffer during the economic downturn as more consumers defer replacement. Competition from mobile phones with built-in low-resolution digital cameras also softens demand for new digital cameras. . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

How To Grow US Mobile Video Adoption

by Neil Strother, Seth Fowler, April 20, 2009

The US audience for mobile video is growing but moving toward a freely distributed, online-based model and away from subscription-based models. Advances in handset and network technology are making mobile video faster and higher-quality, but significant . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Global Landscape Of Online Music Stores And Services

by Sonal Gandhi, April 17, 2009

Given the decline of physical stores along with physical media, online music stores and services represent the future of music commerce. Although iTunes leads in most markets on either side of the Atlantic, the online music landscape has become very competitive. . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Impetus For Consumer Product Strategy Change

by Paul Jackson, April 9, 2009

It is an "interesting" time to be a consumer product strategist at a technology or services company: The technologies we have been waiting for have finally hit the mainstream, and new technologies are emerging from the lab — but the consumer market and . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Delivering The Holy Grail Of Ubiquitous Broadband

Consumer Adoption Of Outside-The-Home Broadband Will Grow Rapidly Through 2013

by Doug Williams, April 8, 2009

Mobile operators' cellular data access plans are no longer reserved for road-warrior business travelers and super-connected individuals, as consumers are increasingly interested in obtaining broadband outside the home. But mobile operators be warned: . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Monetizing Social Music

Choosing The Right Product And Services Strategy

by Mark Mulligan, April 8, 2009

As CD sales continue to fall off the proverbial cliff and the paid download market fails to take up the slack, social music destinations prosper, utilizing the power of the Web to a degree that download stores never did. Although the most sophisticated . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Expand Globally, Market Locally

Adapting The Four Ps Of Marketing To New B2B Markets

by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D., March 31, 2009

Taking the show on the road — expanding into new markets — is a daunting proposition for tech marketers. New markets mean new requirements, including not only product features, but also price, promotion, and placement attributes — the Four Ps. New geographic . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Predictions 2009: ePurchasing Market

Growth Slows Both Overall And For eProcurement But Is Strong In Other Areas

by Andrew Bartels, March 26, 2009

The ePurchasing market — software solutions for eProcurement, eSourcing, contract life-cycle management (CLM), automated spend analysis, accounts payable electronic invoice presentment and payment (AP-EIPP), services procurement, supplier performance . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Video On Demand Must Compete With DVD And The Economic Downturn

Develop Improved VOD Strategies To Counter Difficult Market Conditions

by Laurence Meyer, March 23, 2009

DVD is still Europeans' preferred medium for consuming digital video content on demand. Video product strategies must operate within the context of DVD's current market dominance. Yet TV-based video-on-demand (VOD) uptake is growing fast; roughly 35% . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Is Open Source Software Confusing To CIOs?

Identifying The Most Urgent Communication Challenges For Vendors

by Stefan Ried, Ph.D., March 16, 2009

The budget situation in many IT organizations today means that CIOs are paying more attention to the open source discussion than ever before. We created a fictitious discussion between two CIOs to identify the major concerns and even confusion about the . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Base Your Oracle "Red Stack" Negotiations Strategy On Your Oracle Adoption Strategy

Preparation And Product Expertise Are Key To Winning

by R "Ray" Wang, John R. Rymer, Noel Yuhanna, March 13, 2009

Amidst worsening economic conditions and a rapidly consolidating vendor landscape, applications professionals will have the opportunity to consolidate their own landscapes by committing to single-vendor "platform stacks." IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Why Operators Should Offer PC-Phone Mobile Broadband Tethering Now

Consumer Broadband Portfolio Strategies Must Adapt To The Downturn

by Ian Fogg, March 6, 2009

The recession is causing consumer product strategy professionals responsible for mobile broadband to re-evaluate their mobile broadband portfolio strategy. Due to its immaturity, the mobile broadband market is at greater risk from the downturn than is . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Broadband Acquisition Hits Crunch Time In Europe

Develop Poacher Tactics Using Word Of Mouth

by Ian Fogg, March 2, 2009

The broadband market is maturing quickly. Even if the economy recovers, Internet service providers (ISPs) will find it increasingly hard to acquire broadband customers. Price alone won't be sufficient to drive uptake. Consumers cite friends' recommendations . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Emphasize The Value Of Mobile Services To Keep And Attract Cost-Conscious Consumers

by Neil Strother, Seth Fowler, February 26, 2009

The recession is having an impact on US consumer mobile spending, but most consumers won't be giving up basic services. A majority of US online consumers don't plan to change their mobile spending, but some are taking a closer look at their expenses to . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Preparing For New Competitors In The Mobile Game Console Market

by Julie A. Ask, February 25, 2009

Nintendo has dominated the mobile console market since the introduction of the original Game Boy, but the rise of powerful new devices like the Sony PSP and Apple's iPhone means the mobile console market is more competitive than ever before. This competition . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Shift From Broadband To Wideband

If You Build It, They Will Come . . . Eventually

by Doug Williams, February 17, 2009

US broadband service providers' network upgrades are facilitating so-called "wideband" service offerings with download connection speeds reaching 50 Mbps. Some question remains as to whether consumers are ready, willing, and — given the economic downturn . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

A Go-To-Market Prescription For Economic Maladies

Looking At The Market Through SMB-Tinted Lenses

by Tim Harmon, January 30, 2009

During an economic downturn, all companies exhibit conservative technology buying patterns, not just small and medium-size businesses (SMBs). Consequently, many go-to-market models built for SMB tech buyers now apply to larger enterprises as well. Vendors . . .