Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TiVo Case Analysis
TiVo Case Analysis
A. SWOT analysis
Strength:
Easy to use and equipped with numerous innovative and advanced features
Friendly-sounding name: a cute brand identity would give a gracious face to the machinery
Partnership of consumer electronics superstar brands Sony and Philips for quick entry and
development and itbrought an image of reliability
Weakness:
A lack of category and brand awareness is the key cause of TiVos lackluster sales because its the
first in digital video recorder category.
The manufacturers reps couldnt give TiVo the amount of support it required. It was hard to
convey a sense ofurgency to TiVos distribution partners.
High salesperson turnover rate in consumer electronic stores made training efforts ineffective.
Expensive product with additional service fee for recording and no reference point
Restricted promotional activities to public relations, animating its website, and a very limited mass
mediacampaign
O pportunity
Electronic commerce
Both ReplayTV and UltimateTV were taking another path, emphasizing the amazing features of
the digital video
recorder.
Threat:
Established players in traditional markets are entrenched and will implement defensive strategies
to protect their
market share (eroding traditional strategic segment barriers)
Legal challenges
Advanced features:
o TiVo made a big idea realyou could really control what you watched and when you watched
Pausing and replaying live TV
o Recording without DVD, VCD or video cassettes
o Electronic Program Guide (EPG)
o "Thumbs up" and "thumbs down" buttons for rating user's favorite shows
The season pass feature
Fast forwarding feature, up to 60 times the normal speed
Suggesting users, the shows they would want to watch
Downloadable feature upgrades and update of programming schedules.
Brand name: a friendly-sounding yet all comprising nameTiVo (TV your way). A cute brand
identity would give
a gracious face to the machinery.
Confusion in introduction:
Its functions were difficult and confusing to explain to customers. There was some confusion in the press
as tohow the new product category should be introduced. Oftentimes the press discussed the features of
the device,but it wasnt always to the advantages of the company, as the first generation product was no
free of problems.
2) Price
High Price:
A $1,000 ticket meant TiVo was more expensive than most TV sets, and more than twice the price of a
good satellite system.
No reference point: With this service being so new there was no reference pricing point.
3) Place(Distribution)
Pa r tn e rsh ip:
TiVo built a partnership of consumer electronics superstar brands Sony and Philips for quick entry and
development. The two companies manufacture the black box, distribute it, and promote it to retailers.
Thus,
TiVo is separated from customers by partners.
National distribution:
TiVo became nationally available through electronic chains like Best Buy in September 1999. In
October 1999,
Circuit City and Sears were added; a national distribution was in place.
4) Promotion
Promotional restrictions:
While the hardware manufacturers took control of retail distribution and in-store communications, TiVos
promotional activities were restricted promotional activities to public relations, animating its website, and
a very
limited mass media campaign.
A catchy communication campaign with a boldly humorous tone that helps consumers envision
how TiVo
restored the fun of television.
C. Market Segmentation
D.Six elements in Brand Positioning
1) Target consumer
In the relatively young DVR market, the initial customer base is made up of "early adopters",
niche consumers
who purchase the product early in its lifetime. As the product matures, the target customer shifts away
fromearly adopters toward a more mainstream market. The cost of gaining additional customers increases
with theneed for greater marketing spending to lure more customers.
M al es
Middle--income households.
2) Brand name
Jovio, a start-up in Personal TV category, intend to launch a free service that would be similar to
TiVos.
Sign a three-year contract and pay only $24.95 monthly for service and hardware
After three year contract is up, pay $12.95 monthly or pay reduced price ($149) lifetime subscription
Improvements
o keep accelerating pace of change, and supply better services\
o Continue to revolutionize the way consumers watch and access home entertainment, by making
the TiVo DVRthe focal point of the digital living room.