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To Regain Importance MySpace Tries a Repositioning Strategy

Posted by Paul Christ March 11, 2010

Once-Fading MySpace Focuses on Youthful Reincarnation (USA Today)

Five years ago MySpace ruled the social media world.  It was considered the darling of Internet startups and eventually was purchased by News Corp. for nearly $600 million.  But like many fast growing companies, MySpace tried to be everything to too many people.  Trying to appeal to many diverse market segments with what amounts to being the same product is often difficult unless the product is a true commodity (e.g., milk) that nearly everyone wants.  Unfortunately for MySpace, customers in the social media market were not looking for the same product; they wanted a product that was customizable to their own styles.  MySpace's limited offerings opened the door for other social network sites especially Facebook which by 2007 surpassed MySpace in web traffic and today is far ahead.

As this story discusses, MySpace is now being forced to reposition itself.  It is altering its marketing strategy and taking a more targeted approach.  By narrowing their focus the company hopes to appeal to the under 35-year-old market, with even more emphasis on the under 25-year-old crowd.  The changes in marketing strategy include a new website design, online gaming, new content and renewed emphasis on music and movies.

More than half of MySpace's estimated 100 million users are 25 and younger, according to market researcher ComScore. The 13-to-34-year-old demographic spends 84% of all user time on the service. MySpace intends to appeal to that demographic with a mantra of "Discover and be discovered," a fancy way of saying it wants to be the online venue to find new friends, movie trailers, little-known bands and social games.

In addition to the changes noted in this story, what else will MySpace need to do to once again gain traction in the social network space?

Image by MySpace

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Consumer Ratings of Top Supermarket Brands

Posted by Paul Christ March 09, 2010

America’s Favorite Brands (Stores Magazine)

What are the top brands of frozen food, bath soap and ice cream sold in U.S. supermarkets?  If you are not sure then check out this story which provides a nice ranking of brands in 20 consumer product categories (see this page for listing).  While this story and associated listing are worth reading (including the implications of why branding is becoming so important to retailers), a few additional issues should be considered.

First, it is important to understand that the results show the leading brands by category but do not necessarily indicate the top individual products within a category.  For instance, under the Breakfast Cereal category Kellogg is listed as the top brand but the results do not indicate which of Kellogg’s cereal products (i.e., Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, Froot Loops, Corn Flakes, etc.) is the top selling individual brand.  In fact, the top individual brand in some categories may come from a company that is not ranked as the number one brand.

Second, the story does not offer much detail on how the information was collected other than indicating that consumer wrote down brand names.  However, the research company behind the numbers, BIGresearch, is known to use large consumer research panels and such panels can be very effective when the research is planned correctly.  By correctly we mean proper controls are in place including using appropriate methods for participant selection, data collection and data analysis.  More details on how the branding information was collected could offer more insight into the real value of these rankings.

Third, while the data collection details are not provided, it does not appear that these rankings reflect actual sales but instead reflect customer's recollection of what they purchased.  If the research design is strong these results should be similar to market share information which typically is based on sales.

Respondents were asked to write in the brand name of the product they purchased most often in each of these categories.

Dish Detergent
Dawn 32%
Palmolive 10
Ajax 4

Paper Towels
Bounty 27%
Store brand/generic 9
Brawny 7

Which of the 20 categories listed in the rankings would appear to be least susceptible to competition from store brands?

Image by iboy_daniel

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The Millennial Generation Comes of Age

Posted by Paul Christ March 05, 2010

Marketing to the Millennials (New York Times)

Many regular visitors to KnowThis.com will be highly interested in this story since you are the subject of the story.  The focus here is the so-called Millennial generation, defined as those who are mostly in their 20s and came of age at the beginning of the 21st century.  In marketing terms coming of age means that this group is now important purchasers and represent a huge and attractive market.

Like other named generations (e.g., Generation X, Baby Boomers, etc.), Millennials exhibit behavioral characteristics that tend to be unique to their group and, consequently, this behavior is of interest to marketers.  For instance, they exhibit an “always available” behavior that is associated with being the first generation to grow up with regular cellphone access.  These different behaviors lead to the demand for products and services that differ from those sought by other generational groups.

This story looks at the key values of this generation and offers suggestions for how companies can effectively target Millennials.  The discussion on the use of social media by this group is particularly enlightening.

One of the most evident changes is social networking, which is embraced by 75 percent of the Millennials, compared with 50 percent of the Generation X members (ages 30 to 45) and just 30 percent of Baby Boomers (aged 46 to 64).

How does the purchasing power of Millennials compare to that of Generation X and Baby Boomers?

Image by nimble photography

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