Entries from January 2010
The Deal
Netflix has cut a deal with Warner Bros. that as both a customer of Netflix and as a businessperson, I’m conflicted over. The deal will limit when Netflix is allowed to release new Warner Bros. movies. They will now have to wait 28 days before they can release new Warner Bros. titles to their customers. On the other hand, this deal will open up more Warner Bros. title to Netflix’s instant download feature.
The Payoff
Warner Bros. is betting that by making Netflix users wait 28 days, they will go out and buy the DVD instead of waiting. I don’t see this happening. Using myself as an example, I currently have 142 DVDs in my queue. That means there are at least 142 movies that I already want to see. Those movies will conveniently fill the 28-day waiting period; therefore there is no need for me to go out and by a DVD. Will this deal end up hurting Warner Bros., probably not. But I don’t see it having the effect they think it will.
Netflix on the other hand gets two payoffs from this deal. They not only get more titles for their instant download feature they also get DVDs at a cheaper price. This is where the confliction comes in for me. As a Netflix customer, I’m upset that I will have to wait 28 days to get new releases. The sting of having to wait is lessened by an increased choice of instant downloadable movies, but it doesn’t totally make up for having to wait an extra month. On the other hand as a businessperson I can see that this is a great deal from Netflix’s perspective. It will be interesting to see how current Netflix users react.
What do you think about this move by Netflix and Warner Bros.? Will it pay off in the long run?
-Dennis
Categories: Advertising Blog · Business
Tagged: Account Executive, Advertising, Advertising Blog, Netflix, The Account Guy, The Ultimate Account Guy, Warner Bros.
I was a content user of Wachovia Bank. When Wells Fargo purchased Wachovia, I wondered how the transition would go. Recently, my local branch has undergone the transition. Down went the Wachovia signs and up went the Wells Fargo signs. As I pulled in for my first transaction at my new bank I didn’t expect a change in my user experience. I was presently surprised when I found what in the big picture is a small detail, but to me shows an attention to detail that greatly improved my user experience.
When I pulled up to the new ATM, it had all the features I had seen before. I went through the normal motions, but as I reached to get the cash, it wasn’t there. Instead of giving me the cash in normal sequence, the machine gave my card back before my cash. Like I said, in the grand scheme, it’s not a huge deal, but if it keeps me from forgetting my card when I’m in a rush, it’s a huge help to me.
Now you might be thinking, what does this have to do with advertising? Specifically it has nothing to do with advertising, but it does show a company that is innovative and pays attention to details. When you have a company that has a quality product it allows advertising to tell a story and accent the product instead of having to carry it, which leads to a better message.
What other companies do you know that have quality details built into their products? Does it help their advertising?
-Dennis
Categories: Details
Tagged: Account Executive, Advertising, Advertising Blog, Bank, Details, The Account Guy, The Ultimate Account Guy, Wachovia, Well Fargo
If you are a regular reader of this blog (all two of you), you probably noticed I made the switch over to WordPress. I’ve heard many great things about WordPress and I needed a change so I went for it. Nothing against Blogger, but I wanted something different. So far I’m very happy with the transition and I’m looking forward to expanding this blog in the coming year.
I’ve already done my New Years resolutions, so I won’t go through that again but I haven’t done a very good job of keeping up with it. Hopefully this transition will help with that.
I’m excited to dig in and figure out everything WordPress has to offer. If anyone has any tips or tricks to getting the most out of Word Press please let me know
-Dennis
P.S. Incase you are interested, I’ve got another blog, going. This one is about my quest to get and stay fit.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Account Executive, Advertising, Advertising Blog, The Account Guy, The Ultimate Account Guy, WordPress
