Mark Kolier’s Blog

Archive for October, 2011

While I was thumbing through the newspaper this morning (yes the analog printed version) I was again thinking about switching to a tablet or e-Reader subscription when our current subscriptions expire. As I moved through the paper I noticed the advertisements – full page, half page, quarter pages and the like. If we choose to go the digital subscription route the ads that we have become so accustomed to seeing would no longer be available.

There are digital ads of course – on the right side, on the header, home page take-over’s, pop-ups (if allowed), even within the content itself. But the large full page ‘interruptive’ advertisement would be no more.

It then crossed my mind that on newspaper and magazine home pages there should be a tab of current issue advertisements. This would create additional value for the advertiser and act as a nice sales feature for the advertising staff.

For example, let’s say you are reading the newspaper and saw an advertisement while riding the train. You are interested in the product but don’t care to tear out the page from the newspaper. You could then access the website from any device and scroll down the list of advertisements for that day’s/week’s/ or month’s issue.

No doubt publishers would be tempted to charge an additional fee to their advertisers for this ‘added’ exposure. However that would defeat the idea of offering additional value to expensive on-page advertising buys. An added benefit is that advertisers would gain insight as to reader engagement of their ads when they were viewed online.

All I am suggesting is a small tab on the publisher home page creating additional value for advertisers.
Good idea or dumb idea? If a dumb idea why would it be such?

Steve Jobs has ceded his CEO status to Timothy D. Cook. Apple aficionados (I do not count myself among them) were more than eagerly awaiting what they thought would be another watershed event – the unveiling of the iPhone 5. On Wednesday October 4th Mr. Cook introduced….the iPhone 4S. Huh?

Virtually indistinguishable from the iPhone 4 but billed as a ‘new’ version, the iPhone 4S comes with a so called virtual assistant ‘Siri’, that recognizes voice commands. I looked at Siri and thought – Iris spelled backwards. What does that mean? Having voice commands does not seem all that new or revolutionary to me.

Apple says it is packed with better technology, including a more advanced camera. It also includes a more powerful chip known as the A5, the same microprocessor that acts as the brains inside the iPad.
The company also said the new phone would run on two kinds of cell phone networks, GSM and CDMA, allowing it to operate worldwide – which is only something new for Apple since many other smartphones have been able to operate on both networks for years.

Thankfully Mr. Cook did not try to copy the black mock turtleneck and jeans look displayed by Mr. Jobs. The ‘new’ phone will be available on A T & T, Verizon and Sprint. Maybe the bigger news is that the now ‘older’ iPhone 4 will drop in price to $ 99 from $ 199 if customers commit to a two-year contract.

Apple has come out with a new version of the iPhone each year since its initial release in 2007. So Mr. Cook HAD to come out with something to stave off what would be inevitable questions of how different things would be ‘post’ Mr. Jobs. Unfortunately there were many more questions raised by the release than were answered. The iPhone remains the most important product for Apple as it is responsible for nearly half the company’s total sales.

There’s no question Steve Jobs will be sorely missed at the world’s largest company (measured by market capitalization). However, I can’t help but feel a little sorry for Tim Cook’s desultory debut as the lead dog. Mr. Jobs is very sick and his sudden departure no doubt caused a huge ripple effect as well as a change in plans for future releases of Apple products. I cannot imagine Steve Jobs having a press conference to announce such a boring and ho-hum upgrade.

Agree or disagree?

In the 1960’s the phrase ‘Made in Japan’ was not a positive one. At the time Japanese manufactured products such as televisions and transistor radios were known to be cheap and likely to break or break down. The Japanese worked hard to change that perception by making quality goods and imbuing the latest technology in their manufacturing processes.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company http://www.hyundaiusa.com was founded in December of 1967 – a fact that actually surprised me since I only recall hearing of Hyundai when it introduced the Hyundai Excel in 1986 (I was actually also surprised it has been twenty-five years already). The early Hyundai Excels were a slight step up from the horribly rated Yugo which was introduced in 1985, but in my mind they were pretty much lumped together as cars that were cheap, and ones that I would never purchase.

By 1988 the Yugo had virtually ceased being sold in the United States. Today Hyundai is one of the world’s more trusted automobile brands. In my mind it is one of the more impressive brand story turnarounds in history. Hyundai’s Elantra and Sonata are so popular that there are actually backlogs of several months for certain colors of those models.

Hyundai accomplished this by focusing on making reliable, smart looking vehicles that were affordable to the American public. Now people spend more than $ 30,000 for some Hyundai Sonatas and are happy to do so. The expectation is that when purchasing a Hyundai you are getting a reliable near-luxury vehicle at less than luxury car prices. Additionally Hyundai is not falling into the trap by attempting to churn our cars faster and faster to take advantage of its now positive market perception. In fact Hyundai appears to be doing the opposite, holding back production to be sure it maintains its new image for quality while creating an even greater demand for its cars.

To me Hyundai’s restraint is one of the most interesting things. Too often investors in companies once they smell an opportunity to cash in, push their limits, and in so doing create more problems than they solve and actually commoditize their own efforts (think flat screen televisions for example).

I don’t drive a Hyundai but have rented one and would consider it for a future purchase. I hope Hyundai can stick to its current conviction.

It’s difficult for me to recall another brand story turnaround quite like Hyundai. If you have any please share them.