Products that are near and dear to my heart are movies. If I have a rough day and want a laugh, I find a good comedy. If I have a date, I might choose a romantic movie or “chick flick” to share. Sometimes I am just in the mood for some action to escape my mundane daily routine. Sometimes movies help me to reminisce on memories from my childhood or friends. The content of these movies - the experience or feelings they evoke - provides a benefit to me. This entertainment value is the CORE level of the product, whether I am in a theater, at home or watching on the computer.
DVDs and Blurays represent the ACTUAL PRODUCT or tangible object of the movie. High definition picture quality and supreme digital sound add to the experience benefit. Technology has also allowed consumers to have a home theater with large screen and sound system – for the benefit of the “going out to the movies” experience in the comfort of their own home.
This leads to the third level - AUGMENTED products or services beyond the core and actual products. Some examples would be Redbox, Netflix, iTunes or cable on demand providers that can allow convenient viewing of movies whenever the consumer wishes. These types of services have rendered many brands (like Blockbuster and other movie rental stores) obsolete.
Product evolution – becoming obsolete
A product or “tool” that has gone through many variations in its lifetime is personal audio, or music media. Transistor radios allowed consumers, for the first time ever, to take a device along with them anywhere to enjoy music. Transistors got smaller and advances in circuit technology allowed for even smaller devices.
Sony was one of the pioneers in mobile audio with headphones with the Walkman. These devices became popular in the 1980s with the ability to play cassette tapes (allowing consumers to choose their preferred music/artist). In the early 1990s the “Discman” allowed consumers to listen to compact discs (CDs) which saturated the market. Portable CD players offered limitations – vibrations would cause music to skip and CDs had a limited content capacity. Sony attempted to address these issues with the mini disc (MD) platform that didn't catch on among mainstream consumers, and quickly became obsolete.
Along came the iPod – and a series of paradigm shifts. Apple’s groundbreaking product allowed consumers to carry their entire music collection with them on one small device, with long battery life, no skipping and embedded information about the music. The iPod completely changed how music was consumed. It also revolutionized how music was purchased, marketed and even produced. The iPod would be the beginning of the iTunes music store, and completely change how consumers shop and purchase music – which would lay the groundwork for the iPhone.
At the turn of the century, iPods became the “standard” method of music consumption for consumers. Apple established itself as the leader in both hardware and software, with many other brands following suit and trying to imitate the popular device and digital music in general.
Throughout the evolution of the portable music device, cassettes and CDs have become inferior and obsolete due to convenience and cost of newer, more convenient and less costly products.
The digital media evolution has had the same effect on the photography industry – making film photography nearly obsolete due to cost and process. Digital cameras and camera phones have taken over as the fast, fun and “cool” option.
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