A lot of articles and opinions in the media about terrestrial radio and its future. My own has been focused on trend that their listeners want more choice in content (whether they will actually listen to every song ever made in every genre imaginable doesn't matter -- they want to know it's available upon request) and control over when and where they access it.
Content and Control is why the internet grew so quickly, it's why we have cable tv, satellite radio, DVDs, VCRs, TIVO, and iPods. Control is why we have fast-forward buttons on almost every remote control, and it's one of the main reasons why CDs are better than cassettes -- we can skip tracks much more quickly to get to our favorite song (and set it on eternal repeat if so choose.)
Radio points to these other technologies and says it won't kill them. That FM radio didn't kill AM radio, that cinema didn't kill live theater, that cable didn't kill network television. And they're right. But all those innovations DID change the landscape of the way they do business forever.
But, I hear you say that YOU are not in radio, and then you ask why you should care.
Because a consumer's wish for Content & Control doesn't just extend to entertainment media. It's why we have fast food drive-thrus (and it's why more of them are open until 3am.) It's why Starbucks has more than a dozen different coffee drinks and offers them in-store and at the grocery for your in-home consumption. It's why every bank has an ATM machine and website from which they can conduct financial transactions on their own time. It's why CafePress.com gives you the power to create on-demand t-shirts, mousepads, books, and CDs with your original content. It's why Kinko's can take an electronic file and distribute it across the nation upon demand. It's why FedEx built a business around getting your package around the world in a matter of hours -- because the public wanted it.
I ran across two more examples of Content & Control this weekend while at the grocery store -- both concerning hot and cold caffeine.
The first got a bit of press last December, when Wolfgang Puck announced a new product using a technological advance from OnTech. A can of self-heating coffee. A latte on-demand without worrying about how late Starbucks is open. I had the chance to try one this weekend, and it's pretty darn awesome. The drink itself is nothing special (it tastes like the lattes some of the gas stations now dispense from almost Slurpee-like machine) -- but the control is incredible, the packaging phenomenal, and the experience is new. It's like something from the Jetsons -- push a button on a can and get hot coffee in about 6 minutes. Amazing. Not "the best" coffee, but the one you have the most control over.
On the flip-side, iced-tea mix mega-monster Lipton, Inc. just gave their customers a new way to enjoy their product in on-demand single-servings. I remember the Lipton iced tea crystals back when my grandmother drank it all the time. She'd buy that big Kool-Aid type of canister and scoop out laundry detergent sized portions to mix in a glass pitcher -- but now there's a single serving option that I didn't see coming.
Liption Ice Tea To-Go is the same mix, but in a single-packet designed to be added to your average bottle of water. You just tear off the top and dump it in the bottle. Put the cap on, shake it a bit, and -- instant iced tea. Not "the best" iced-tea, but the one you have the most control over.
How can you give your customers access to more CONTENT (whether they actually choose to use it or not is another matter and a separate topic. They don't necessarily NEED it -- but they WANT it anyway.) and how can you provide them with more ways to CONTROL that new content?
For a consumer, EVERY day is Independence Day.
You can you make your clients WANT YOU by giving them ways to not NEED you.
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