The mystery between the inertia of prospects and the evangelical zeal of TiVo users can be explained by the differences in how the product and services are perceived by each group. The early adopter young men who often want to be the first to own any new, technologically advanced product are the outliers and will quickly move on to the next device. For TiVo to hold onto these early adopters, the gaming and sports aspects of the system need to be communicated very clearly and passionately. Setting aside these young men who are early adopters of new, proven technologies, the differences between the inertia of prospects and the evangelical zeal of mainstream users can be defined by each group‘s perception of value. Prospects are seeing the TiVo as innovative, yet utilitarian in its value; they are not associated emotions and urgency with the product and its solution as a result. Conversely, the passionate users who have an evangelical zeal for the product are equating it with the ability to collaborate, communicate and connect more effectively than ever with their families. These passionate zealots of the product have found a way to make time slow down and use it to their advantage. To them, TiVo is a mechanism for making the world stand still long enough so they can enjoy their families and have a chance to relax. It allows them to control the pace of their lives more effectively. This is why the comment of one respondent regarding the use of TiVo on a radio is so relevant. The idea of hearing a great program on the radio or song and then "TiVoing" it is similar to saying the digital content will be saved for another time. Prospects however don't see this; the value of the system and services are more utilitarian in their minds, focused on the aspects of just recording shows and playing them later. The prospects fail to see the emotional connection of the product to their lives, hence the lack of purchase. In terms of conflicting hypotheses, the greatest is the push and pull between utilitarian versus passionate perception of the product. The marketing is sadly pushing more of a utilitarian view throughout the case; it fails to capture the passion and enthusiasm of the most positive users of the system. Another conflicting hypothesis is the need that many have to time-splice their days and get as much done in as little time as possible. The conflicting hypotheses of this area include the lack of time families with children perennially have relative to the abundance of time that young, single relatively affluent men have to explore the full range of features the TiVo has. The time continuum is another major area of hypothesis testing as well. Finally there is the issue of the actual experience of using the device as well. The evangelists will be more than willing to put up with any kind of marginal performance form its navigation, with the early adopters often finding the navigation of initial screens like a game to be solved and won. For the mainstream user however, these screens can be exceptionally challenging and difficult to overcome. And the mainstream customer is where TiVo could have taken off.
¶ … TiVo
According to Keast, "There is a mystery in the sharp contrast between the inertia of prospects and the evangelical zeal of TiVO users." As an emerging expert in consumer behavior, how would you tackle that mystery? What do you think could be going on? Beyond your hypothesis, list a large number of conflicting hypotheses by taking multiple points-of-view. What might "evangelists" mention as a cause of their failure to sell TiVo to their friends? What might "couch potato" say about his or her reluctance to buy TiVo? What would you expect a top executive at NBC to say about the situation? What would the founder of TiVo love to hear?
The mystery between the inertia of prospects and the evangelical zeal of TiVo users can be explained by the differences in how the product and services are perceived by each group. The early adopter young men who often want to be the first to own any new, technologically advanced product are the outliers and will quickly move on to the next device. For TiVo to hold onto these early adopters, the gaming and sports aspects of the system need to be communicated very clearly and passionately. Setting aside these young men who are early adopters of new, proven technologies, the differences between the inertia of prospects and the evangelical zeal of mainstream users can be defined by each group's perception of value. Prospects are seeing the TiVo as innovative, yet utilitarian in its value; they are not associated emotions and urgency with the product and its solution as a result. Conversely, the passionate users who have an evangelical zeal for the product are equating it with the ability to collaborate, communicate and connect more effectively than ever with their families. These passionate zealots of the product have found a way to make time slow down and use it to their advantage. To them, TiVo is a mechanism for making the world stand still long enough so they can enjoy their families and have a chance to relax. It allows them to control the pace of their lives more effectively. This is why the comment of one respondent regarding the use of TiVo on a radio is so relevant. The idea of hearing a great program on the radio or song and then "TiVoing" it is similar to saying the digital content will be saved for another time. Prospects however don't see this; the value of the system and services are more utilitarian in their minds, focused on the aspects of just recording shows and playing them later. The prospects fail to see the emotional connection of the product to their lives, hence the lack of purchase.
In terms of conflicting hypotheses, the greatest is the push and pull between utilitarian vs. passionate perception of the product. The marketing is sadly pushing more of a utilitarian view throughout the case; it fails to capture the passion and enthusiasm of the most positive users of the system. Another conflicting hypothesis is the need that many have to time-splice their days and get as much done in as little time as possible. The conflicting hypotheses of this area include the lack of time families with children perennially have relative to the abundance of time that young, single relatively affluent men have to explore the full range of features the TiVo has. The time continuum is another major area of hypothesis testing as well. Finally there is the issue of the actual experience of using the device as well. The evangelists will be more than willing to put up with any kind of marginal performance form its navigation, with the early adopters often finding the navigation of initial screens like a game to be solved and won. For the mainstream user however, these screens can be exceptionally challenging and difficult to overcome. And the mainstream customer is where TiVo could have taken off.
For the couch potato, time is not that much of an issue as they are on the couch all day long watching TV. The time continuum means nothing to them, while the experience is very important. The marketing in its present form however is very utilitarian-based and does not appeal to this group fo customers whatsoever. For the NBC executive the ability to monitor logs to see which commercials are seen or not, and to see which programs are most and least watched are a goldmine of data that can be used to better plan schedules in addition to defining advertising rates. The founder of TiVo would love to hear that the real problem is that no one really understands just how amazing this system is. Unfortunately the marketing is so utilitarian based and yet there is so much potential to align it with the emotions of being connected with family and time savings, compressing time in effect, that the overall sales of the product never reach their optimal levels. it's because the marketing has not touched on the most relevant emotions to communicate clearly and passionately what the real value of TiVo is. For TiVo to turn this situation around they will need to find the dominant emotion that resonate with each customer base and redefine their marketing accordingly.
2. Based on what you know now (ten years after the case), how has TiVo changed consumer behavior? What challenges does TiVo current face and what are your recommendations to TiVo for future growth?
You’re 77% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.