Thom's Guided Tour

2011 Superbowl Ad Breakdown

Thom — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:05:08 +0000

The Superbowl is just about the only time of year I get to use my Latin.

Another year, another Superbowl probably with two teams that you don’t normally root for. Do you even remember who played in last year’s game? The commercials and the camaraderie are why most Americans watch the Superbowl and this year was no different.

Budweiser Popularity Plummeting

Thom — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:57:48 +0000

An ad from Budweiser's glory days as truly the "King of Beers", at least in sales.

Budweiser, the self-proclaimed King of Beers, is giving away free samples Sept 29th to drive brand familiarity and brand awareness in a fruitless attempt at slowing their rapidly shrinking market share.* Budweiser’s market share fell 9% in 2009 and has already fallen 9% so far this year. This contrasts strongly with craft beer (aka micro-brew) sales which are up 9% by volume and 12% by retail dollars in 2010 after growing 7.2% in volume and 10.3% dollars in 2009.**

Update on Blu-ray and DVDs

Thom — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:18:25 +0000

Most companies prefer sales charts that move up and to the right, not down and to the right.

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article which validates my previous post on Blu-ray’s obsolescence. Today’s article notes that DVD/Blu-ray sales are continuing to decline from their peak of nearly $16 billion in 2007, to less than $13 billion in 2009. Year-over-year sales declined 14% in the 2nd quarter of 2010 with no expected increase. Most movie execs claimed that a lack of movies was responsible for the decline in sales not a shift in viewing and buying patterns.

Blu-ray Discs are Already Obsolete

Thom — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:19:37 +0000

Blu-ray is cool and all, but too bad it's going to be irrelevant.

Yes, I am stating unequivocally that Blu-ray disc technology is already obsolete. But not because there is a better pre-recorded viewing technology, but rather the Blu-ray disc obsolescence stems from a changed marketplace. Online Streaming coupled with changing media consumption patterns means that those Blu-ray Disc players and movies delivering the latest and greatest viewing experience are already becoming obsolete and will never achieve the success and ubiquity of VHS or DVD players.

Are You Solving an Old Problem?

Thom — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:52:46 +0000

Search engines are still an onramp to the internet.

Businesses are often formed to provide a product or service - either proactively or in response to a specific problem. But businesses have to be careful that the problem that they are solving remains a current one, or that it solves the whole problem and not just part of the problem. Otherwise those businesses are vulnerable to competition from new market entrants and new technologies. A classic example of this phenomenon is Carbon Paper.