America's Digital Den: Tech's Next Big Thing Taking Shape?

New York, NY-- An independent survey conducted last month among 1,054 US online households reveals which hardware and electronics brands are favored by US consumers to deliver the media hub products and services that will transform American living rooms into techno-savvy `Digital Dens.' The study conducted by Ipsos-Insight, the global market research firm and member of the Ipsos Group, also identifies consumer preferences among pipeline companies, like the telcos, cable companies, and Internet companies (such as AOL and Yahoo!). "New media hub products will change the way people experience music, movies, TV, photographs and digital entertainment content in their homes," said Todd Board, Senior Vice President and head of Ipsos-Insight's Technology & Communications practice. "As more consumers migrate to broadband and pay for digital content, they will seek known brands to help them integrate digital content with their home entertainment systems. At the same time, our data seems to suggest that, now more than ever, companies that have reigned as top performers in certain product or service sectors are at risk of competition from cross-over industries, such as Apple has done in the digital music category." These latest findings dig deeper into consumer expectations of media hub products and follow an Ipsos-Insight report that revealed high consumer interest in Internet-friendly home entertainment products. Form A Factor? Consumers associate Microsoft (54%) and Sony (52%) as key players in delivering the Digital Den experience. However, when asked their preferred brand for the home media hub, Sony (21%) emerges as number one, followed by Dell (15%), Microsoft (13%), and HP (9%). "Sony maintains a positive brand image among US consumers," said Board. "With a solid product offering and the right marketing strategy, Sony has the potential to lead the emerging Digital Den marketplace, but not without competition and, at least as importantly, not without some collaboration with others who want to play in this space." Overall, hardware and electronics companies are most frequently cited as those who will deliver the Digital Den experience. "What's interesting is that once you get past the Sony and Microsoft halos, it's the PC companies like Dell (46%) and HP (41%) that consumers will look to for media hub products and services, more so than well-entrenched electronics companies like Panasonic (34%) and Samsung (20%)," said Board. "Pipeline companies, like the telcos, cable companies, and Internet companies, are not far behind as the preference for 9% of consumers (aggregate). "While the Digital Den has yet to take final shape, the diversity of brands considered by consumers leads us to believe that they seem to see a media hub-type product that follows the model of a Internet-enabled PC, where you buy the equipment from one brand and then sign up for the service with another brand," continued Board. The Digital Den will accelerate the convergence of these industries and groups like the Digital Living Network Alliance, an industry collaboration focused on digital interoperability, will make the Digital Den a reality sooner rather than later. Digital Den Bolsters "Need For Speed" Data also show that America's Digital Den will drive migration from dial-up to high-speed Internet connectivity, indicating many potential users understand that the new digital entertainment environment requires additional speed. Of those polled who currently do not have high-speed Internet access, 66% say that their interest in upgrading to a high speed Internet connection, like cable or DSL, would be directly impacted if it would improve their Digital Den environments. "Consumers adopting new media hub technology will want to optimize the performance of their Digital Dens," said Board. "For many, this means a renewed interest in trading up from slow web connections to a richer and more relevant, digital-friendly environment." "The tech landscape is littered with the failed promises of the `next big thing about to happen. While acknowledging that, we do see a critical mass of market interest in the Digital Den model. It's helped by Apple's iMac, by overall consumer staying power post-recession, and--perhaps most importantly--by a renewed tech sector focus on what consumers want to buy, as opposed to what engineers want to make," concluded Board. Methodology Data were gathered using the Ipsos U.S. Online Express from June 9--14, 2004. Interviews were conducted via the Internet among a representative U.S. online sample of 1,054 adults age 18 and older. The margin of error is +/- 3.1%. View Ipsos-Insight's other recent research on consumer interest in "Digital Den" home entertainment systems here. For more information on this release, please contact: Todd Board Senior Vice President, Technology & Communications Practice Ipsos-Insight 415.274.8924 About Ipsos-Insight Ipsos-Insight, the flagship marketing research division of Ipsos in the U.S., has industry specialists serving companies in the following categories: consumer products; technology and communications; health and pharmaceutical; financial services; cable, media and entertainment; agrifood; energy and utilities; and lottery and gaming. Ipsos-Insight provides custom and tracking research services to domestic clients, as well as U.S.-based multinationals. It offers concept and product testing, package testing, attitude and usage studies, omnibuses, tracking systems, brand equity, price optimization and segmentation, marketing models, advanced analytics, and global research. Ipsos-Insight is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos-insight.com. About Ipsos Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research group, with revenues of $644 million in 2003. It offers a full suite of research services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies in advertising, marketing, public opinion and customer loyalty research, as well as forecasting and modeling. Member companies also offer a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos.com. 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