"Digital Den" Market Still Up For Grabs, Says Ipsos Insight Survey
Just over one out of three consumers is aware of the media hub--or Digital Den--concept, basically unchanged from a year ago at 38%. When exposed to the concept, nearly six out of ten (57%) consumers show an interest in buying a media hub. Among consumers who show an interest in owning a media hub, just over a quarter (27%) anticipate acquiring one within the next six months, and nearly one third (30%) anticipate doing so within six months to a year.
"Barriers to Digital Den adoption have remained stable," said Todd Board, Senior Vice President and head of Ipsos Insight's Technology & Communications practice. "Brand compatibility, back-compatibility with existing products, functionality, set-up issues, and whether or not consumers have a real need for a media hub remain top-of-mind questions. But, given the combination of a relatively low level of familiarity and strong interest in the marketplace, an opportunity exists for media product providers who want to step up and help shape consumer expectations."
Mr. Board continued, "A majority of survey respondents who don't currently own a media hub are interested in having the ability to more easily link digital devices and content. Clearly, a more concerted Digital Den initiative from a hardware manufacturer (like HP, Samsung, or Sony), service provider (telephone, cable, or wireless), or a content provider (like Yahoo!, AOL, or MSN) could raise consumer familiarity and comfort with this concept."
Movies And Music Drive Interest In Ownership Managing movies and music has by far the greatest appeal to consumers, indicating an unmet need among the marketplace to manage and access this type of digital content in the home. Said Board, "This maps closely to parallel research we're doing about convergence on wireless devices - clearly these two trends will relate to each other but it's not clear exactly how at this point." Realistic Ticket Price Consumer expectations of what a media hub will cost have shifted dramatically. Last year, consumers expected to pay almost $400 for a media hub, whereas this year's survey revealed average price expectations of $260, in line with current marketplace offerings."However, category leadership is unclear," said Mr. Board. "Who will step forward and provide the necessary consumer education and handholding remains an open question. We clearly see not only the potential - but to some extent the expectation among consumers - that brands like Sony, Microsoft, Dell or HP will help develop this concept and make it work well. That's the interesting paradox of brand-building in that top echelon of Tech leaders - you build in expectations along the way that you then face some pressure to fulfill. If you don't lead where your marketplace expects you to lead, that can have ripple effects more broadly through your brandscape."
"As with the digital music space, the question is - will someone like an Apple step up and make a bold bet with a space-defining approach like the iPod and iTunes do in the music space? The Digital Den concept is at least as uncertain from the point of view of potential players there. I have to believe, though, that there are executives in various other consumer electronics firms, sitting there today with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, saying `why didn't we get to digital music first, and really define it and own it?' There will be people asking themselves that same question about digital convergence when we look back later on."
Methodology The Ipsos Insight study was conducted with a representative sample of 1,897 online U.S. adults and teens aged 13 and over. Data were gathered using the Ipsos U.S. Online Express from June 7--14, 2005. Comparison data is cited from the Ipsos U.S. Online Express fielded from June 9--14, 2004. Interviews were conducted via the Internet among a representative U.S. online sample of 1,054 adults only (aged 18 and older).For more information on this press release, please contact: Todd Board Senior Vice President, Technology & Communications Practice Ipsos-Insight [email protected] 415.597.4013
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