Social Media, Advertising of a Product or Service and Moving down the Funnel: Stubhub.com

PRODUCT: Stubhub.com, for Americans sport fans stubhub.com is the way to get events tickets among other amazing sites or possibilities. For Mexicans, like me, Stubhub.com doesn’t exist in our country so the way to get them is to rush on sales day or buy them in the black market and when we come to the United States is either Ticketmaster.com, concierge services or Craiglist.com

How did you hear about the product initially?As soon as I knew I was coming to Seattle for an exchange program I looked for Packers @ Seahawks NFL opening season game. My first search was on NFL.com, ticketmaster.com and Craiglist.com to browse for ticket prizes and do so benchmark. After that search all my Facebook entries, google searches and sport related sites started to show something called Stubuhub.com, which at that time I didn’t know, the interesting thing was that all the adds show the game I was interested in or NFL games, targeting specifically I wanted or the game I was looking forward to attend.

How long did it take you to go from hearing about the product/service to actually purchasing? After my first entry to Stubhub.com to browse the site and calling some friends for referrals I entered the site again to check seats availability plus comparing prizes and sites friendliness with ticketmaster.com, NFL.com and craiglist.com. I noticed the prizes where not much different but the availability in Stubuhub.com was quite better and the detailed information from Stubhub.com was exceptional, but the thing that got me really interested was the ticket delivery options. After those 2 or 3 entries I got fixed with Stubhub.com options to finally make a purchase (after other 2 or 3 more entries), but I had to admit I randomly checked Ticketmaster.com for “better prizes”. Long-story short, I ended up buying the tickets from Stubuhub.com after 5 entries in their sites, what really delayed my purchase was the prizes/seats section comparison among their options.

What were some other forms of marketing that moved you from awareness to purchase? As mentioned before since my first search, without considering Stubhub.com, their ads started to show up in my google searches, Facebook entries and the sport websites I go to daily and that got me interested to see what they offered; after that what really helped me was my friends referrals that explained me how it works and lastly their website which I find out really detailed and friendly to users.

After that first purchase I have bought tickets for MLB Athletics @ Mariners and Cowboys @ Seahawks right straight from Stubhub.com without considering the previous options I used before. All three purchases have earned me “Stubhub Points” for my following purchase, which is really cool since it is a good discount and is something that Ticketmaster, Craiglist and NFL.com doesn’t have… In the end another plus for Stubhub.com

Edyn

Edyn grew (pun intended) from a Kickstarter campaign that promised a garden monitoring system that delivers data and insight into soil conditions, and suggests ideal crops and planting times. Today, after more than $384,000 in pledges (well over the $100,000 goal) that product has developed into a monitoring and automating system with distribution agreements at Home Depot for Spring 2015.

Edyn’s value proposition is making gardening easy. By sending environmental condition reports from the soil sensor to your smartphone, Edyn allows you to know what’s happening in your garden. It makes gardening simple by automating watering to when your soil needs it, and by suggesting what type of crop will flourish in your conditions.

This is a system that clearly has traction. In addition to the Kickstarter fundraising, Edyn has been covered by the New York Times, Bloomberg, Wired, TechCrunch, etc. It also gained huge momentum via Facebook posts (you might even say it went viral). The audience of these channels hints at who this system is targeted to. Novice gardeners who also happen to be gadget-savvy and can afford $250 systems are the primary targets. Experienced gardeners or farmers who run small-scale commercial gardens (and who still shop for their systems at Home Depot) may be a future market, based on Edyn’s marketing.

Given the fundraising channel, media coverage, images and messaging on their website, I would venture that Edyn’s positioning statement is something like this: “For new and experienced gardeners who wish they better understood their gardens, Edyn provides the only tool that monitors conditions and automates watering.” That seems pretty in line with their value proposition, but until they actually release a product and begin real marketing, it’s difficult to know for sure. Either way, I want this product for myself! Especially the future version that weeds for you.

NuvaRing

There are a number of potential competitors to VIraGuard and all of them are incumbent, proven birth control solutions in the market. Furthermore, many of these solutions allow the woman to make her own decision in preventing unplanned birth without any input from her partner. In today’s post, I will be evaluating Merck’s messaging for their vaginal ring, known by the market name “NuvaRing®”.

 

Merck does a very good job of describing the purpose and benefits of its NuvaRing® offering. It’s target market are non-smoking, younger (under 35) women in good health (especially without any vascular issues) who want control of unplanned pregnancy. They go onto say, in a clearly marked section of their website, that NuvaRing® is a monthly contraceptive that takes the shape of a small, flexible vaginal ring. Once inserted, you leave NuvaRing® in for three weeks until menstruation, where you take it out for the duration of menstruation and then insert a new ring.

 

Merck is positioning NuvaRing® as delivering the same level of contraception benefit (less than 1% failure rate) as the pill but with the benefit that you don’t have to take NuvaRing® every day, like you do the pill. In their “How It Works” section, they further appeal to their target consumer by noting that NuvaRing delivers the same type and level of hormones as the pill but without the inconvenience of taking it each day. This is especially effective as women who are new to NuvaRing® could be concerned that after finding a birth control pill that works for them, they could have problems with a new type of birth control drug. However, as Merck notes, it’s the same type and dosage of drug with the same level of effectiveness. Merck proceeds to compare NuvaRing® to all other types of birth control on the attribute of dosing frequency, where it excels compared to most other options.

 

Merck completes its review by helping potential customers currently using other forms of birth control identify the steps in getting started with NuvaRing®. They pick the most likely transition candidates of the pill, patch, and IUD and walk through the necessary steps to successfully transition. Additionally, they also attract users who currently aren’t using birth control (for a variety of reasons) by providing steps to starting NuvaRing® for the first time. Overall, Merck is incredibly helpful in stating the most important benefits to their target consumer and then providing additional context during the potential consumer’s decision.

– John Downey

Wanderu

Wanderu – Travel for the next generation.

“Wanderu is the simplest way to find and book bus and train travel from point A to point B. We are the leading marketplace that drives sales to the $20.6 billion North American ground travel market. Wanderu will dominate the ground travel space and use the advantage of our consumer search which Millennials love and low customer acquisition costs to develop the travel brand for the next generation”

–What does their Value Proposition say to you initially?

Wanderu’s Value Proposition gives me the impression that Wanderu provides an easy and convenient way to search and book intercity train and bus rides over North America at low costs. It seems that Wanderu is the Orbitz, Travelocity, or Kayak of massive ground transportation.

–What does their positioning seem to be when you read more about them?

They positioning seems to be:

• They are targeting Millennial and future generations who are more likely to use intercity ground transportation in North America.
• They remove the pain at surfing multiple websites for evaluating what is the best route at the best price for intercity traveling.
• There are no other competition in the market

–Does their Value Proposition match their Positioning?

Yes, their Value Proposition matches their positioning. Their positioning could be rephrased as such: For Millennials, Wanderu is the simplest way to find and book ground transportation because only Wanderu provides searching, discovering, and booking of ground transportation in North America.

Kyck

Kyck is a comprehensive destination for soccer news, social sharing of soccer media and for organizing your own leagues.

Value Proposition:

Their value proposition is that they offer a technologically advanced but simple platform for organizing leagues and youth soccer teams. They also offer products that allow you to share soccer media clips and to receive soccer related news. While I dont play soccer in soccer leagues, I imagine that having a comprehensive planning tool for setting up leagues and teams would be valuable for organizers.

They are positioned primarily towards die hard soccer fans who either are planning leagues or who want to constantly consume soccer highlights and news.

Kyck’s products and value proposition are definitely in alignment with who they are positioned towards. They bleed soccer and that is evident in their product lineup.

Sportchaser.com

SportChaser is the website that connects all sports fans to sports bars by locating which bars are broadcasting their preferred sporting events. They provides sports fans with a detailed search engine where they can find their favorite team’s game. Once having chosen their game, fans are able to find the right bar taking in consideration bars’ TV schedule and the atmosphere the fans want to be surrounded by while watching their game.

They appear to be positioning themselves as a social website that helps to bring people together based on their common love for soccer. From the website images/graphics, it appears that they are focusing more on the male population though it was irony to see that they were actually founded by two girls living in New York City who were having a hard time locating bars for their favorite spots.

It had also initially appeared that they are catered to either fans living in all parts of the USA or globally. However, upon closer view, they are only able to facilitate searches within New York City only. It has an element of mismatch expectation for me as what I had first thought of it is that the service is broader than just one city alone. Probably should have been clearer in their website at the beginning to eliminate disappointment upon closer search.

Having said that, their positioning does match their value proposition mostly, albeit for the male-only representation on their website versus to their elevator pitch of “all sports fans”.

Soccerly.com: The soccer destination for US fans

Soccerly.com is an online portal that provides news and information about soccer. Their goal is to be the soccer destination for fans in the US by providing them with relevant information and an enjoyable way to stay up to date with the most important events in the world of soccer.

By visiting their website I was able to get updated on the most important soccer events of the day. Along with articles the site includes links to soccer-related videos, images, and quotes. For example, the page included a video to the top goals of Premier League week 8, and also a quote from Louis Van Gaal after today’s Manchester United game. Their site also offers users many opportunities to get involved by commenting on, and sharing posts. Soccerly.com includes MLS, Premier League, Mexican League, Champions League, and women’s professional soccer news sections.

In my opinion their value proposition matches their positioning. They offer an enjoyable way for US soccer fans to stay informed while also offering them interesting and entertaining videos, images, and quotes. Additionally, they focus on leagues that are of high relevance for fans in the US (English Premier League, Spanish League, Mexican League), and have a section dedicated to fans of women’s soccer.

SmartThings – Home Automation Done Right!

SmartThings is a home automation based startup from Washington, DC. They offer products that let you “protect, monitor, and control your home … from anywhere” with a single app e.g. monitor and control the lights, doors, potential water leakage etc. As a result, you have a “safer and smarter” home.

According to Transparency Market Research, Home Automation Market is expected to reach 16.4 billion by 2019. Therefore, it is no surprise that lots of startups are entering this market with very similar product offerings centered around the theme of letting you monitor and control your home. However, what sets SmartThings apart is its compatibility with a wide range of products at an affordable price with hassle-free installation, as evident from the following CNET review:

“With easy-to-install sensors, wide product compatibility, and no monthly fees, SmartThings gets home automation right.”

SmartThings has done a great job in telling a simple and consistent story throughout their website and product collateral. Their value proposition is completely in line with the positioning – even the graphics on the website tell a consistent and a compelling story of why someone needs home automation and how only SmartThings is doing it right.

First Opinion – Connecting Moms with Doctors via text

First Opinion is a start-up geared towards developing a tool to facilitate seamless communication between patients and physicians. A major challenge in healthcare today is the frustration of visits to a physician’s office, and gaps in communication between that may lead to a perceived disconnect from healthcare providers. First Opinion is tackling this challenge by developing a text-based app that connects customers to practicing doctors 24/7. This app allows for instant answers (the company claims a physician response time of 9 minutes) without having to schedule an in-person appointment. The service is free, and a premium version is offered for customers who want even faster response times.

First Opinion’s value proposition is really the around-the-clock, instant and personalized connection to a practicing physician. As advertised on their website, First Opinion provides “Answers 24/7 in 9 minutes or less.” This kind of text-based service adds unique value to the market by offering an application that improves patient accessibility to physicians and demystifies and removes stigma often associated with doctor’s office visits.

While First Opinion is translating to all categories of patients, the company initially positioned itself to reach out to new and expectant moms. Through the video published on angel.co and the content of their website, the company seems geared towards promoting women’s health. The topics covered in the “Popular Questions” and “Health Blog” sections of their website, First Opinion seems to be positioning itself to be ideal for patients interested in women’s sexual and reproductive health as well as infant health.

As First Opinion transitions to servicing a diverse range of customer, it may need to focus on developing web content that positions the company as providing a service for all patients. For now, through the video, testimonials, and web content – First Opinion is able to convey cohesion in its value proposition and positioning as a tool to connect women with physicians.

Misfit Wearables

Misfit Wearables as a company is trying to humanize the wearable technology space. Their product vision is to make wearable accessories that are intuitive and easy to use. They are involved with designing both hardware and software exercise monitors and fitness trackers- wearable sensing, wearable feedback gadgets, wearable identity and payment technology.  In the age of the “quantified self,” they help their customers to wear their tech and crunch their own personalized versions of big data. They face direct competition from brands like Fitbit, Nike, Bodymedia and Jawbone.

Misfit’s Value Proposition is pretty clear. They makes elegant Fitness and Health monitors that are very much wearable. They promise to deliver “sporty, durable and fun” high-performance products with a no compromise approach to simplicity. The market segment is the affluent health-conscious customer who is cautious of making a style statement with her accessories.

Misfit has positioned its suite of products in alignment with the original company vision and value proposition. Misfit’s gears are not only functionally brilliant but also, visually stunning. They do not use plastic or rubber for their gadgets, rather, the gadgets are made from aircraft grade aluminum. The gadgets are water resistant and boast a long battery life (6-8hrs). Misfit makes it very easy to sync data with other devices. They use a proprietary technique of data transfer (to any iOS 5 device) that doesn’t require cables, charging stations, Wi-Fi – or even a Bluetooth connection. Misfit’s products can be easily concealed, yet attractive and well-built delivering on accuracy and precision.

CodeHS – Value Proposition and Positioning

“CodeHS is a site which will introduce you to programming and computer science principles. It is built for complete beginners, and you learn by watching videos, working in the browser, and then getting help and feedback from real people who know this material. Students who sign up for a membership will gain access to all CodeHS content, including all videos, example code, programming exercises and challenges.

Learning to program can be challenging, and most students get stuck along the way–but CodeHS is the only site where you can get the help you need to keep going. Every basic member gets help on the first module free and has the opportunity to purchase help on additional modules. Premium members get unlimited help on all modules without additional purchase.”

 

Initially, the value proposition of CodeHS looked to me like a toolkit (with tutors) to start teaching Computer Science skill set.

Their positioning is a pretty interesting one. Initially it seemed like they were targeting teachers. But later on reading more, I realized it is specifically targeting Students (especially Beginners) to learn Computer Science skills. But the school should have an account for CodeHS.

 

The value proposition of CodeHS on their website is slightly different and is still not in line with the Positioning. But on angel.co, it doesn’t match. The value proposition according to CodeHS website is “CodeHS is a toolkit for beginners to learn computer science skill set”. The value proposition doesn’t match the positioning. At least in the way they phrased it.

The reason I chose this product/service is “LifeBox”, the product we are currently working on is a toolkit for all basic life skills.

 

More about CodeHS here: https://codehs.com/faq/

Ryde Bright – Value Proposition and Positioning Statement

Ryde Bright – Value Proposition and Positioning Statement

• Ryde Bright – illuminating motorcycle jacket45
• http://www.rydebright.com/

What does their Value Proposition say to you initially?

• When I initially saw the company on Angel.co, my initial impression of their value proposition was safety; incorporating lights into a motorcycle jacket would significantly improve visibility of a rider at night.
• This initial impression was not well supported when first visiting the company website. The tagline you first see is, “This isn’t just a motorcycle jacket. IT’S A MOVEMENT.” The line “IT’’S A MOVEMENT” is what is confusing. This sounds like the jacket is more for personal style and the lights will just do something psychedelic.

What does their positioning seem to be when you read more about them?

• As I watched the video on angel.co, there is more to the product is supposed to do. There is a wireless interface that is supposed to sync the lights of the jacket to the function of the motorcycle. This same interface also serves as a charging mechanism for both the jacket and your cell phone.

• Though this information was presented on angle.co, the company site itself did not support the same understanding. The apps section talks about a raffle ticket and not an app, the technology section talks about installing the product and not what it does, the product section does not present the same features as the video, and the about us section is just pictures of the founders and nothing about the company itself.
• My understanding of their positioning:
  • They are targeting motorcycle riders, this is very vague
  • Their frame of reference is as a motorcycle-safety clothing company
  • Their point of difference appears to be improved safety
  • Their reason to believe is not just the lights but the interface, although it is unclear as to what that interface actually does

Does their Value Proposition match their Positioning?

• Their value proposition does in theory match their positioning, but they are both very vague. I think the only reason I am able to take away where the company is positioned is because I was trying to figure it out. These two concepts should be obvious when visiting the company website, they should jump out at you; Ryde Bright is currently making me work for it.

Aleem Wali
MBA Candidate, Class of 2016
Foster School of Business, University of Washington
www.linkedin.com/in/aleemwali/

iDomotics – Connecting and Automating the Home

iDomotics aims to bring the fully connected home to the masses. Founded with the goal of bringing robotics and home automation into people’s everyday lives, iDomotics is creating “an entire new experience between you, your smartphone, and your home.” The subject of a connected, automated home has been a major topic in technology development over the past few years, and iDomotics is positioning themselves as a total home solution.

iDomotics is trying to provide a simple, accessible, total-home automation solution to retail customers. Rather than focusing on only one type of appliance (i.e. lighting) like many competitors, iDomotics looks to connect your entire home utilizing connected personal devices as the controlling hub. Their value proposition is that they provide a simple total-home solution to homeowners seeking to connect and automate their entire home.

Looking deeply into their product mix, iDomotics seems to be taking the focused approach to their positioning. At this point, not all homeowners are interested in fully automating their homes, and iDomotics appears to be focusing on those customers that are ready, willing, and able (financially) to take that step.

A potential positioning statement for iDomotics could read similar to: For connected homeowners, iDomotics is the home automation system that easily connects your entire home, because only iDomotics provides a total-home connectivity solution that can be easily installed and scaled to fit the changing needs of the 21st-century homeowner.

iDomotics’ value proposition and positioning seem to be clear and in-line with each other. The impression you get upon the first glace of their product is the same as the impression you have after you’ve taken a deeper dive into their products and services. They seem to have a clear vision of what they are and where they’re going, now they just need their customers to follow them into the connected future.

OM signal

IM signal develops smart clothing products which can give bio-feedback about user’s well-being, including heart rate and breathing. These clothes are made of high-quality, comfortable material and seamlessly integrated with smartphones so that users can check the status of their bodies any time and can get alerts about their heart rate and breathing limits.

Their value proposition is to deliver broader and more intimate feedback than existing wearable products. Their positioning is targeting health-conscious active people with tech interest to help them live a fitter, healthier and happier life. It seems like their value proposition is a good fit for their positioning, because health-conscious people might look for more sophisticated products than standard wearable products, like smart watches, whereas standard customer might prefer a simple watch with a plain feedback.

More information about OM signal can be found here.

FIGS: “100% Awesome Medical Apparel” With a Social Twist

FIGS seeks to fill a need in the medical apparel niche by providing “fashion forward” scrubs for medical professionals. It also provides a social benefit with its “Threads for Threads” program, under which the company gives one set of scrubs to a healthcare provider in need in a resource-poor country for each set it sells.

At first blush, this company’s value proposition appears to involve providing scrubs that are more stylish than the current industrial-flavored fare. It adds to this by providing a very real service to medical providers around the world, which appeals to consumers who might look upon these providers as part of their community, doing the same work under very difficult conditions.

Upon closer inspection, the Threads for Threads program appears to be something the company takes very seriously. It has many partners, and devotes a fairly large amount of its attention to this project.

As for the positioning of its scrubs, its images focus on youth, action, and comfort. To me, as a non-health care worker, the clothes all look pretty much the same. However, the company focuses quite a bit on comfort. The quality of the fabrics and the fit of the clothes are major points of emphasis. I can see why this would hold enormous appeal for people who spend the majority of their waking lives in these outfits.

Does FIGS’ value proposition match its positioning? I would say so. Although the definition of “fashion forward” in the medical apparel industry might be somewhat different than it is on 5th Avenue, the focus on comfort, quality, and social responsibility is consistent and appealing.

               

Find out more at http://www.wearfigs.com.

Butterfleye – Google’s Nest meets Dropcam

Butterfleye is a wireless home surveillance camera that’s joining the growing ranks of intelligent, smartphone connected webcam systems designed to keep watch while you’re out and about. In addition to allowing you to check in on a live video feed whenever you like via iPhone, this smart camera comes equipped with a thermal sensor, motion detector, and facial recognition technology. [1]

Butterfleye is also aiming to integrate the camera into the smart home ecosystem by collaborating with developers for connectivity with additional 3rd-party software and devices. The company says its Active Eye Technology suite will eventually work with devices like the Pebble smartwatch and Jawbone Jambox, as well as intelligent lighting systems. At launch, Butterfleye will work with the iPhone only. [1]

The target audience for our portfolio of product are a lifestyle audience, who would be interested in a blend of cutting edge technology and chic fashion trends. Though butterfleye does not focus on the fashion or retail industry, it is a lifestyle product which shares our same target audience. They intend to do service this audience by bringing an element of style and usability into the domain of video surveillance and home monitoring.

The company’s value proposition in angel.co which reads as ‘Google’s Nest meets Dropcam’ is ambiguous to say the least. I believe their assumption in using such a value proposition is that everyone knows about google nest and dropcam. But many a times, that is not the case. For example, even though I am an active follower of startups and technology, I did not have any clue about what dropcam does apart from some educated guesses. So in many aspects, their initial value proposition falls a bit short to convey anything meaningful in my personal opinion.

Butterfleye does not have a secondary tagline as a positioning statement. On doing a deeper research, I got a feeling that the company’s positioning statement is overshadowed by their effort to promote testimonials about the product. Though testimonials are a great means to get the attention of the audience, in this context it does not make sense because the audience have a very limited understanding of the product before they are exposed to the testimonials. The company’s positioning statement reads as below –

We are the only monitoring camera that offers a smart ActiveEye platform, is cordless; records and streams the highest quality true HD video and has built-in storage.

Butterfleye’s Active Eye feature uses a learning algorithm combining video analytics and multiple sensors to detect movement, light, sound, and heat. It learns your daily behavior, using iBeacon and WiFi to stay alert when you’re away and recognize you when you come home. Instead of recording an empty room, we recognize when there’s an important event that needs to be captured.

The company’s product positioning statement does a good job of elucidating their product’s features and the crucial differentiating factor. Further, it goes on to explain that differentiating factor really well as well. However, I believe by attempting to position their product to a broader audience, Butterflyeye has made it a little unclear as to who exactly is their target audience. This might lead to the reader questioning whether this particular product is really meant for them. I think by including certain phrases like home monitoring or security to the statement, they would probably be able to give a clearer picture to the reader about the intended use and the specific pain point that is being solved.

AJMAL ALI HANEEF,

MS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT CANDIDATE, CLASS OF 2015

INFORMATION SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

References

[1] http://www.gizmag.com/butterfleye-smart-surveillance-camera-iphone-home-security/32201/

PillPack: Making medication simple

PillPack is a mid-stage startup company tackling the challenge of medication management. Targeted at individuals with chronic diseases who take multiple medications, PillPack provides medications in convenient, pre-packaged doses that are delivered directly to the customer’s house. As highlighted in the video below, this process (1) ensures that customers receive their medication refills when they need them, (2) helps customers take the right medications at the right time due to the convenience of the pre-packaged doses, and (3) makes it easy for customers to remember whether or not a dosage has been taken, based on the date and time printed on the dose packs. PillPack provides this “full-service pharmacy” all at the same co-pay price that is charged at other traditional pharmacies, providing a significant benefit to the customer for no added expense. PillPack’s value proposition can be summarized by the simple statement on its website: “Medication Simplified.”

PillPack’s positioning statement is also communicated through the details of its website. Specifically, the “Our Pharmacy” section of the website states that PillPack is a “modern pharmacy with old-fashioned values,” and that “service is at the heart of everything we do.” PillPack states, “Our vision is to make managing medications simple. We want to ensure that everyone is on the optimal set of medications, that it’s easy to take those medications correctly, and that clear, understandable medical information is always readily available.”

Through the written information, images, and videos on PillPack’s website, the company clearly communicates its value proposition to its customers and positions itself strongly against the traditional pharmacies in the market. The biggest question that I have is how well this online presence is actually reaching the company’s target customers, since most people taking multiple medications are older adults who may not be active online. I believe this challenge is solvable, however, through a combination of offline marketing materials and online marketing materials that target the children of elderly adults. Overall, I am excited about the future of PillPack and the impact it can have on the lives of those who rely on medications to stay healthy—which will include most of us, at some point in our lives.

DIY: Value Proposition and Positioning

As recently as ten years ago, if you wanted to learn outdoor skills you mainly joined a Boy or Girl Scout troop. While these could be fun groups, they were incredibly limited both by the troop’s interests and the time and skill of their leaders. On top of that, all required being part of the group, which could be challenging if you didn’t match the group’s mold close enough.

Now we have the internet, and sites like DIY, which has many of the interests of Scouting along with updated skills like coding and clothing hacking, all done through an online community.

DIY – Teaching archery to everyone.

Initially, I assumed that DIY was out to simply be Scouting 2.0. However, they’re also offering a safer, teen-oriented platform for posting creativity online compared to Youtube, which can be integrated for parents and educators around the world.

While their main value proposition is:

Learn anything and be anyone.

Their secondary tagline can also work as a positioning statement:

DIY is the best place to level up your skills, meet friends, find an audience, and just be awesome.

This can be expanded to:

For teens, DIY is the best place to level up your skills, meet friends, find an audience, and just be awesome through an online platform that connects you to new skills and the DIY community.

Their value proposition is matches their positioning, but focused on the teen user aspect. The value proposition reads to me about self-improvement almost at an entertainer/Youtuber level, with phrases like “find an audience” alongside “just be awesome.” However, the parental positioning focuses on individual skills, mentorship, and teacher connectivity. Given that the site itself highlights usability aspects and potential skills/patches, this matches an intent to reach parents through their children. I’ll be curious to see if they move more into other types of life skills or different ways to be an online presence next.

Taglines, screenshot from DIY.org.

Blog Assignment #2

Look at Angel.co and pick a company in your product’s general market that you have never heard of before.

–What does their Value Proposition say to you initially?

–What does their positioning seem to be when you read more about them?

–Does their Value Proposition match their Positioning?

Beep: Value Proposition and Positioning

Company: BEEP

Website: https://www.thisisbeep.com

This company created a specialized device that controls any kind of speaker via Wi-Fi in order to provide perfectly synchronized high quality audio in all or just some of your speakers. All control can be made from your phone or tablet using your Spotify or Pandora app or from a microphone included in the device. The idea is to let you communicate with your computer in any room of your house given that this device is build over a platform with an open source operating system in order to motivate developers to create more apps.

Value Proposition

Beep is a wireless device that “makes your speakers intelligent” by giving you the power to perfectly synchronize music in every room of your home without streaming problems. It is also designed to let you communicate with your computer through its included microphone.

Positioning Statement

For all those music enthusiasts, Beep is the system that delivers wireless high quality audio without interruptions in your home because Beep, uses a unique platform and technology that is not only reliable and simple to use but affordable.

I think that the product is awesome, furthermore the simplicity on the language that they are using in their web page is totally dedicated to educate the early adopters in to this new way of listening and controlling music at home. All this is complemented perfectly with some videos that enhance the experience and show how the product works.

ClassWallet: Value Proposition and Positioning

ClassWallet: https://www.classwallet.com/

Venture Description:

In summary ClassWallet is an e-tool specifically focused on school teacher for them to collect, manage, buy and track resources to help their class projects.

Value Proposition:

ClassWallet website explains that school teachers have a wide variety of tasks and among those tasks are collecting, administrate, spend and track those funds making their job very difficult, without forgetting that the collecting task can be even more difficult due the fact that there are checks, cash and wire transfers, all this causing major distraction for the teachers from their main purpose which is teach.

So ClassWallet can be defined as an e.assistant for teachers, allowing them to focus in teaching and making their finance really easy.

Positioning:

After considering various options and reading their website several times I think this could be a good approach to their positioning:

For Teachears of all USA, ClassWallet is the e-finance tool that delivers an easy to use e-platform to collect, administrate, spend and track their class funds because only ClassWallet enables teachers to do all in one site and be focused to teach

Although the barriers to entry are low and there may be other apps that without being so specific (only for teachers) could do the same. ClassWallet has a comprehensive language for their segment and this may allow them to acquire a good market, plus they really know and detail the situation and problems they are trying to solve.

Mind Snacks: Value Proposition and Positioning

Company: Mind Snacks

At first glance, Mind Snacks’ value proposition appears to be that the product allows you to gain knowledge, “feeds your brain,” through fun phone game applications. The home page exclaims “Games for your brain” and uses elaborate cartoon icons to represent the different topics/categories of games that the company offers. It is also very clear that the games are applications for smart phones because there is a giant picture of a smart phone on the home page.

After looking through the descriptions of some of Mind Snack’s games, I have created the below positioning statement for the company:

For Students of all ages, Mind Snacks are the most fun educational gaming applications that deliver facts, ideas, and concepts (on a variety of subjects) because Mind Snacks’ games are the most engaging, sophisticated, and content rich learning apps ever designed.

I think that Mind Snacks has done a good job of aligning the company’s value proposition and positioning statement. I did notice that the vocabulary used in some of the application descriptions was relatively sophisticated and would not be appropriate for all ages. I think that the site is likely trying to speak simultaneously to the purchaser, through the text, and the application user, through the character images. Sometimes the purchaser and the user may be the same person.

Check out the company website: https://www.mindsnacks.com/

Company Profile: SNUPI Technologies

SNUPI Technologies is a sensor and services company focusing on home safety, security, and loss prevention. The technology was developed by the University of Washington and Georgia Tech to provide homeowners with a simple way of maintaining a healthy home. SNUPI Technologies provides a consumer friendly, state-of-the-art sensor network that monitors changes in moisture, temperature and humidity to give homeowners intelligent insights into the health of their home.

In addition, SNUPI developed the WallyHome system which pairs a Hub with wireless sensors, placed near appliances or in hazard-prone spaces, to create a seamlessly connected smart home platform. With the web and mobile app dashboards, users receive detailed information about their home including temperature and humidity readings, along with water leak alerts.

As a B2C company, it seems that SNUPI Technologies targets young tech-savvy homeowners who care about the safety and security of their home.

In 2011, 14 million homeowners suffered from damage due to water, freezing and mold, which resulted in $11 billion in property loss.

You can learn more about SNUPI by visiting their website http://www.wallyhome.com.

Company Profile : Oculus Rift VR

Oculus Rift VR

http://www.oculus.com/

 

Though I have heard about this earlier, I wasn’t much interested in this. Last Wednesday, I attended Virtual reality event in Seattle. And I am surprised to see a lot of developers working on this platform.

 

Oculus is an immersive virtual reality technology that’s wearable and affordable. Recently bought by Facebook, Oculus current target market is still obscure. Located in Irvine, CA, Oculus was given Oxygen by Kickstarter campaign. This is still in Development mode and is not yet available for general public.

 

It appears to me the first few customers Oculus trying to capture is from B2C.

The way they are selling the product suggest that Oculus is actually trying to target US market. But European markets are on the top priority too. The distribution system of Oculus headsets makes us to assume this.

The first few customers Oculus is trying to woo is definitely the “Gamers”. With its immersive 3D technology, games look too realistic. This naturally attratcs gamers. While XBOX and PS4 are costing about $500, Oculus Development Kit costs about $350. This clearly is a strategy to lure Gamers. They are trying to steal customers from Microsoft and Sony (also Nintendo). I think after acquired by Facebook, they are following a very specific approach of building the community of developers first before actually releasing the product to the general customers.

 

The only thing I couldn’t understand is “Why Facebook needs Oculus?” I tried a lot thinking about this but I still have no definite reasoning.

 

Company Profile: Donuts Inc.

Donuts is an Internet domain name registry founded in 2011 by Paul Stahura and three other co-founders. They are backed by institutional capital such as Austin Ventures, Generation Partners and has raised more than $100M in its A financing round. They also applied at ICANN for 307 top-level-domain names (sometimes called TLDs or extensions) in 2012.

As Donuts is required by ICANN to only sell domains via registrars such as Godaddy, 1&1.com, eNom and many others, their target market are varied as they cannot control who their target audience may be. However, this is not necessary a bad thing as this has helped them to offer services to both B2C and B2B consumers on a larger scale by piggy-backing on these registrars. Based on the latest domain release of .CITY and .HEALTHCARE, it appears that they are growing to service a bigger market potentially in the government and health sector.

In addition, Donuts offer varied identities in multiple languages and character sets in organizations worldwide (topping 2 million registrations) which suggests that they are gaining popularity within an existing market who now gets to enjoy more choices in specific domains that cater better to their needs.

Company Profile: MightyCall

MightyCall is a B2B cloud-based contact center and customer experience company based out of Seattle. They help companies manage customer requests coming from any source, whether it’s from a phone call, e-mail, social media or company website.

Their target markets are both small businesses and big enterprises that value high-quality customer service. Their offering caters to a variety of industries from software companies to restaurants. They offer small businesses an easy way to showcase their customer-centric focus. For enterprises, they offer a cost-effective solution to managing customer requests and satisfaction.

Profile: Airbiquity

Airbiquity, currently in spot #69 on the Geekwire 200 list, hopes to bring cloud-based, contextually aware technology to personal vehicles. Currently a leading provider of entertainment and information services (think streaming music and navigation) to automakers like Nissan, Airbiquity’s main product is a connected car platform called Choreo, which can already be found in 4 million vehicles around the world.

As a B2B company, Airbiquity primarily targets automotive OEMs with its current platform offering, which can be customized for each car model. The company’s future vision of connected cars that adapt to drivers’ habits and lifestyle targets a market of drivers that want to stay connected while in their vehicles, and who may also expect their cars to be intelligently safe and fuel efficient.

Connected car technology (or “automotive telematics technology” as the company calls it) is still at a very early stage, and is one of the pioneering examples of an even more nascent industry– the Internet of Things, or M2M, where devices connect and share information in order to extend computing away from the desktop (and beyond mobile in some cases). Given the fledgling state of this industry, the addressable market size for Airbiquity is still a wild approximation, but competition from companies like Google, Intel, Microsoft, AT&T, and many small startups suggests that interest is already burgeoning.

Redfin

Redfin is a real estate website that blends traditional home buying via agents with online search technology. The agents are paid based on results of satisfaction surveys that customers take whether there was a deal or not. The use of technology accessible to users as well as the emphasis on customer satisfaction places more control in the buyer’s hands. The site can also be used for selling your home with the same features as mentioned above.

A majority of Redfin brokers are young to middle aged. This helps project a more youthful appearance, which is consistent with their focus on technology and their target audience. Their Facebook page indicates that many users (based on “likes”) are first time home buyers as indicated by pictures of young couples and their small children.

Currently Redfin agents are located in multiple major cities. Home buyers and sellers are limited to these markets since, although technically a posting in any city can be made, Redfin still relies on agents to close deals; no agent no deal.

By reimagining the process of home buying and selling, Redfin is not developing a brand new market, but rather attempting to take share (especially younger customers) from traditional establishments such as Century21 and Coldwell Banker. Young customers that have stable incomes from professional careers and who may have young children but are not entirely comfortable entrusting their home buying/selling experience completely to a broker, now have another choice with Redfin. However, these are not their only competitors. Users of sites such as Zillow, which connect buyers and sellers directly without any agents are also part of Redfin’s target market especially due to their use of technology. Redfin is a hybrid between Zillow and Century21 (and the like) and offers their target market the control they desire in the home buying/selling experience but also the guidance and peace of mind that comes with having a broker that has your back.

Company Profile: Navigating Cancer

Navigating Cancer provides a software platform to help engage and empower cancer patients in their healthcare. In doing so, this platform helps oncology practices treat their patients more effectively, achieving lower costs, higher patient satisfaction, and improved outcomes. Navigating Cancer is currently ranked #125 on the GeekWire 200 list of startups in the Pacific Northwest and is #8 among healthcare startups on this list.

Navigating Cancer is primarily a B2B company, selling its software platform to healthcare providers, with a focus on oncology practices. Its website lists several small- and mid-sized oncology centers and specialty clinics as its customers, indicating that this type of specialized oncology practice represents the company’s target market.

Although Navigating Cancer sells its platform to oncology practices, it depends on cancer patients as users of the platform. To achieve this usage, the platform is free to cancer patients and offers them educational materials, support from both family and the cancer survivor community, and tools to proactively participate in and help manage their healthcare.

Overall, Navigating Cancer must market both to its customers (healthcare organizations) and end users (cancer patients) in order to drive a successful business. While the platform is most useful to patients whose doctors are customers of Navigating Cancer and who can therefore utilize the full patient engagement capabilities of the platform, any cancer patient can sign up for an account and utilize the educational and community features of the platform. In this way, the company can increase its user base and leverage it to demonstrate patient demand for this kind of service to potential customers.

Caring Care: Navigating Cancer Aids by Educating

Navigating Cancer is a Seattle-based company that aims to improve the lives of cancer patients and survivors by promoting engagement and education. Utilizing an online patient engagement portal, Navigating Cancer provides patients with additional options to engage their care providers throughout their treatment.

By directly engaging patients with extensive online resources, Navigating Cancer is a natural extension of today’s always-connected, online-centric culture. Targeting cancer patients and survivors by providing a holistic care, education and support environment online, backed by medicine, Navigating Cancer is helping patients and survivors cut through the myriad of medical information and advice online (often suspect) to find the care and support they need and can actually use. Tailored to a very specific target market, this may be an important service segment in the future of healthcare. An online ecosystem that provides care and support to patients and survivors of a specific illness could make it easier for patients to find and receive that care and support they need, and aid providers in getting it to them.

Employing a social media strategy that seems to focus on medical education and information, rather than generating buzz, is the appropriate tone for Navigating Cancer. Their users benefit from the sharing of actual research and resources, not publicity, and the social media outreach supports the ecosystem that Navigating Cancer has built. By publicizing research and resources using their social media presence, they are taking advantage of all the current opportunities to provide support to cancer patients and survivors.

Navigating Cancer is leveraging the increasing availability and ubiquity of online resources to engage and help cancer patients and survivors. By taking advantage of these opportunities, they are working to make it easier and less expensive to receive/provide the best care available. While the ability to provide care at a lower cost is particularly important in today’s health care environment, Navigating Cancer is improving patients’ and survivors’ ability to access quality care and support, which is what really matters in health care.