iPod Thieves Around the Beltway<< Who's Minding the Store? | Main | Sales Pitch at the Gas Pump >> Today's Washington Post tells of increasing iPod thefts inside and outside the Beltway and trauma left behind (good thing I'm testing a Creative player and Napster to Go this week). There's something poetic about the D.C. detective investigating the thefts being a former punk rocker (How can he be former, even if a cop? Once punk, always punk). The story focuses on sense of loss, as the stolen music players were so personal to the owners, which labored over loved tunes put on the devices. Said one victim: "The relationship with my iPod was built on downloading all that music...it makes you feel connected with the library." Another victim described her recovered stolen iPod as a "jewel." I encourage every portable device vendor to read the story and to contemplate the marketing value of a product made so personal by the owner's relationship. I recently spoke with a technology product manager whose 13 year-old daughter was devastated over the theft of a cell phone--and not because she feared her parent's reaction. She had developed strong feelings for the device after personalizing ringtones and display screen and inputting with names and phone numbers pics of the people. My only conclusion from looking at Apple's iPod marketing: Steve Jobs and Co. understands the personal aspect of music really well--and the marketing value of ownership. |
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