What Does it Mean When Mainstream Press Covers Niche Products?

Andrea Wood | January 20, 2006, 10:24 AM

As an analyst, I expect to have more insight into consumer electronics with a niche market than other folks might. So when I’m reading a non-techie publication like Vogue or Maclean’s (Canada’s take on Newsweek), I get a kick out of the technologies mentioned. Like today, I noticed a small piece in Vogue on Levi's Red Wire DLX jeans (traditional fit jeans with a docking cradle in one of the pockets, a retractable set of earphones and a joystick to eliminate the need to remove the iPod from a pocket). I guess fashionistas would be interested in this product because it is designed to avoid pocket bulge. There’s a problem with this theory though: people want an iPod cause it looks cool. Fashionistas like to look stylish/cool. They might want to avoid ruining a good pair of jeans with a wallet-style outcropping. But would they buy a boring pair of iPod jeans? I wouldn’t. And I like technology AND fashion.