Scan Monthly No. 008October 2003 |
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Signals of Change
Interactive Advertising
SoC029
Interactive TV, wireless billboards, and camera phones are all blazing new trails in advertising techniques by enabling users to take part in an ad rather than just passively viewing it. Interactivity provides the potential for forms of advertising that move away from traditional attention-hijacking techniques toward attention-engaging techniques—consumers don't just look at advertisements; they "do" them.
China's Global Brands
SoC030
Chinese companies have begun the long march to establish Chinese brands as commercial players in the global marketplace. Some are building an offshore presence under their current names; others are buying and rebuilding distressed Western brand names. China's split personality concerning the legal protection of trade secrets, intellectual property, and copyrights will moderate the speed of the process, but the emergence of at least some global brands from China is inevitable.
Activating Shareholders
SoC031
Companies are looking to use all the barometers they can lay their hands on in the stormy, uncertain, and rapidly changing business environment that they must navigate these days. Some companies are depending on shareholders for early identification of upcoming issues, turning what was once a liability—active shareholders—into an asset.
Branded Generics
SoC032
The term branded generic was self-contradictory only in the days of the late, great twentieth century. U.S. courts have recently agreed with Indian pharmaceutical companies arguments that the process by which a company creates a drug can distinguish it legally from an identical branded drug. The resulting drug has some of the commercial advantages of a generic drug (lower prices than the branded product) while retaining some of the protections of the original branded drug. In what other fields are once black-and-white intellectual-property issues turning gray?
Insights
| The Mythical Product Benefit | View summary |
| D03-2446 | Download this Insight |
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The misconception that products have static and predetermined sets of benefits that appeal to and serve consumers at large throughout the general population has contributed significantly to the failure of many products in the marketplace. In reality, a benefit for consumers in one segment of the market turns out to be a cost or disadvantage for consumers in a different market segment. One product feature can even, with time, transmogrify from a benefit to a disadvantage for a particular user—the simple and limited interfaces that help beginners learn often become liabilities as the users become capable of taking advantage of more sophisticated interfaces. The concept of an ideal set of benefits for any one product is as much a myth as the idea of a completely homogeneous market. This study identifies the limitations of the traditional concept of product benefits and provides an alternative framework for engineering market success. The author examines consumer interaction with product in terms of purpose, use, and context and examines products or services in terms of features, attributes, and affordances. He provides examples of applying the framework using real-world products such as e-book readers and PDAs. Author: Martin Schwirn. 17 pages. Index Keywords: Advertising; Consumer Behavior; Consumer Electronics; Marketing; Product Development. |
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| Smart Dust: Self-Organizing Wireless Sensor Networks | View summary |
| D03-2447 | Download this Insight |
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The technological drive to develop ever-smaller electronic devices continues to gather pace, no more so than in the world of solid-state microsensors. Microelectromechanical-systems technology is allowing developers to reduce the size and power consumption of a wide range of devices, including sensors, actuators, communication systems, and power systems. But the objective that captures researchers attention is the potential to make these devices not only smaller but smarter, with wireless-network capabilities. A hot topic within this category is "smart dust": small, low-cost, wireless devices, or motes, that not only can monitor measurands and communicate with each other but also can form networks that are self-organizing and self-healing. Such sensor networks could lower costs, open myriad business opportunities, and possibly usher in true, real-world pervasive computing. As with many emerging technologies, however, a fragmented early market, slow adoption, hype, and numerous imposing technical barriers could make the commercialization timeline quite long. The first applications are likely to be military, for battlefield monitoring and surveillance tasks, with later applications emerging in industrial settings, consumer goods, security uses, building and climate control, and transportation. Author: Michael Adeogun. 14 pages. Index Keywords: Computer Networks; Electronics Technology; Information Technology; Manufacturing Automation; Sensors. |
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| Bioelectronics: Integrating Biomolecules with Electronics | View summary |
| D03-2448 | Download this Insight |
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Bioelectronics researchers are exploiting the growing technical ability to integrate biomolecules with electronics to develop a broad range of functional devices. So far, commercial progress in integrating biological entities with electronics has been slow, and most applications are still at the discovery and development stages. However, the market potential of bioelectronics applications is huge, particularly in medical applications. Using biomolecules as building blocks for higher-level functional devices, researchers will be able to create recognition or sensing devices, such as biosensors, as well as biofuel cells that use substances in the body, such as glucose, to generate energy to power implantable devices. The application of bioelectronics to molecular electronics also offers the longer-term potential to increase computing-microchip density down to the nanometer level. To take bioelectronics applications from the laboratory to mass markets, developers will have to commit to long development timelines and invest considerable financial resources. Moreover, the effort will need to be multidisciplinary and will require access to novel manufacturing, design, and modeling processes; regulatory guidelines for market approval and sales and marketing procedures; and reliable power sources for implantable devices and prosthetics. Author: Andrew Broderick. 8 pages. Index Keywords: Biotechnology; Electronics Technology; Information Technology; Medical Research; Sensors. |
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| Managing Issues: Proactive Responses to Public Concerns | View summary |
| D03-2449 | Download this Insight |
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Companies have traditionally managed issues reactively, waiting until public controversy, litigation, or government regulation turns the issues into crises. Todays business environment of deregulation, consumer sensitivity, a 24-hour news cycle, and proliferation of sensors capable of measuring trace amounts of substances in products and the environment make reactive issues management insufficient for many companies. Proactive issues management is on the rise, with Eli Lilly, McDonalds Corporation, and Kraft Foods providing examples of the new approach to dealing head-on with public concerns about products, services, and practices. Under proactive issues management, companies identify and attempt to resolve issues before they gather the attention of the public and advocacy groups. This study describes the changes in the business environment that require proactive responses and explains why reactive issues management is usually insufficient for handling todays complex issues. It also describes the tactics and strategies that the three proactive companies have adopted to address public concerns. In addition, the study provides a watch list of technologies and substances that could raise public concerns and are worth managing now. Author: Greg Powell. 9 pages. Index Keywords: Communications; Business Ethics; Environment; Information Management; Management; Marketing; Planning Tools; Risk Management; Strategic Planning. |
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Calendar
Scan™ Briefings
The 2003 biannual Scan™ Briefings in which Scan staff present Scan analysis and findings in Menlo Park, California, will take place on:
- 20 May 2004 at 8:00 am
- 21 October 2004 at 8:00 am
Scan™ Abstract Meetings
Scan abstract meetings (in which SRIC-BI [now SBI] staff participate in a free-form discussion of current Scan abstracts) are open for client observation/participation on:
- 21 January 2004 at 9:00 am
- 17 March 2004 at 9:00 am
- 19 May 2004 at 1:30 pm
- 21 July 2004 at 9:00 am
- 22 September 2004 at 9:00 am
- 20 October 2004 at 1:30 pm
Watch List
The Scan program's scanning and research processes identify areas on the periphery of your organizations's focus that constitute potential opportunities or threats. The areas that we decide bear watching go on Scan's watch list of defining forces that are transforming the business environment. Current watch-list topics include:
