christenfs

[christenfs]

(late post) The HBO Max Rebrand to Max: A Double-Edged Sword for User Experience

Change is a constant in the streaming industry, and the recent HBO Max rebrand to Max, along with the addition of Discovery+ content, has stirred both excitement and skepticism among users. While this transition brings potential benefits, it also raises concerns about the impact on user experience. Let's explore both the positive and negative aspects of this rebranding effort.

Positive Influence:

Expanded Content Library: The integration of Discovery+ content offers users a wider range of programming, including popular shows and documentaries. This expansion can enhance the overall value proposition and cater to diverse interests.

Improved Navigation: The rebranding might bring about a redesigned user interface, focusing on simplicity and ease of navigation. With an intuitive layout and enhanced search functionality, users can enjoy a seamless browsing experience.

Negative Influence:

Fragmented Content: The addition of Discovery+ content could result in a more scattered library, making it challenging for users to discover and access specific shows or movies. An overwhelming amount of content may lead to decision fatigue and frustration.

Conclusion: The HBO Max rebrand to Max, coupled with the inclusion of Discovery+ content, holds the promise of an enhanced streaming experience. However, the impact on user experience can be both positive and negative. It is crucial for Max to strike a balance between content expansion and maintaining a user-friendly interface to ensure continued satisfaction. Ultimately, users will determine whether this rebranding effort elevates their streaming experience or if it falls short of their expectations.

[christenfs]

4 (silly) products: predictions

I love reading news pieces about cutting edge innovations from years ago; I love putting myself in the shoes of the consumers of that era and trying to judge how "on board" I would have been at the time. I did that while reading Thursday's assigned reading, and have outlined some thoughts later on in this blog. I also love the idea of turning this exercise on its head; when I'm introduced to present-day innovations, I wonder how my future self would later reflect on my knee-jerk reactions. For example, I was about 14 when Kindles (the Amazon e-readers) came out and I thought it was the DUMBEST idea. Obviously I was wrong--it had legs! It wasn't until I matriculated at Sloan and invested in a reMarkable, which has e-reader capabilities, that I truly appreciated and respected the value proposition of the product. This is why I wouldn't be a good VC.

Anyways, here are my projections for how I would have felt about 4 featured innovations of the early aughts.

exhibit 1: sliced peanut butter

Right out of the gate, I'm torn.

Pros: there is an obvious analog that is already proven / succeeding in the market--Kraft singles. If people use kraft singles, there is presumably no reason they wouldn't use these weird PB things? That said, I think cutting cheese is more effort than spreading PB making the convenience-add of the PB slices less enticing...but that could just be splitting hairs. HOWEVER! There are people (at least one) doing this themselves in 2017-- so there is still a market here?

Cons: I feel like the sticky spreadability (squooshability) of PB is an unnatural fit for the slice format? It could be TOO close to cheese and make me think of cheese when I'm actually making a PB&J. I don't like the (mental) confluence of flavors. It really depends on how the product was packaged.

Prediction: I would have thought that this would be a success story. Again-- no VC should hire me.

exhibit 2: silver band-aids

As someone with embarrassingly low medical literacy, assessing this one feels above my pay grade. Nonetheless...

Pros: Agree that this sector is ripe for disruption. And this silver bandaid thing is FDA approved! This feels like a big deal? Hospital grade care in your own home! There are most likely clumsy communities of people who would benefit from this-- chefs with oil splatter burns? The market trends are moving in the right direction in that people are showing a higher WTP for fancy bandaids.

Cons: If I need hospital grade wound care...I'm probably going to a hospital. Is it hospitals that are the customers here or the OTC / retail market? If the former, I get it. If the latter, I'm less convinced consumers would pay the premium for Acticoat for the vast majority of treat-at-home bandage use cases. I think people (read: me) don't really get why silver is important? There would need to be a huge degree of consumer education here to communicate the value. Since there is a lower cost, tried and true alternative / competitor (regular bandaids), you would need to convince buyers to move away from a bluechip brand.

Prediction: I would think this is a bust! It begs repeating-- nobody let me write VC checks!

exhibit 3: subscription radio

Fun fact: I have literally always thought Sirius XM radio was dumb, ESPECIALLY in the age of bluetooth. I know that its unfair to judge a 2001 product while having inherent context of the modern day technological landscape, but I cant help it!! I cannot understand how SiriusXM still manages to exist.

Pros: None. This product is an enigma to me.

Cons: Everything.

Prediction: Still waiting for my bear thesis to be proven! 0-3 investment track record.

exhibit 4: smell your computer

Pros: You've seen it with visual! You've seen it with audio! It MAKES SENSE (no pun intended) to see it with smells! This feels consistent with technology's direction of travel and the narrative feels very believable / cogent. They have demonstrated traction with video game companies, etc. Food industry feels like a natural target market with evidenced opportunity to infiltrate entertainment (movie, games). This feels like the kind of technology where you need to try before you buy. By getting in front of users via entertainment experiences, it is a natural exposure point for retail / at home customers which could encourage adoption.

Cons: The fact that you have to purchase the weird cartridge feels like a valid barrier to adoption... but so did the webcam at some point!

Prediction: RIP VC career 2023-2023

[christenfs]

Max: jack-of-all-brands, master of none

Our branding lab project will be on the rebrand and reorganization of HBO Max into...Max. I'd like to use this blog post to begin reflecting on how concepts we've covered in class thus far apply to this particular branding case.

Brand associations

HBO enjoys a high degree of brand recognition and strong (and generally positive) brand associations. According to an October 2021 study, the strongest factor associations with the word "HBO Max" were: accessible, strong, and sexy. Personally, when I think of HBO Max, I think of associations such as high brow, high budget, edgy, and curated. Maybe these associations are more problematic for appealing to salt-of-the-earth, wholesome families with young children than they are for attracting late-twenties MBA students whose favorite show uses the word "fuck" 83.6 times per 60 minute episode.

Max? When I think of Max, my mind goes immediately to the name. Max is a dog name (The Grinch). Max is a little brother's name (Freaky Friday). Max is the name of Rory's nice-guy teacher at Chilton that Lorelai Gilmore dumped at the alter because he wasn't sexy or exciting (Gilmore Girls). Max is child-like, casual, boring, and not quite right.

The "Max" in HBO Max has always felt like an addendum, a post-script, a signifier that it encapsulates the "better" content, akin to the "+" in Disney+ and Apple+. Making that the core of a brand feels like an odd, uninspired choice.

House of Brands vs. Branded House?

We spoke about the merits of both "house of brands" like Google and a "branded house"' like P&G. I feel like Warner Bros. Discovery would be better suited for a "house of brands" approach. Why not keep HBO Max as a standalone brand where the brand associations continue to ring true and then offer additional services for the additional content (e.g. Dr. Pimple Popper, 90-Day-Fiance) that is slated to be wrapped up in Max. This additional content undermines the "premiere television" expectation that resonates with HBO Max audiences. It feels like hosting the Met Gala at a Waffle House. On the other hand, I suppose this is a fraught climate for streaming services where fears of users streamlining (and trimming) their portfolio of subscription services inform much of the current decision making. Perhaps the streaming wars introduce a wrinkle in this particular market that undermines the success of traditional branding best-practices. In that case, the erosion of HBO's brand as avant-garde and mature could be intentional as streaming services are competing on breadth of content and subscribers.

[christenfs]

A few of my favorite things: elections and screentime

I find the art and science behind "nudging" to be super interesting-- both professionally and personally. I was a Field Organizer on the 2020 Democratic Coordinated Campaign in Arizona and we were given very specific persuasion techniques that were proven to maximize volunteer sign-ups and voter turnout. Emphasizing the fact that turnout is expected to be high was one such technique, as was highlighting that a given person's neighbors had also already voted (e.g. zipcode-based voting statistics). We were also encouraged to ask voters what their "election day plan" was and have them walk through it in great detail. The process of visualizing oneself going through the motions (e.g. when are you going? who are you going with? how are you getting there? what are you bringing?) is proven to increase the likelihood of someone actually following through. I wonder what type of nudge that would be; is it boosting self-control or activating a desired behavior? For better or for worse, elections are rife with psychological manipulation.

Personally, I've been on a new journey with an app that uses nudging. It is called Opal and its designed to decrease the amount of time you're on your phone. It enforces guidelines that I set for myself in advance (e.g. 1 hour max of IG a day, no social media between 9AM and 5PM, etc.) and it penalizes my "focus score" every time I request a break or try to deactivate the restriction. I feel as if these nudges are squarely in the Boosting Self Control (externally imposed) x Discourage segment, but I can't tell if it is Mindful or Mindless. When I set the guidelines, it feels like I'm acting as my own parent and being mindful. When I'm on my phone, it feels like I'm a child and my behavior is mindless, a direct product of the restrictions I had previously set. I'd be interested in hearing my classmates' thoughts.

[christenfs]

Corona v. Heineken

As a beer importer from Mexico, it made sense that Modelo chose to lean into its heritage. While there was an obvious opportunity for Modelo to capture share within the growing Hispanic demographic in the US market, their strategy of cultivating Corona's reputation as a "fun" imported brand resonated with non-Hispanic consumers, as well. Corona's Mexican origin afforded them the benefits of natural and engrained US-based "tourist-like" cognitive associations with Mexico: beaches, vacation, parties, unpretentiousness, authenticity, and cost efficiency. The Corona branding strategy comes across as cogent, consistent and intentional. It also was effective in reaching key consumer demographics.

The "cost-efficiency" association with Mexico can foster an expectation of "cheapness" which was a fraught relationship for Modelo to navigate. As an imported beer, their price point was going to be inherently higher than domestic alternatives which immediately positions them as more premium and up-market. This position would run contrary to consumer expectations that Mexican products are priced at a relative discount. I thought the decision for Modelo to absorb costs like the CA State Tax to remain priced below Henieken could be considered as much a brand-building advantage as it was an economic sacrifice.

I was struck by how Heineken lacked a meaningful brand identity than spanned beyond "we're the best, so we don't have to try to convince you." Despite some turbulence and stumbles in Heineken's marketing and advertising divisions, their overall strategy was effective as they were successful in winning and maintaining market leadership in the US. How entrenched does your brand reputation need to be in order to pull that strategy off, I wonder? I look forward to discussing in class on Thursday.