Interpret

Catalyst: Filesharing is always a concern for content creators and providers, but a volatile economy gives rise to worries that more consumers will turn to piracy more frequently as a means of avoiding paying for entertainment. Are these concerns valid, and can these companies do anything to mitigate the effects of filesharing?

Core questions:

How is the economy affecting entertainment purchasing?

Is the economy having an effect on piracy?

What steps can content producers and providers take to mitigate piracy?

Tags: Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Economic Impact, Online Content

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: While moms are a highly desirable demographic audience for a number of categories, such as consumer packaged goods, casual restaurants and retail, they are often not the primary focus for Hollywood marketers.

Core questions:

What are moms’ attitudes towards online media consumption?

What strategies should Hollywood pursue to market to moms?

Tags: Advertising & Marketing, Retail

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Real-time status updates are relatively new on the social network landscape, but who’s best positioned to use these updates in their social media strategy?

Core questions:

Are status updates gaining traction on social networks?

What do social-networkers talk about in their status updates?

How can companies leverage status updates more effectively in their social-media strategy?

Tags: Advertising & Marketing, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Social Media

Lead Analyst: Zak Kirchner

Catalyst: With the merger of Comcast and NBC-Universal, Hulu’s ad-supported model and Comcast’s “TV Everywhere” may have to coexist.  Will one model win out, or will Netflix reap the rewards?

Core questions:

What types of content do consumers view on Hulu and Netflix?

Is Netflix really Hulu’s biggest competitor?

Why do consumers stream TV shows?

Tags: Online Content, Mergers & Acquisitions, Online Video

Lead Analyst: Josh Bell

Catalyst: As the boundaries of public and private social media spaces are increasingly blurred, consumer willingness to share personal information reveals distinct patterns.

Core questions:

What personal information are social network users willing to share?

Is there a generational privacy divide?

How can marketers avoid privacy pitfalls?

Tags: Privacy & Security, Social Media

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Many job seekers use online resources for their job hunt, but how are social networks impacting their search?

Core questions:

How can social media be leveraged to help companies identify top-level candidates?

What should employers look for when evaluating a candidate's online presence?

How is the role of social networking sites evolving in today’s media ecosystem?

Tags: Social Media, Demographics

Lead Analyst: Kira Deutch

Catalyst: Music streaming has yet to challenge downloads (iTunes) for digital music dominance, yet a number of companies, including Lala, Pandora and Spotify, have been gaining in hype and popularity, if not in revenue.  Is there a business model for streaming that can make everyone happy, including consumers?

Core questions:

What is the current landscape of music streaming?

Will streaming cannibalize downloading or other means of music consumption?

How can streaming sites better appeal to consumers?

Tags: Demographics, Online Commerce

Lead Analyst: Josh Bell

Catalyst: Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to access social networking sites, but is this trend affecting the way social networks are being used?

Core questions:

What does the current mobile social networking environment look like and who are the major players?

Do the needs and behaviors of mobile and desktop social networkers differ or is mobile social networking just desktop social networking on-the-go?

How can companies leverage the evolving mobile social networks to achieve their business objectives?

Tags: Social Media, Applications

Lead Analyst: Yael Yungster

Catalyst: With DVD sales sliding and digital distribution becoming more popular, film studios are increasingly experimenting with their movies’ release windows across each distribution channel, perhaps eventually moving toward a universal day-and-date release strategy.  How will a simultaneous release window likely affect existing consumer audiences for each distribution outlet?

Core questions:

How have the exclusive release windows for feature films been eroding over time?

How will consumers likely be affected by the ultimate in release window collapse: the simultaneous release of a title across all distribution channels?

How can studios and other content owners take advantage of a simultaneous release for maximum profitability without cannibalizing existing audiences of any one distribution channel?

Tags: Online Commerce, Retail

Lead Analyst: Kristin Knox

Catalyst: People who are active on social networking websites are a prime audience for advertisers, but what are the most effective ways for movie studios to reach this audience?

Core questions:

What impact do social networks have on traditional online movie promotion?

Does movie consumption among social networkers differ from those who do not regularly engage with social networks?

How should studios target their audiences on social networks?

Tags: Social Media, Advertising & Marketing

Lead Analyst: Zak Kirchner

Catalyst: Blu-ray adoption has been extremely protracted, despite the end of the format wars nearly two years ago. Will the introduction of sub-$100 players this holiday season finally catapult greater adoption of Blu-ray, or will it continue to stall as the format faces challenges from HD streaming services?

Core questions:

What are the barriers to widespread penetration of Blu-ray?

Will the introduction of players priced under $100 finally spur consumer adoption?

Tags: Consumer Technology, Retail

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: YouTube recently announced that it will increase advertising on uploaded short-form videos, hoping to better monetize those that ultimately go viral.  Are advertisements placed in conjunction with viral clips worthwhile?

Core questions:

How is YouTube planning to monetize viral videos?

How do viral videos compare to overall streaming short clips when serving as hosts for online advertising?

How can advertisers capitalize on viral videos to better reach their target audience?

Tags: Online Video, Advertising & Marketing

Lead Analyst: Kristin Knox

Catalyst: The social media landscape enables any customer to become an evangelist for their favorite brands, but who are these social media evangelists?

Core questions:

Is the concept of online customer feedback changing with social networks?

Are evangelists more likely to engage with companies through social networking websites?

What can companies do to engage their online customers and convert new ones?

Tags: Social Media, Retail

Lead Analyst: Zak Kirchner

Catalyst: The dividing line between media consumption and production is eroding as culture becomes more and more configurable. The digitization of media allows users to create, re-configure, re-mix and share music, video, images and even video games. Video consumption is no longer a passive act, as audiences increasingly play the role of producer as well.

Core questions:

How is the distinction between consumer and producer evolving?

Are “influencers” both active online video consumers and producers?

Tags: Online Video, Social Media

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Video is now social media, as consumers increasingly record, upload and share both professional and user-generated content. But what is the relationship between active social networkers and video consumption?

Core questions:

Are heavy video consumers also influencers?

Are video sharing site users more likely to engage with brands and products?

Tags: Online Video, Social Media

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: As ad-supported, streaming TV shows become ubiquitous, cable providers are moving to tie online content access to paid cable subscriptions.  Can such a model finally monetize online TV?

Core questions:

What does the current online TV environment look like and what current distribution models already exist?

What is the overlap between cable/satellite subscribers and online TV show streamers, and how will each group likely react to the ‘TV Everywhere’ ‘service?

How can ‘TV Everywhere’ appeal to consumers without alienating those used to watching TV online for free with minimal commercials, and what types of content should the service offer to compete with DVRs and other alternatives?

Tags: Online Video, Marketing & Advertising

Lead Analyst: Kristin Knox

Catalyst: Twitter usage is exploding right now, but how is Twitter affecting user engagement with other social networking sites?

Core questions:

What role does Twitter play in the social networking universe?

Does Twitter decrease their engagement with other social media activities?

Are Twitter users more susceptible to brand engagement on social networks?

Tags: Social Media, Retail

Lead Analyst: Zak Kirchner

Catalyst: Consumers are increasingly watching video on their computers, laptops and other digital devices, while television audiences are dwindling. At the same time, content companies are struggling to find the optimal delivery strategy for their video.

Core questions:

How do consumers prefer to watch video?

Where do consumers find or access streaming and downloadable video content?

What are the consequences for ad-supported business models? For subscription models?

Tags: Online Video, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: As downloading continues to eat away at CD sales, the music industry should take greater steps to use illegal downloaders to their advantage.

Core questions:

Are illegal downloaders paying for music at all?

How else are illegal downloaders consuming music?

How can the music industry turn illegal downloaders into assets?

Tags: Retail, Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors

Lead Analyst: Josh Bell

Catalyst: While music industry sales are down, music-based video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band have been thriving.  Are these games helping or hurting the music industry?

Core questions:

How do music gamers interact with music outside of these games?

Are music games replacing CDs and downloads as a means of engaging with music?

How can the music industry and the music game publishers benefit from cross-promotion?

Tags: Retail, Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors

Lead Analyst: Josh Bell

Catalyst: Music capable phones have grown in sophistication and market penetration, raising the question of when, if ever, mobile phones will displace dedicated mp3 players.

Core questions:

How do music phones and mp3 players differ in technology sophistication?

How do consumers differ in their usage of mp3 players vs. music phones?

How must vendors evolve dedicated mp3 players to compete with music phones?

Tags: Consumer Technology, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Lead Analyst: Josh Bell

Catalyst: One of the hot-button topics in the $50 billion global gaming industry today is the proliferation of used-game sales at brick-and-mortar retailers, and the possible loss of revenue to game publishers and developers, especially during times of economic uncertainty. As the cost of current- generation console game development increases and retail prices remain stagnant, game developers and publishers are now competing for scarce shelf space with used games at retailers.

Core questions:

Who buys used games? What are the attributes of used game buyers?

How can game developers and publishers profit from the secondary sales?

Tags: Advertising & Marketing, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Over the past twelve months, social network games have exploded in popularity and now boast over 50 million players in North America and the United Kingdom. Facebook.com has become recognized as a legitimate, albeit unexpected, alternative gaming platform, and furthermore, has attracted an audience of players that do not play any other type of video game. These social network game-only players are a unique audience, distinct from gamers on more traditional platforms, such as current-generation console owners, or even players of PC-based casual games.

Core questions:

Who are social game players?

How are social game players distinct from traditional game players?

Do social game players provide an opportunity for developers and marketers?

Tags: Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Demographics, Social Media

Lead Analyst: Brenton Lyle

Catalyst: Teens are a lucrative but elusive market for advertisers. Marketers struggle to target and communicate with this segment of the game playing audience.

Core questions:

How receptive to advertising are teen gamers?

What types of games are the best platforms for reaching teen consumers?

Tags: Advertising & Marketing, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Demographics

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Ownership of multiple gaming systems and its impact on play and purchase behavior is top-of-mind for most game publishers.

Core questions:

How prevalent are multi-console households?

Who, specifically, owns which combinations of consoles?

Do console ownership groups inform and guide genre preference, thereby impacting game development and marketing?

Tags: Consumer Attitues & Behaviors, Demographics

Lead Analyst: Courtney Johnson

Catalyst: New types of games thrived in 2009, including both young genres (Music-Rhythm) and brand-new ones (Fitness).  How do gamers divide their attention among various game types, and which types are gaining—or losing—popularity?

Core questions:

What type of games are console owners playing on their various systems?

How have recently popular game genres (Music-Rhythm, Fitness) affected the overall distribution of preference among both “core” and comparatively casual gamers?

Are there any indications of how genre preference will continue to evolve in 2010?

Tags: Demographics, Consumer Technology

Lead Analyst: Brenton Lyle

Catalyst: The US is on the path to recovering from one of the worst recessions in history, and American consumerism has been drastically impacted. The gaming industry is not immune to these changes, and consumers have changed how they get their hands on games that they want to play.

Core questions:

How has videogame purchasing volume changed from before the recession?

How are consumers approaching videogame purchases differently?

How should retailers change their strategies to satisfy customers in the post-recession economy?

Tags: Consumer Technology, Advertising & Marketing

Lead Analyst: Regan Hickey

Catalyst: Given a longer gaming hardware cycle for current-generation consoles, recent decreases in year-over-year hardware sales, and lower retail game sales accompanied by growing digital-sale revenue, the three major-player console manufacturers must discover modes through which to continue to engage consumers and further monetize their consoles.

Core questions:

To what degree do current-generation console owners connect their device to the Internet?

How does online gaming behavior vary across consoles? Do console owners make use of online gaming features?

Have consumers embraced the non-gaming online features of current-gen consoles? How important are multimedia features to the success of the respective current-gen consoles?

Tags: Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors, Online Content

Lead Analyst: Courtney Johnson

Catalyst: The rapid success of gaming applications on the iPhone and iPod Touch has legitimized the devices as true handheld gaming platforms, threatening the long-standing industry standard Nintendo DS and the Sony PlayStation Portable. Has the iTunes App Store permanently changed handheld gaming?

Core questions:

Where do iPhone apps fit into the spectrum of handheld gaming?

How do the iPhone and iPod Touch compare to the next generation of traditional handheld gaming devices?

How will the iPhone and iTunes App Store affect the opportunities for success in the handheld gaming marketplace?

Tags: Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors, Consumer Technology

Lead Analyst: Brenton Lyle

Core questions:

What are the substantive differences between consoles and PCs that will form the foundation for the success—or failure—of the PC as a gaming platform?

Will the PC finally be replaced as a gaming platform by this—or the next—generation of console hardware?

What can developers and PC vendors do to capitalize on the differences between the console and PC platforms?

Tags: Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Innovation Strategies

Lead Analyst: Brenton Lyle

Core questions:

Where are we in the game console cycle? Is this generation almost over, halfway through, or something else?

Has the video game industry really broadened its scope beyond the “core” male audience? What impact will this have on the console life cycles?

How can developers and console manufacturers be successful over the next generational transition?

Tags: Demographics, Consumer Technology

Analyst: Brenton Lyle

Catalyst: GPS-enabled smartphones have spawned the emergence of geo-located applications that allow users to share their location with friends and strangers. While these applications have gained a great deal of attention from the press, they have yet to reach mainstream acceptance.

Core questions:

What is the difference between geo-search and geo-social applications?

What are the attributes of geo-social users? How do they differ in their privacy concerns from overall social networkers?

How can companies better engage with geo-social app users?

Tags: Applications, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Privacy & Security, Social Media

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Mobile brands are fighting on television, on blogs and in retail to gain buzz and market share among consumers. However, perennial powerhouses are now competing with new upstarts and leaders are upgrading their signature handsets on an annual basis to maintain momentum. The signs point to a new order: there are key features that might have more weight with consumers than brand.

Core questions:

What is the most important factor in driving smartphone owners’ phone purchase?

To what extent does the operating system play a role in the phone purchase?

How should carriers tailor their marketing to better balance these purchase triggers?

Tags: Advertising & Marketing, Retail

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Increasingly, social networkers are multi-platform, moving seamlessly between their PC and phone.

Core questions:

How much more engaged are smartphone and messaging phone owners in social networking than basic and non-cell phone owners?

What types of activities are smartphone and messaging phone owners most likely to be engaged in on a social network?

Tags: Online Content, Consumer Technology

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Mobile consumer satisfaction becomes increasingly important as carriers face stiff competition and consumers are lured with strong incentives to switch providers.

Core questions:

To what extent are consumers satisfied with their mobile carriers?

How do the satisfaction rates of prepaid and post-paid carriers compare?

What factors most strongly influence a consumer’s purchasing process?

Tags: Measurement, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Lead Analyst: Marissa Gluck

Catalyst: Manufacturers and service providers increased production of multimedia handsets and smartphones significantly over the 2009 period. The trend led industry analysts to believe the current period offered a wide enough range of advanced handsets to bolster the overall carrier experience. The 2008 and 2009 comparison figures reveal a different story.

Core questions:

What effect has the emergence of smartphones played on consumers’ overall satisfaction?

How have the designs and marketing campaigns of the leading smartphones potentially created a gender gap in carrier satisfaction?

How can carriers optimize consumer satisfaction beyond teenagers with their 2010 portfolios and marketing collateral?

Tags: Demographics, Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: The initial launch and subsequent commotion of the Motorola Droid surprised the industry at large. Its strong awareness and reception from smartphone buyers suggests that the revived brand took a unique approach to establishing itself in a new market beyond the extensive marketing campaign.

Core questions:

What key consumer preferences allowed the Droid to thrive within the Verizon customer base?

How did Motorola leverage conflicting perceptions of its brand to best position the Droid?

To what extent should vendors partner with carriers when planning the product portfolio?

Tags: Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Advertising & Marketing

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: Manufacturers have introduced a wide range of personalization options which have been enthusiastically embraced by signature smartphone owners. What bears a deeper understanding is the relationship between specific handsets and the type of customization experience their owners favor the most.

Core questions:

To what extent do consumers personalize their signature smartphones?

What customization options are most popular?

What can vendors learn from signature smartphone owners and their customization preferences?

Tags: Consumer Technology, Demographics

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: Carriers want to provide a signature smartphone that could simultaneously increase loyalty as well as bring in new customers. While recent signature smartphones were released with great fanfare, the perception is that none of them triggered a shift in consumer affinity or carrier anxiety towards the iPhone brand. 

Core questions:

To what extent have consumers embraced different mobile handsets for key social and media activities?

Which smartphones are best for creating a balance between loyalty and defection?

How might certain age groups shed light on which brands have a stronger foundation for future success?

Tags: Online Video, Online Content

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: With the release of the original iPhone as well as its 3G and 3GS successors, Apple quickly and effectively created a lasting brand impression within the minds of mobile phone consumers. The company seamlessly melded its history of offering high-quality computers and music players with its first cellular device. Two years later, Palm has seemingly demonstrated that other brands can successfully launch smartphones that not only match the iPhone’s glow, but can stand alone in their own right. 

Core questions:

What three positioning factors will be most effective in attracting potential smartphone buyers?

How important are those drivers to a vendor’s success in launching a new handset?

To what extent should vendors try to match the iPhone 3GS’s brand associations in the smartphone space?

Tags: Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Advertising & Marketing

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: With the increase in features and capabilities available with today’s smartphones, consumers have approached the sales process with conflicting views on the right price point. While the current economic environment is influencing their budgets, consumers are revealing that the most prized smartphones on the market can be deserving of a higher price tier.

Core questions:

What is the gap between what consumers expect to pay versus what they think a smartphone should cost?

How can vendors ensure that key smartphones are given the pricing leverage they need to sell in the marketplace?

Is there a price ceiling in the mobile phone space and does it have implications on the subsidy debate?

Tags: Advertising & Marketing, Retail

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: Vendors are marketing an array of mobile devices to consumers but there is a limit to how many consumers are willing to carry in total.

Core questions:

What is the role of the converged device?

How many devices will different consumers carry?

How should vendors be a part of the consumer mobile ecosystem?

Tags: Consumer Technology, Demographics

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: With the increased availability of smartphones providing high-speed internet connections and large screens, consumers have gradually embraced mobile devices as being more than capable of providing a rich, media-intensive experience. However, the definitive format and management of the media content—particularly videos—is still in development.

Core questions:

How has mobile video consumption evolved?

To what extent have smartphone capabilities contributed to the increased acceptance of the mobile phones as viable platforms for watching videos?

How can content providers and online vendors maximize consumer interest in using mobile devices as key entertainment centers over televisions, gaming consoles or PCs?

Tags: Online Video, Online Content

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis

Catalyst: With the introduction of signature, technologically-advanced smartphones to the mobile marketplace, industry analysts have touted a perceived wave of increased satisfaction with their handsets. The current figures reveal a different story.

Core questions:

What effect has the emergence of smartphones played on consumers’ satisfaction with their carrier?

How has the smartphone market evolved from a business-oriented sector to one that merges both personal and work initiatives?

How can carriers optimize consumer satisfaction as they continuously add smartphones to their selections and focus on smartphones in their promotions?

Tags: Consumer Technology, Demographics

Lead Analyst: Desiree Davis