Word-Of-Mouth, Ease of Use and Exclusive Content Key to Success So Far
From Advertising Age Online
This article is about Amazon's launch of the newly redesigned electronic book reader, Kindle. Available for pre-order on Amazon's website, these slim and lightweight readers sell for $359. The success of the product was greater than ever expected with a currently unforeseeable decrease in demand. Citi analyst Mark Mahaney called the Kindle the "iPod of the book world," with unit-sales at an estimated 32% higher than the number of iPods Apple sold in the first year. Mahaney also projected that Kindle-related revenue could reach $1.2 billion by 2010.
I think what interests me the most about the Kindle is that I just don't understand it. I don't understand the concept of wanting to read a book on a machine instead of a hard copy. It seems to take away half of the concept, in my opinion. Yes, I understand the conveniece and I understand the environmental impacts, etc... but I can't honestly say that I can see myself enjoying anything like this.
Amazon has definitely found an incredible market, however. Thankfully for them, not everyone has the same opinion on e-readers as I do. And while I'm not a huge fan, I must say that it's unbelievable to me how successful the Kindle has been without much marketing (aside from mention on Amazon's home page). As mentioned in the article though, the traffic Amazon receives to their site each day gives them a perfect opportunity to reach their target market, book readers.
I think if nothing else, this is a great example of the power of word-of-mouth.
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