Public Perception a Challenge for both Content and Display Providers
According to a 2012 CNET article, which quoted a Nielsen study, 57 percent did not want to wear 3D glasses and 90% felt that watching 3D would interfere with other tasks they perform while watching TV. These studies are useful in showing the public’s current perceptions; however, they are flawed since the vast majority of people have not experienced 3D on the small screen. Additional studies are needed to gauge the public acceptance based on the public’s experience. I will cover this in more detail in the “Overcoming Perceptions” section. Until that time, perception is today’s reality. Negative public perceptions can be reduced if not altogether eliminated through the right combination of the products, public education, and managing expectations.
Many also believe that watching 3D for extended periods can cause eye fatigue, headaches, and even harm the viewer’s eye sight. I have also seen press reports that state that many are stereoscopically impaired. Depending on the report, these numbers range from 10 to 20 percent. Much of these claims have little basis in fact. Much of the problems with eye fatigue, headaches, and other discomforts can be corrected with the proper use of the 3D effects. These effects should not be discounted. Proper research with experts in the Ophthalmological field can help either discount the claims or help us make corrections to the 3D products and content. This would help 3D reach the widest possible audience with little to no adverse effects. Additionally, for those who suffer from headaches, the amount of 3D can be adjusted at the television for the best possible comfort.
Applying the Right Marketing Techniques
The home market is a complex market and includes: televisions, gaming, phones and cameras. We are not going to be able to develop a wholesale marketing plan to instantaneously move the 3D products from early adopter to the mainstream. This is going to take a targeted approach. I would use hints from the book “Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey A. Moore by focusing on one customer group at a time and using that group as the starting point for marketing to the next group. Some people find that the techniques learned after reading a true review of dropship lifestyle can help them here. With each group, the content must be finely crafted for the correct 3D experience and the messaging finally crafted for the right user perception.
To start this approach, the right target or niche must be selected with the greatest chance for success: a segment with higher disposable income that is more likely to accept a new technology. Once acceptance is obtained in this market, find a closely related segment and build on this success. As this builds, you will find that your reach will start getting larger and larger. This technique creates a bandwagon effect in which enough momentum builds for 3D to move into the mainstream. To select the right market segments, it is going to take a group analyzing the entire market numbers to have the best chance of being right. Start out by looking at an analysis of who is currently buying the 3D sets for the purpose of 3D and who is not. Also look at an analysis of who is currently buying 3D content and the type of content being purchased. Ask the question: Can we build onto the current market?
With each of the target markets, we must target the end consumer with a demand generation program. In addition to this, hiring digital marketing services that can cater to your unique needs would also be a good idea.
Positioning 3D
In order to properly position 3D in the market, we must first understand one key point that will surely meet with resistance: The target market does not need 3D. Yes I said it. In fact no visual market needs 3D: not professional computers, not scientific, not digital signage. In fact, no one needs ultra-high definition, no one needs high definition, no one needs color, and no one needs sound. We need to get away from thinking about the product and start thinking about the customer’s true needs. A marketing professor once told me that a drill manufacturer’s customers don’t need a better drill, they need a hole. So our target market does not need a 3D display, they need a different or better viewing experience. 3D adds another tool to aid in the target users viewing experience. It must be an improvement to the current viewing experience and must aid in the telling of your story and not take it over. This cannot be said enough times: The advantage to presenting in 3D is that it adds to the viewer’s experience.
In analyzing the target market, we will start with the product positioning. Product positioning is the statement that identifies and defines the product brand. For 3D products, we are obviously not going with the “me too” approach. We are going to differentiate the 3D experience from the 2D experience. In order to capture all of the attributes of a positioning statement, I always start with the following outline:
• For (target customer – not market. We need to make our position personal.)
Who (statement of need or opportunity) – This would be something like, “who needs a better viewing experience” or “who needs connection or immersion into the story.”
• The (product or service name)
• is a (product category or market segment – 3D display, 3D content)
• that (statement of key benefit – a compelling reason to buy – a compelling reason to change the status quo),
• Unlike (primary competitive product or alternative – 2D alternative),
• our product (statement of primary differentiation – in other words, what does the target customer get from the 3D product that they do not get from 2D).
This will form the basis for the messaging and value proposition. This messaging and value proposition will then be consistently used for all advertising, media, PR, social media, web sites, and social media. Note that we are not going to state that 3D is replacing 2D. It is another choice or enhancement to the viewing experience.
Developing Unified Messaging
Keep in mind that unlike the early marketing days, we as marketers are not in control of our messaging. The target audience is in charge. We need to talk with them and not at them. In fact, we should recognize that our target customers can produce more messages than we could ever create. We should engage in a campaign that not only creates a compelling story, but also creates a dialogue with the end users. This will spark this relatively untapped tool with messages that invoke their passions. Additionally, be ready to change at any given moment. If we properly open up a dialog with our campaigns, we will learn as much from our target customers as they will from our campaign.
The strategy required for the different 3D markets must go beyond seizing the target users’ attention with constant messaging, but this strategy must also sustain their attention. In order to sustain this attention, we need a complete understanding of the target market’s needs importance, interests, emotional appeal, badge value, and risks or worries. The biggest mistake that can be made here is to either trivialize or ignore any of these points.
Keep in mind this is not a competition between 3D and 2D or even between two opposing new technologies such as 3D and 4k. In fact, as Fabien Remblier points out in his November 2013 article “Make 3D Love, Not 4K War,” “4k opposition does not exist, …, because 3D and 4K are two totally different things.” He continues by pointing out “where 3D brings a new experience for the Viewer, 4K is finally only an improvement of HD.” He also points out that with both 3D and 4k combined we “need to instead look at the prospects that their combination makes for professionals and ultimately for the spectators.”
The right approach can speed the acceptance of 3D as the preferred viewing experience.
Overcoming Perceptions
Public perception is the largest hurdle. According to a 2012 CNET article, which quoted a Nielsen study, 57 percent did not want to wear 3D glasses and 90% felt that watching 3D would interfere with other…
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