Page 6 - index
P. 6
RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
Why throwing tech at a project doesn’t
‘future-proof’ it
The smartphone (tech) era allows us to capture eve- another way: throwing tech at a project or product does
ry good (and bad) hair day down to the finest detail little to future-proof it.
and the selfie has become as routine as brushing
one’s teeth, yet – retro-styled mechanical cameras The world of manufacturing is littered with tales of woe
that go ‘click’ and spit out faded photos are making – products that possessed technical superiority, yet
a gigantic comeback. Fujifilm, makers of the popu- were ‘beaten’ by lower tech rivals that managed to cap-
lar Instax camera, sold 5 million of these last year, ture the hearts as well as the minds of the users.
representing a 30% increase year-on-year. What’s
more, this analogue camera is outselling digital de- The video cassette recorder (VCR) ‘war’ saw the Sony
vices four times over. betamax video recording system lose out to the VHS
despite being technically superior. Sony hadn’t made a
Why is this throw-back, analogue technology enjoying flawed product, but they’d misjudged the home video
such popularity? Is ‘retro’ just a passing flashback market. Their one-hour recording limit wouldn’t cover a
‘fashion’ trend or is there something deeper at work? baseball game or a movie and consumers flocked to
own tape formats that could record two hours or more.
Professor of Leadership and Innovation Roberto Ver- Betamax was, in theory, a superior recording technolo-
ganti believes that “What makes people really passion- gy in terms of resolution, sound, and a stable image as
ate is not a solution; it’s the discovery of new meaning”. well as recorder quality, yet these differences were
Could it be that an (instant) image in hand represents negligible to consumers.
something ‘authentic’ and ‘real’ in an age of high-
resolution yet all too often edited, retouched or In 1972, the Nakagin Capsule Tower was dubbed ‘the
#filtered? future of housing’ and its sci-fi appearance had every-
one predicting that similar capsule towers would even-
The Fujifilm camera has managed to capitalise on an tually dot the Tokyo skyline. Today, however, only 40
era in which authenticity is sorely lacking and develop residents remain – the tower was the first and last ar-
that (pun intended) into a thriving business opportunity. chitecture of its kind to ever reach completion and is a
It’s also a reminder that the people at the centre of our monument to a path not followed. Its cardinal error was
designs are just as important as the technology we’re the failure to test how its user’s interaction with technol-
expecting them to use. ogy might evolve. The round, frosted glass windows
were a ‘technical’ feature, but made living inside the
Digital photography is gaining ground; but if users aren’t capsules unbearably bright.
keeping pace, they risk alienating their own market. Put
6 Data-Driven Marketing: Customer Insights & Predictive Analysis
Why throwing tech at a project doesn’t
‘future-proof’ it
The smartphone (tech) era allows us to capture eve- another way: throwing tech at a project or product does
ry good (and bad) hair day down to the finest detail little to future-proof it.
and the selfie has become as routine as brushing
one’s teeth, yet – retro-styled mechanical cameras The world of manufacturing is littered with tales of woe
that go ‘click’ and spit out faded photos are making – products that possessed technical superiority, yet
a gigantic comeback. Fujifilm, makers of the popu- were ‘beaten’ by lower tech rivals that managed to cap-
lar Instax camera, sold 5 million of these last year, ture the hearts as well as the minds of the users.
representing a 30% increase year-on-year. What’s
more, this analogue camera is outselling digital de- The video cassette recorder (VCR) ‘war’ saw the Sony
vices four times over. betamax video recording system lose out to the VHS
despite being technically superior. Sony hadn’t made a
Why is this throw-back, analogue technology enjoying flawed product, but they’d misjudged the home video
such popularity? Is ‘retro’ just a passing flashback market. Their one-hour recording limit wouldn’t cover a
‘fashion’ trend or is there something deeper at work? baseball game or a movie and consumers flocked to
own tape formats that could record two hours or more.
Professor of Leadership and Innovation Roberto Ver- Betamax was, in theory, a superior recording technolo-
ganti believes that “What makes people really passion- gy in terms of resolution, sound, and a stable image as
ate is not a solution; it’s the discovery of new meaning”. well as recorder quality, yet these differences were
Could it be that an (instant) image in hand represents negligible to consumers.
something ‘authentic’ and ‘real’ in an age of high-
resolution yet all too often edited, retouched or In 1972, the Nakagin Capsule Tower was dubbed ‘the
#filtered? future of housing’ and its sci-fi appearance had every-
one predicting that similar capsule towers would even-
The Fujifilm camera has managed to capitalise on an tually dot the Tokyo skyline. Today, however, only 40
era in which authenticity is sorely lacking and develop residents remain – the tower was the first and last ar-
that (pun intended) into a thriving business opportunity. chitecture of its kind to ever reach completion and is a
It’s also a reminder that the people at the centre of our monument to a path not followed. Its cardinal error was
designs are just as important as the technology we’re the failure to test how its user’s interaction with technol-
expecting them to use. ogy might evolve. The round, frosted glass windows
were a ‘technical’ feature, but made living inside the
Digital photography is gaining ground; but if users aren’t capsules unbearably bright.
keeping pace, they risk alienating their own market. Put
6 Data-Driven Marketing: Customer Insights & Predictive Analysis
