what a company is (and isn't) good at. LG
and Samsung have taken full advantage of
this capacity, moving beyond their original
core products (electronics) into a broad ar-
ray of tech goods and home appliances.
In general, we see greater market-share
volatility in domains where customers
depend mainly on 0. (Witness the swift
declines of Nokia and BlackBerry.) Con-
versely, brand equity and loyalty can pro-
tect established players in 0-independent
domains; brands such as Clorox and Bud
Light, influenced primarily by P and M, en-
joy relative stability. 0 is also not of great
concern to the likes of Grey Goose vodka
and Hermes—brands for which prestige
and emotional ties play an important role
and quality is a given.
Communication. Let's consider what
happens in this arena for products suited to
0-dependent purchase decisions. In recent
years many camera buyers have turned
to ratings and user reviews as their main
source of information. This means that
celebrity endorsements are less effective
than they once were. Banner ads intended
to create or reinforce brand awareness are
not very successful either, because when it
comes time to buy, the weight of trusted re-
views usually overrides any residual effect
of fleeting exposure to an ad. Instead, com-
panies such as Nikon and Canon should fo-
cus on generating user interest in particular
products and promoting an ongoing flow of
authentic (and positive) content from 0 on
internet retail sites.
Consumers are less likely to consult 0
about purchases that are not very impor-
tant to them—most people don't go on
Facebook or Twitter to ask "What kind of
paper towels should I buy?" or "What brand
of detergent do you like best?" So marketers
trying to reach 0-independent consumers
can be guided by some of the old rules, in-
cluding many traditional M activities. P&G,
for instance, can still benefit from persua-
sive advertising and eye-catching store dis-
plays for Bounty and Tide.
Market research. Companies in do-
mains that are not susceptible to 0 can
continue to draw on conventional market-