Kindling? Are They Kidding?

At first glance, the Amazon Kindle looks like a modern Etch A Sketch in eggshell white with keyboard and wireless features. Kinda ugly yet neat. But the product's name, value proposition and target audience elude me.

First, the name: Kindle? As in to ignite? Imagine a Kindle product launch after the holiday shopping season. Any spark? We probably keep reading our trusty printed tomes, unworried about fumbling with them in the airport security checkpoint (after removing our shoes, belt, jacket, laptop from briefcase, cellphone from pocket).

Second, the value proposition: 90,000 titles and up to 200-book capacity. Not terribly exciting on its face -- who is going to read 200 books in the next year? Next 5 years? Most of us like to consume books one at a time. Then display them on our shelves. No such thing as novel shuffle or party mix. However, what may bode well for the product is the ability for a user to purchase a book wirelessly now -- bingo, the impulse buy after reading a great review or getting a recommedation from a friend. That's consumer magic. No waiting for the FedEx truck.

Third and most puzzling to me is the target audience: Who is Amazon going after? They've got great market data so I can't doubt them. Clearly the under 30 market is wireless. But are they book buyers and newspaper consumers? Why read blogs on Kindle when you can read them on your mobile. Feels like a 35-49 demographic play. I read the NYT on my Blackberry Pearl while out and about. A single news column fits on the screen perfectly, and I carry it around in my pocket. My eye scrolls down news columns just like it would on a newspaper page. But I don't spend hours. Just enough time to scratch the information itch. No, I don't want to read the newspaper on a tablet. I'll buy one, thank you. Fifty cents to a buck, if out of town.

So, what are books? An escape. A chance to get away for an hour or so. Sometimes a vacation. Sometimes brain food before sleep. The intimacy of reading and savoring the page are part of the experience. Making dogears. Scratching notes in the margins. Going back to revisit a key passage. Seeing how close you are to the end and wishing for more -- or sensing relief about finishing.

Kindle? I'm not feeling the fire.

But an Etch A Sketch may end up under the tree this year. I'm a sucker for red.

Internet Radio Meets Digital Player

It took longer than predicted, but availability for portable digital music devices from Slacker was announced this week in advance of Black Friday, the largest U.S. consumer spending day of the year. Slacker said it's taking online pre-orders for players that will ship in mid-December. But no retail sales yet where a hands-on experience is how Apple has done marvelously with the iPod and iPhone. Instead, Slacker will market directly to their 1 million desktop radio subscribers first. One executive said the company hopes to sell 100,000 units. First thing, they should start posting more product photgraphy ASAP. The image above is making the rounds this week. Deeper in the Slacker website are photographs of users and recording artists holding the players, but you have to hunt to find them. Competing for mindshare in a space with Apple and Microsoft's Zune requires loyal consumers or a product too hot to ignore. We need to see more of it.

Aspirational Marketing

The Open Championship at Carnoustie in Scotland looks nothing like the 1953 black-and-white version won by Ben Hogan. One of golf's four majors, the tournament is a world-class exercise in product placement. And golfers love it. Golf is an aspirational sport, game, pastime. Weekend choppers and hackers who carry a 20 index believe that the equipment they see on TV will help them score. And if it doesn't? At least an aspirational golfer can look cool at their local club. Sergio Garcia, the Open Championship leader on Saturday, is resplendent in "Clementine" (read orange) togs. Last year, Garcia wore "banana" colors on one of the tournament's four days, an ABC/ESPN commentator commentated. Logos for all sponsor brands are visible on player hats, sleeves, back yokes, shoes, bags, head covers, balls, and even the shins of their rain pants. Garcia has six logos of the adidas brand affixed to him. Imagine how many more golf clubs and accessories could have been sold in 1953 if Ben Hogan wore just one brand on his body.