Ontela Picdeck a
KEL450
MOHANBIR SAWHNEY
Ontela PicDeck (A):
Customer Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
In April 2008 Joe Levy, the director of carrier marketing for the technology start-up Ontela, was considering how to position the company’s first offering, PicDeck. Ontela’s PicDeck was a technology service that allowed wireless subscribers to seamlessly transfer pictures from their mobile devices to their computers, email inbox, and other networking devices and services (see Exhibit 1). The service had been well received in the media. An article in Telephony magazine lauded the service as “helping bridge the gap between phone and PC.”1 Ontela’s technology offered value to end users (wireless subscribers) by providing a more convenient mobile imaging experience. This in turn was expected to increase sales of highmargin data services for Ontela’s wireless carriers, its direct customers. By encouraging consumers to transfer pictures from their mobile devices, this new service was expected to increase consumer use of wireless carrier services. Ontela sold its technology to wireless carriers, who were responsible for branding and pricing the service and marketing it to wireless subscribers. These subscribers paid a monthly fee to carriers for the PicDeck service, and Ontela received a portion of this subscription revenue. To develop a compelling positioning strategy for the PicDeck service, Levy needed to identify target segments within the wireless customer base. He faced several major questions: What was the best way to determine the appropriate target audience? Which segment(s) would provide the biggest opportunity for both Ontela and the carriers? How could he balance the needs of subscribers with the carrier’s goals of decreasing churn and increasing average revenue per user (ARPU)? As Levy thought about these questions, he knew that his company’s future depended on his ability to answer them.
1
Sarah Reedy, “Say ‘Cheese’ and Send,” Telephony Online, April
MOHANBIR SAWHNEY
Ontela PicDeck (A):
Customer Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
In April 2008 Joe Levy, the director of carrier marketing for the technology start-up Ontela, was considering how to position the company’s first offering, PicDeck. Ontela’s PicDeck was a technology service that allowed wireless subscribers to seamlessly transfer pictures from their mobile devices to their computers, email inbox, and other networking devices and services (see Exhibit 1). The service had been well received in the media. An article in Telephony magazine lauded the service as “helping bridge the gap between phone and PC.”1 Ontela’s technology offered value to end users (wireless subscribers) by providing a more convenient mobile imaging experience. This in turn was expected to increase sales of highmargin data services for Ontela’s wireless carriers, its direct customers. By encouraging consumers to transfer pictures from their mobile devices, this new service was expected to increase consumer use of wireless carrier services. Ontela sold its technology to wireless carriers, who were responsible for branding and pricing the service and marketing it to wireless subscribers. These subscribers paid a monthly fee to carriers for the PicDeck service, and Ontela received a portion of this subscription revenue. To develop a compelling positioning strategy for the PicDeck service, Levy needed to identify target segments within the wireless customer base. He faced several major questions: What was the best way to determine the appropriate target audience? Which segment(s) would provide the biggest opportunity for both Ontela and the carriers? How could he balance the needs of subscribers with the carrier’s goals of decreasing churn and increasing average revenue per user (ARPU)? As Levy thought about these questions, he knew that his company’s future depended on his ability to answer them.
1
Sarah Reedy, “Say ‘Cheese’ and Send,” Telephony Online, April