Business Recommendations Based on Pandora Media Inc.
Business Recommendations Based on Pandora Media Inc.
Pandora Media Inc. is an American based internet radio service provider founded in 2000 and stationed at Oakland in California. This company has pioneered the issuance of personalized radio services through the internet. In the contemporary world, the AM/FM radio is losing its significance and current clients prefer real time based radio services round the clock. Pandora manage over a hundred personalized stations that enable listeners to create their own tailored playlists of unlimited music. The company has launched a project known as the Music Genome Project. This project has and is helping clients to connect to the music they love. This thesis will provide a recommendation plan that will assist in advertising the product, enabling global recognition, establishing a pricing strategy, product differentiation, and enhance the brand image of the product. The recommendations will focus on increasing Pandora’s listeners and advertising revenue.
Advertising is one of the most-tricky subject in a media organization. Facilitating the acceptance and recognition of the Music Genome app requires the organization to analyze the market so as to realize the diversity in the form of age, culture and preferences. The organization is already well established in the United State inferring that the company need to place more emphasis in other regions such as Europe, Asia and Africa. Global recognition is mainly driven by strategic advertisements using prolific means. First, the company should advertise the existence of Music Genome through the use of social media. Social media forms a major advertising platform especially through the use of social networking sites, social tagging and blogs. The use of social media as an advertisement platform requires a comprehensive plan that constitutes of clearly articulated procedures and platform. The most important strategy includes the use of computer facilitated communications. These communications should promote three crucial factors visibility, persistence and association. Automated communication system can utilize these factors through enabling persons to view all the features of the Music Genome. The organization can increase persistence in social media through causing internet traffic at busy sites. This will create awareness in a short time and to a large number of persons. Association can be expedited by providing a system that can facilitate mutual communication through editing or actual communication.
Advertising may also require the company to use other means such as the use of television advertisements, sponsoring prominent entertainment based events and using billboards located at strategic places. Pandora can increase Music Genome market through the yellow directories used for advertisements in magazines.
In addition to increasing worldwide recognition of the Music Genome, this product can be used as an advertisement tool. The Music Genome app has numerous features that enable clients to view music details such as the melody, instrumentals, harmony, rhythm, vocals, and lyrics. This means that clients can view some form of written message as they listen to their music. So as to increase revenue through advertisement, the product should establish strategies that do not interfere with clients’ comfort. One reason for poor advertisement performance of AM/FM stations is the use of numerous audio advertisements that interrupt clients’ music stream. In the same way that the product provides music details, it should also be equipped with strategic features that enable clients to read advertisements at the right frequency without interrupting the flow of music.
Pandora should also sell products that are closely related to the entertainment industry such as the sale of instrumentals, hiring of music bands, upcoming concerts, related entertainment apps, and the company additional products along with other things. For instance, it is not strategic for an entertainment company to advertise construction materials and other unrelated products. Instead, Pandora should advertise products or services that are of interest to music listeners.
The pricing strategy is comprised of multiple layers that enable the product price to maximize profits. This pricing pyramid establishes value based perspectives that help the organization to compete internationally and earn predetermined profits. Currently, Pandora Media Inc. has not developed pricing strategies for the product, Music Genome app. This company has to establish a pricing strategy for the sale of this app to numerous users in different places. Also, there should be a strategy for developing prices for adverts facilitated by the product.
The company needs to develop and integrate three forms of pricing including customer based pricing, competition based pricing and cost based pricing. Client based pricing is concerned about the welfare of customers. Price should be offered at a price which reflects the virtuous value of the product. This can be facilitated by analyzing the value which the client attach to the product. Also, the company should establish consumer groups in terms of social class, age, geography, time spent on the app, and willingness to shift to auxiliary products so as to establish prices that will attract a large number of clients. Competition based pricing, on the other hand, is focusses on the competition in the industry of operation. The company should set price with reference to its competitor. Pandora should form a clearly written legal agreement that alleviate the existence of unhealthy price wars. Lastly, the cost based pricing includes the calculation of the profit percentage in relation to the product costs. Pandora should, therefore; have well calculated expenses and expected profits.
Among the three discussed systems, the company should use client and cost based pricing strategies when dealing with consumers. This will help the organization to determine the cost and time spent in designing and managing the product. Competition based pricing should be used in determining advertisement prices because it involves less management and monitoring since advertisement systems are integrated while creating the product.
The achievement of the above aspects requires the collection of a range of tools and applications. Also, the product should be highly differentiated to favor different people from different backgrounds. Computer mediated communications need the development of special apps that manage and program the production of automatic information. The Facebook Open Graph is a critical tool in programming the company website to customize headlines and images concerning adverts and new products. Another critical tool is the use of the social tagging app that will help the organization to manage the social tagging system. For online surveys, online questionnaires and product evaluation form should be availed at relevant websites.
Lastly, the brand image or loyalty is earned through the amalgamation of the above discussed factors to form a positive impact on clients. In addition to the provision of personalized experience, the station should provide a wide variety of music including recent and old songs. Availability of a variety of playlist connects the company with clients on a personal level. When clients are happy they become potential marketers for the company. Another factor that the organization need to change is to provide Pandora app in other play stores other than Apple play store. Currently, Pandora app is only found in Apple stores hence a number of clients in the middle, and lower social class are not able to access the app. This taints the brand image since it portray the product as an aspect that defines class and social status. The company has to change this attitude through availing the app in all play stores. Through the provision of music and other interesting products makes client think and act positively towards the company. The product image can also be facilitated through religious, cultural and social affiliations.
As seen in the above recommendation plan, the development of a company product requires comprehensive processes that are adequately supported by the right tools and approaches. Pandora Media Inc. ought to develop profound social media advertising mechanisms to increase the product recognition on a global basis. Pricing strategy should be integrated with customer value, costs and competition. The brand image is facilitated by the quality; diversity and equality affiliated in providing the product. The improvement of these factors will enable Pandora listeners and advertising revenue to increase steadily.
Works Cited
Chan-Olmsted, Sylvia M. . Competitive Strategy for Media Firms: Strategic and Brand Management in Changing Media Markets. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Geller, Valerie . Beyond Powerful Radio: A Communicator's Guide to the Internet Age News, Talk, Information & Personality. London : CRC Press, 2012.
Tillman, Barrett and Harold Coyle. Pandora's Legion: Harold Coyle's Strategic Solutions, Inc. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2008.
