TiVo’s latest newsletter…
Continue reading →

Today, The Kaplan Thaler Group announced the launch of its new branding campaign for TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), its first effort since winning the account in January 2007. The campaign humorously illustrates the strong relationship consumers have with TiVo and highlights the differentiating features of TiVo DVRs versus generic DVRs.

I have been noticing the ads on my recordings, catching glimpses while I 30-second-skip. Mainly during The Daily Show, which I think is well targeted – Jon mentions TiVo often as it is.

TiVo has kicked off a new marketing campaign which revolves around the slogan ‘My TiVo Gets Me’. As part of that, they’ve launched MyTiVoGetsMe.com. Users can create a profile, upload a photo – and add TiVo antennae to it, list your favorite shows, movies, etc. There is also a contest to win a TiVo Series3 with lifetime service and a 42″ plasma TV. You enter by creating a video about how TiVo gets you and uploading it to the site, these are the rules. They’re also doing local events starting this Friday. I may try to make it to the Boston event this Sunday (actually in Watertown).

TiVo Shanan has uploaded a couple of the new ad spots to YouTube.
Continue reading →

On TiVo’s last quarterly conference call, their CEO stated that TiVo would“be highly focused this year on launching a lower-priced, mass appeal High Definition product.” Now Gizmodo has reported on a rumor of a ‘sub-$300′ unit. Personally, I think that’s pretty low. The 180-hour S2DT is $200. *Maybe* they could get an HD box out at $300, but I think an MSRP of $400 is more likely – half the S3′s launch price. At the same time, I would expect the current S3′s MSRP to drop. Perhaps a $600/$400 High-Low split – but we can dream of $500/$300

But it got me thinking – to produce a lower MSRP, they need to lower manufacturing costs. When you buy a Honda Fit you don’t get all the bells and whistles found on a Mercedes S-Class, right? So, I’m curious – what would you trim off of the Series3 to drop its cost? What are you willing to sacrifice, if anything, for a more affordable product? I’ve listed the options I can think of based on my view of the market and the hardware.

The poll is posted here.

Seems to be a rash of TiVo purchases going on lately.