In my estimate, every day since the dawn of IPTV marketing, some young, enterprising IPTV journalist has forged an article extolling the features of IPTV and predicting its eventual domination with the one-time witty header: "I want my IPTV." Yes, we've heard it. It's a two-syllable variation on the once famous Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" in which Sting says "I want my MTV" at both the beginning and end of the track. Maybe it's just me, but I suggest we put this hackneyed play on words to rest and never speak of it again.
I can speak with some authority when I say that most Brits haven't used that hackneyed phrase, since most Brits don't know what "IPTV" is--at least according to a recent poll from Nielsen/Net Rankings. I've seen polls like this before too, but it seems the British enjoy arguing about semantics as much as I. The study reveals that 40 percent of Brits receive online news feeds but 67 percent of those didn't know that the term for that type of service is "RSS" (Really Simple Syndication). VOD was the least known of the tech terms asked, with 75 percent admitting they had no clue--but IPTV was close on its heels with 69 percent of those surveyed pleading ignorance.
That said, we need to educate consumers on the services IPTV makes possible, like more VOD. Apparently, before we do that, we need to teach them what VOD means, too. So with that in mind, I encourage everyone, Brits included, to come to FierceIPTV's first executive summit next week in San Diego. The event is co-located at Internet Telephony and will bring together the top thinkers in the IPTV industry. We even have a panel on marketing IPTV that will teach you a trick or two. Register today! - Brian