Case in marketing - Google Glass
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Executive summary Introduction to the case study
Background: Research question + Methodology + Literature review
Problems /Challenges / Dilemmas
Analysis- Related to your findings and insights.
Critical thinking
Solutions and recommendations
Conclusions - Include the most important findings
Check Formalities
1. Cover
2.Table of content
3.Page numbers
4.In-text citations
5. Reference list - Harvard Style 6.Text alignment - Justified 7.Everything in black 8.Word-count 2500-3000
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1. Executive summary
Google Glass is relatively new kind of wearable technology: a screen over the user right eye’ s vue allows him to access information at any time. Alongside other practical tools, Google Glass provides a new way to communicate with the technological world, to share content, and to access knowledge. The device allows users to experience a first-person view of the digital world. The Google Glass was a new media innovation in the wearable industry, Google was therefore expecting this product to reach a relatively good market capitalization as well as a promising future.
The innovation into this device has indeed a lot of potential. So why did the Google glasses fail despite being stunning technological advancement? Google is one of the biggest multinational technology company worldwide, which is why the failure of Glass is even more surprising.
This document will explain and analyse the reasons why the company didn’t successfully launched this product : by using a qualitative methodology, propose solutions as well as potential recommendations.
In this case, a qualitative methodology explaining in detail why and how the Google Glass failed at its opening will be developed by first clearly stating several marketing issues faced by the company, then by emitting conclusion and proposing recommendations related to the main findings. The scope of this case study is to identify the marketing problems to then bring potential solutions that could change the way people perceive the product and give a second life to the Glass by re-boosting its sales.
In actual fact, the product needs to find a new place in the consumer’s mind: understandind how people remember the way they interact with technology is a key factor for assessing their satisfaction. Unfortunately, Glass is not far from being forgotten by consumers. Despite being relatively new on the market (released 7 years ago), Glass left the market almost as soon as it entered it. So why are people moving forward from this product?
At the moment, Google Glass is only available it the second-hand market. However, the company recently made an update available for all the devices. But if Google stopped the production, it does not mean that the Glass has disappeared: the company launched Google Glass Enterprise, which is the professional version of the Glass. It is used in assembly lines for workers to increase their efficiency, for instance.
(Wilson, et al. 2021)
The challenges faced by the company are mostly due to a wrong marketing: consumers were not ready to see such a product coming on the market. Google should have prepared consumers to the idea of wearing a device on their head before launching the product. In addition, they did not target a specific market :it was difficult to understand who was that product for, or which problems did it solve.
2. Introduction to the case study
Released in May 2014, the Google Glass was one of the latest wearables, hands-free device. Google was already developing smart glasses a few years before its public release. This product offers a new way to perform tasks such as access information, interact with the technological environment as well as sharing content while giving the first person view of the experience (appendix, picture A)
The Google glasses are designed in the shape of a pair of eyeglasses with a screen positioned over the user’s right eye. This wearable computer allows its users to either select commands by sliding a pad located over the right eye up and down, or back and forth, or to rely on the voice command (appendix, picture B) The glasses incorporate an embedded camera, a. microphone, a small prism display, a GPS, and an amplifier that allow the user to hear audible sounds despite not being directly connected to the ears. Now that the tech industry focuses on smart devices and button-free commands, and the consumers on multitasking, Google thought that it was the right time to push this product to the market (Wilson, Mabbitt, Richardson and Pétrifies, 2021).
The innovation brought by the Google Glass is unprecedented: being able to answers phone call, access platforms such a social media, managing video conferencing as you walk around, take picture on voice command without taking your cell phone out of your pocket is thoroughgoing (appendix, picture C). Another incontrovertible advantage is the access to Google Map: The Glass shows the right path into the user’s vision while being on a bike for instance. There is no need to take the phone anymore. Those innovations gave the brand an early impression of success. Nonetheless, it was not the case (Craig and Craig, 2021).
Google’s wearable computer technology was once considered to be part of the most promising technological innovation, but never achieved its full potential. In fact, Glass came in the market and left it in a short space of time. However, this product is now still available in the second hand market, and can still download the most recent update which dates from 2019 (Gvora, 2021).
Such a technological innovation can increase the productivity in a working environment: the screen being in front of their vision allows employees to multitask without the need of accessions their phones. For this reason, Google created Google Glass Enterprise, a device that helps complex assemble to work better, faster, smarter, and safer (Google, 2020). The design of this glasses is an improved version of the Google Glass released to the public in 2014 (appendix, picture D)
Employees can then remain focused on a high value work. The voice command enables to access the right application at the right time. For instance, image annotated with instructions, training videos or checklists can be seen by the user.
In addition, Glass enables the communication between co-workers in an instant and communicating with their co-workers either through voice call or video conferencing. Video calls allow each part to see exactly what the other sees through the Glass.
Glass runs on Android Open-Source Platform, which makes it easy for its users to work with and achieve higher standards.
So why are people moving forward from Google Glass? One of the major reasons is that the company did not choose the right marketing strategy for this specific product. In addition to this, consumers were not ready yet. Most of them heard about the glasses once they were released only, and not before: they didn’t have enough time to process the idea of wearing a device on their face.
3. Backgrounds
Research question + Methodology + Literature review
4. Problems, challenge, dilemmas
The wearable technology is a constantly growing trend. However, consumers are slower to embrace it. It could be explained by the fact that wearable devices are highly visible. Those glasses are aesthetically unappealing by looking unattractive and awkward. Thus, the design had in fact an important negative impact for the user’s experience. At that time, glass looked more clunky and was still considered by the majority of the market to be at its prototype phase (Hong, 2021). Glass is often compared with cheap modern smartphones.
The cost of the glasses is probably one of the biggest issues faced by Google for the product launch. Their selling price was at 1.500$, which is the triple the price of comparable devices on the market (around 500$). Wearable devices creators face a high competitiveness. Therefore, knowing that it does not perform daily routine functions as well as smartphones, consumers think that the product cost too much for limited functions (Plafke, 2021).
Besides the cost, there is still a lack of “social necessity” for this type of product. It is hard for potential consumers to understand the problems it solves and the task it performs. Perhaps, the company expected a wider acceptance from potential consumers. Therefore, Google could have created a public demand for the Glass by making them seem revolutionary and practically improve (Kalia, 2021).
In addition, wearable devices are likely to be hacked or even manipulated with nefarious intentions, which push the public questioning themselves regarding both security and privacy concerns. That is to say that the users can have access to “hidden” camera and microphone that can be unethically used for harassing or spying for instance, creating bigger challenges for everyone’s privacy.
(Arthur, 2021)
Safety reasons could explain why the Glass did not reach its full potential: the device is positioned on the user’s head and is emitting dangerous levels of cancer-causing radiation, safety risks while driving among others.
Last but not least, the American multinational had no specific target market at the time of its release: the company didn’t have the right positioning and launched the product without an extensive market research. Google knew who not to target but did not focus on who to target. they did not want their product to be seen as a “geek” product, which was probable a mistake. (Waddington, 2021).
5. Analysis
According to users’ feedbacks, the Glass was only at what they called « its prototype phase », which was maybe the case knowing that Google quickly stopped the production in order to take into consideration new design and functional alternatives. « Comparable to a cheap modern smartphone ». This is how other users describe their experience with the Glass. The device costs1.500$, which quite expensive for a device comparable to a cheap phone. Consumers did not understand the utility of this product and found it too expensive, thus didn’t buy it (Plafke, 2021).
Related to your findings and insights.
Critical thinking
6. Solutions and recommendations
7. Conclusion
8. References
9. Appendix
METHOPDOLOGY SECTION 4
· MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT
· CORRECT IT OR PASTE IT
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