Innovation Opportunities for Business using Facebook
The purpose of this business plan is to bring innovation; through fulfilling an unmet need NBC Television network present here a plan to have a business partnership with the leading social networking based website Facebook, which acts as a profile and communication forum. This business plan will also showcase the expected financials and operations over the next three years.
The Social Networking Website, called Facebook. Inc. Is a New York based corporation that will sell advertising space alongside providing a community forum through its online platform (www.Faceoff.com) to facebook online users. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004. NBC T.V is in collaboration with Facebook in its partnership venture which focuses to capitalize on the 500 million weekly users of Facebook services worldwide. The online TV network specifically targets millions of Australians with internet connection in their homes or offices. These people spend a lot of time on the internet either at their work place, shopping, or connecting with friends via online social networks such as Facebook. The revolutionary internet has already replaced conventional means of leisure entertainment such as television, FM, DVDs and radio, as a variety of exciting media content is available online for free, just by the touch of a button.
Face book is the social networking giant, who is in the lead for providing an opportunity for people to mingle up, interact and chat with each other, in short it is the most admired social network, liked and used by millions of people worldwide. Facebook users can register themselves on the website for free; they can send add requests to their friends colleagues and relatives and share their life experiences and pictures. Facebook is extremely user friendly, anyone can use it, no age limit is required, and its users are aged from 5 years to 50 years alike.
What Facebook basically lacks is a Live-stream online T.V, NBC T.V has decided to harness its energies, experience, brand worth and resources as entrepreneurs to collaborate with Facebook so that people without an easy access to the Television, could Watch live streaming Internet TV, which is a long realized gap.
Since the site is already popular, fewer expenses will be incurred on advertising as the NBC (FACEOFF TV) logo will feature prominently on the Facebook website with a link to the online TV channel.
Business Opportunity for Innovation:
When we talk about planning innovation, be the idea a Product, Service or a Concept, we normally think about the end result, not the process, as if the idea was born out of nowhere. Innovation is not getting something NEW to market; it’s getting the right product or service to marketplace. This requires a dedication to the consumer, not exclusively to your company’s in-house capability. It is the awareness of what your customers needs and wants, that hold importance, not just speed to exploitation. Factual innovation takes a lot of planning.
We’re all too well-known with celebrated innovators such as: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and who can forget, Facebook’s own Mark Zuckerberg, but the fact is we are all innovators in our own right. It is about having the right attitude, the will to make it happen and a bit of luck. Necessarily, it’s about problem solving, understanding how to ask the right questions, and be considerate and alert (Jakobsen, 2011).
There are four principles indispensable to embrace to in order to uphold innovation and avoid friction and resistance to change which are:
Define what NEW you’re bringing to market place, initially open with the brand purpose. How do you construe your brand based on the role it already plays in people’s lives, what difference are you making to the society. What good is going to come from it. In our case our joint venture is so innovative and humongous that it will change people’s lives forever.
2) Create and Believe In the Need for Change:
Once the idea has been identified, the next step is to build a general consensus, create your supporters and believers, and drive the energy. Place these new ideas in the parameters of your brand from the start. This shouldn’t be slowing down your existing business activities and procedures. Facebook must start slowly and gradually towards the new addition.
3) Harmonizing Activities through the Change:
The key encounter to differentiating between normalcy and change, is harmonizing your perception with firmness. It’s not just about what makes you competitively distinct. It’s what values and principles you stand for, and how you want to touch people’s lives.
4) Long Term Commitment and Longevity of Goals:
Big brands consider about the entire commitment of the innovation and progress and perk up every aspect, not only the product. For example: packaging is not a late addition, and it’s not just an implementation: It’s the most concrete and physical touch point the customer has with your brand.
As innovators it is good to trust in our instinct but then it is obligatory to measure all odds. We must do all the homework and ask the right questions. We need to spot the opportunities in front of us and be aware of the right way to strike the brand equities we have in hand. Sometimes innovation is about re-discovering ourselves and discovering our true potentials (Jakobsen, 2011)
A Day in the Life of the Target Customer
Irene: Hi Lizzie, it’s the final match of the Cricket World Cup 20-20 today. Where do you plan to be watching the game?
Lizzie: No idea so far babe, my cable TV service recently got disengaged as I have plans to travel later this month to attend my cousins wedding, and I did not want to pay for the whole month ahead, as I might be gone for three weeks. I cannot go out anywhere to watch it as I am not feeling too well and it is kind of cold outside, so far out.
Irene: I feel bad for you girl, I know you are too tired after a tough day at work to go out to watch T.V in the evening. And specially, with the flu it is not even a remote possibility. know what you mean. My house is too far away for you to drive all the way and come, when you have fever. It is a pity Liz, because I know how much you love cricket, and you would have given anything to watch Aussies play at the final Live.
The above exchange of dialogue between two cricket lover friend’s demonstrate just how difficult and lavish it has become to watch live cricket matches. Such matches are only shown on leading cable channels that purchase exclusive rights to broadcast the games to subscribed viewers. Watching the match at a friend’s place is not always an easy option too, when you wanted to sit down and watch it in your own home’s comfort. Plus the cost of travelling and going somewhere commercial to watch such as a restaurant or commercial screening also incurs petroleum and food cost, which is also not always convenient such as in this case.
Watching live cricket matches outside of the comfort of your house is not always a viable option. At match screenings, such venues are usually crowded with other crazy cricket fans trying to watch the match. Limited seating space requires customers to arrive at the venue early enough so as to secure a good spot with a clear view of the screen. Moreover, the need to visit such establishments may cause inconvenience for cricket fans that have a health problem which forbids them to leave the house. Fathers and sons, husband and wife, friends with mates can bond over a cricket match at home, but not at noisy and over-crowded match screenings, especially if there is a small family and children are minors. For those who have to work during match times, it is impossible to view the matches from the office as most offices do not have cable TV.
Another option would be to watch the match live from the stadium, but this is also expensive as it would require a purchase of pricey match tickets and expensive travel to the match location, sometimes in another continent or country. What such a client needs is a cost effective and easily accessible means of watching live cricket matches in a calm, serene and suitable environment, such as the warm comfort of your own home or with friends.
For all you cricket lovers who are unable or reluctant to spend a lot of money in order to enjoy a live match, “Face-Off Internet T.V” a joint venture between NBC and Facebook, provides a free, accessible and user-friendly viewing joint option. FACE-OFF TV provides high resolution, HD streaming of live matches via FaceBook. A user simply requires a computer and high speed internet connection to watch the match. Viewers can also watch via internet connected TV. The service does not require the user to download or purchase any special equipment, software or applications. Unlike most internet TV channels in Australia, Face-off is available throughout the country and plans to extend its offering to the rest of the world by 2015.
Face-Off TV enables Sports Fanatics to keep themselves timely updated with news and events of their favorite sports scene, by offering many programs similar to those shown on leading sports cable channels. These include interviews with cricketers and other sports personalities, match analyses, live cricket commentary and screening of live cricket events such as the ICC Cricketer of the year awards. The users will also get web alerts about daily programs, just as Facebook alerts and updates.
