healthy competition spawns innovation

Have you heard of RedBox? If not, you surely will. One of the greatest and innovative ideas of recent times, in my opinion, was what RedBox has done with vending new release movies. In a market that has become increasingly competitive RedBox took a large risk in their attempt to pull market share from large powerhouses such as Blockbuster, Netflix, and Apple TV. By placing their large red movie vending machines in plain sight in many food markets, and by advertising their slogan of no late fees they have really grabbed the attention of consumers. Charging just a $1 per day, and by offering new releases early on, RedBox seems poised to become to make a name in many households.
What might the lesson be here? In a market that seemed over penetrated, largely controlled and influenced by large name vendors that have been around for many years, many would have turned about and looked for a market with less competition. However, the real lesson here is that a sound innovative idea can impact change even in the most competitive fields – in fact, quite otherwise, it is when faced with heavy competition that an innovative idea could set a small start up company apart from their larger foes and help them make a name for themselves. In this case, not only is RedBox sure to become well known, well used, well liked – but they almost assuredly will continue to pull consumer margins from their experienced competitors.
For more information on RedBox, visit their web page here.

Filed Under: business development

Tags: competition • entrepreneur