Re: UKNM: The 'free' in free ISP now a commodity

[Tom Hukins]

Last week, I spent half an hour thinking about Freeserve's present

advertising campaign whilst waiting for the bus home from Milton

Keynes.


I was also considering why there seems to be much more

Internet/Computer advertising in South England than Aberdeen, where

I've just moved from, but that would be another thread...


On Tue, Jun 15, 1999 at 12:10:32PM +0100, Sam Michel wrote:

> 

> I didn't spot a single "free web access" or "free ISP" or any other slogan

> intimating that their service was free.


I guess Freeserve are assuming that consumers know that there are

lots of free ISPs out there, so they're trying to differentiate

themselves.


However, Freeserve's content is accessible from any ISP. Anyone

who's used the Internet for a few months gets used to the idea of

the ISP account being separate to the content you access online. So,

in the long-term are Freeserve positioning themselves as a content

provider rather than an access provider?


On Tue, Jun 15, 1999 at 01:45:06PM +0000, Rick Sareen wrote:

> 

> You'd have thought so, but as is looking increasingly likely, if we get

> unmetered xDSL for , oooh  say �40 pm from Q4 '99, then the telco connect

> charge income will disappear for these folks and they will only have ad

> revenue to keep them afloat.


I suppose to some extent, developing content alongside a free ISP

service is a smart exit strategy.


However, I'm sceptical that the whole mega-portal strategy can work

in the long-run. As consumers become more net-savvy, I expect

they'll seek out the content they want, rather than letting

themselves be sucked into one small group of sites. I've observed

this with people I know, at least.


On Tue, Jun 15, 1999 at 03:00:54PM +0100, Geoff Inns wrote:

> Freeserve have got it spot on - they are benefit selling, telling people

> what they can actually achieve using the Net in a way they recognise and

> how it relates to their everyday lives.


Right. But how is selling the benefits of the Internet going to

benefit Freeserve more than any other ISP? This would only be a good

idea if Freeserve are targeting new users and trying to grow the

market without bothering much about their market share. Since

Freeserve began, free ISPs have grown the market considerably, so

this strategy wouldn't be too surprising. However, if Freeserve

really care about the long-term, wouldn't they be differentiating

themselves from their competitors?


I wouldn't be surprised if I've missed something, but my impression

is that Freeserve have either screwed up their present campaign or

are focusing on the short-term. Assuming Freeserve aren't stupid,

the best reason I can think of for this strategy is pre-IPO frenzy.


Comments?

Tom 

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