Brief: Amazon’s Kindle is widely considered as the leading e-reader. With the recent launch of the Apple iPad, how has the Kindle’s perception been altered, in terms of pricing, usability and versatility? »
Methodology
The Brandwatch Monitoring solution was used to analyse the online discussions surrounding the Kindle, the iPad and the Nook e-readers, in Global English (incl. US), and then in the UK market only. We focused on the 2 week period of 29th March – 12th April.
Search strings were created and tested to ensure the data returned was clean and pertinent, while also establishing the widest possible coverage of discussion from across the web. Overview volume profiles were established in terms of site-type share (blogs, forums, twitter, etc). Sentiment analysis was used and validated across all mentions, and coverage was broken down into positive / neutral / negative.
A second level of analysis separated discussions into particular topic issues. Topic-specific sentiment analysis was performed. The top 20 most pertinent websites on which these discussions played out were established. Finally, representative clippings of actual mentions were provided to support any findings.
Findings
The fate of the Kindle in the wake of the iPad launch is revealed by several key insights:
Price
The price of the kindle now looks far too high in comparison with the iPad cost and its feature set.
Outdoor use / readability
The analysis suggests strongly that the iPad fails in outside use, and in some cases overheats in sunlight.
Kindle application for the iPad and iPhone
Current discussions on this topic suggests that the application may still only serve to highlight the superior readability of the Kindle compared to the iPad.
Brief: A laser eye surgery provider wants to quickly understand what is being said online about that industry, and what sentiment there is towards the procedure. Recommendations on how to engage with social media would be welcome. »
Methodology
The Brandwatch Monitoring solution was used to analyse the online coverage of the whole laser eye surgery industry, in particular within social media. We focused on the 1-month period of 14th March – 14th April 2010.
A complex search string was created to capture clean, relevant data for the whole industry – as opposed to simply tracking a few company or product names. The resulting online coverage was analysed in terms of site type and sentiment.
Further analysis established the prevailing ways in which laser eye surgery is discussed via the generation of the most representative example mentions. These mentions exemplify the variety of commentary, and each is profiled for sentiment and influence.
Findings
Discussion of Laser eye surgery is dominated by non-testimonial comment, that is, by people who have not had the procedure (yet). This coverage represents 3 quarters of the overall commentary. In this group sentiment is split 60% negative / 40% positive.
There is a significant absence of testimonial data in this subject area within online social media. This fails to counter the negative bias seen in non-testimony discussions.
Twitter is a major source of online coverage, but it may not be the main source of information for prospective customers.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of this initial report, there is a need for a transparently neutral and genuinely consumer-controlled forum, either stand-alone, or perhaps as part of Facebook, that encourages and attracts much larger numbers of first-person testimony than exists visibly in social media at present.
It is critical for such a forum not to be controlled directly by any laser eye surgery business. Only then will arise the potential for the sentiment reading to move in a positive direction, as potential candidates for the procedure see real and completely trustworthy evidence of laser treatment long-term success in the form of very large numbers of positive personal testimony.
This short initial study clearly identified a need for action. A follow-up study should be performed to measure the effect of creating a forum as discussed above. We should also consider additional, more detailed studies on other aspects of the industry.
Find Out More > Case Studies
Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad
Monitoring & Brand Reputation
Brief: Amazon’s Kindle is widely considered as the leading e-reader. With the recent launch of the Apple iPad, how has the Kindle’s perception been altered, in terms of pricing, usability and versatility? »
Methodology
The Brandwatch Monitoring solution was used to analyse the online discussions surrounding the Kindle, the iPad and the Nook e-readers, in Global English (incl. US), and then in the UK market only. We focused on the 2 week period of 29th March – 12th April.
Search strings were created and tested to ensure the data returned was clean and pertinent, while also establishing the widest possible coverage of discussion from across the web. Overview volume profiles were established in terms of site-type share (blogs, forums, twitter, etc). Sentiment analysis was used and validated across all mentions, and coverage was broken down into positive / neutral / negative.
A second level of analysis separated discussions into particular topic issues. Topic-specific sentiment analysis was performed. The top 20 most pertinent websites on which these discussions played out were established. Finally, representative clippings of actual mentions were provided to support any findings.
Findings
The fate of the Kindle in the wake of the iPad launch is revealed by several key insights:
The price of the kindle now looks far too high in comparison with the iPad cost and its feature set.
The analysis suggests strongly that the iPad fails in outside use, and in some cases overheats in sunlight.
Current discussions on this topic suggests that the application may still only serve to highlight the superior readability of the Kindle compared to the iPad.
Consumers desperately want this.
Conclusion
The Kindle is being largely overshadowed by the buzz surrounding the iPad launch. To counter this, Amazon should:
This study provided interesting, actionable insights within hours.
Download the Full Report (PDF).
Laser Eye Surgery
Market Research
Brief: A laser eye surgery provider wants to quickly understand what is being said online about that industry, and what sentiment there is towards the procedure. Recommendations on how to engage with social media would be welcome. »
Methodology
The Brandwatch Monitoring solution was used to analyse the online coverage of the whole laser eye surgery industry, in particular within social media. We focused on the 1-month period of 14th March – 14th April 2010.
A complex search string was created to capture clean, relevant data for the whole industry – as opposed to simply tracking a few company or product names. The resulting online coverage was analysed in terms of site type and sentiment.
Further analysis established the prevailing ways in which laser eye surgery is discussed via the generation of the most representative example mentions. These mentions exemplify the variety of commentary, and each is profiled for sentiment and influence.
Findings
Discussion of Laser eye surgery is dominated by non-testimonial comment, that is, by people who have not had the procedure (yet). This coverage represents 3 quarters of the overall commentary. In this group sentiment is split 60% negative / 40% positive.
There is a significant absence of testimonial data in this subject area within online social media. This fails to counter the negative bias seen in non-testimony discussions.
Twitter is a major source of online coverage, but it may not be the main source of information for prospective customers.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of this initial report, there is a need for a transparently neutral and genuinely consumer-controlled forum, either stand-alone, or perhaps as part of Facebook, that encourages and attracts much larger numbers of first-person testimony than exists visibly in social media at present.
It is critical for such a forum not to be controlled directly by any laser eye surgery business. Only then will arise the potential for the sentiment reading to move in a positive direction, as potential candidates for the procedure see real and completely trustworthy evidence of laser treatment long-term success in the form of very large numbers of positive personal testimony.
This short initial study clearly identified a need for action. A follow-up study should be performed to measure the effect of creating a forum as discussed above. We should also consider additional, more detailed studies on other aspects of the industry.
Download the Full Report (PDF).