Evolve or die
IRA PAULO POZON
A staple concept in business courses, especially marketing ones, is the famed “first-mover advantage”. It basically states that in every market, the first entrant gains significant advantage by having a near-monopolistic regime.
History is full of examples of first-movers cashing in on these advantages. However, in this now incredibly fast-paced world, equally as important as having that novel idea is the wisdom of seeing when to evolve and actually doing so.
An advantage first-movers have is the opportunity to create brand loyalty and name recognition with customers. For instance, in 1949, a small company acquired the rights to photocopy technology and developed and marketed the process “xerography” under the name Xerox Machines. And to this day, over half a century later, many people still refer to photocopying as “Xeroxing”.
However, being the first entrant in a highly evolving technological world no longer guarantees overall success, much less survival. That same brand that arguably started it all, Xerox, now barely reaches fourth place in global photocopier market share, well behind Canon, HP, and Ricoh.
An even better example is Kodak, the company whose brand was the name in terms of cameras, films, and basically everything to do with photography. In 2001, it bought Ofoto (later rebranded as “Kodak Gallery”), a pioneering consumer-sourced digital photography site where individuals could store, view, and share their photos online.
Kodak not only failed to adapt in time to the shift to digital photography, it had the unusual logic that it could use digital, through Kodak Gallery, to bring photo printing back to the forefront. In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy.
So many brands have risen and fallen over the years, all to successors who utilize the advantages of being the second mover, like demand recognition and a better targeting of the market and the needs of the consumer.
Google is synonymous with online searches, a fame that long succeeded Alta Vista, AskJeeves, or even Yahoo!.
Facebook stands tall today while the likes of Friendster, MySpace, and Hi5 have long gone, even though all were launched within the same five-year range in the early 2000’s.
This year alone we see the fall of giants.
Yahoo! Messenger for instance, is shutting down in a few weeks, after having operated for 20 years. It was among the pioneers of online messaging, and outlasted the likes of ICQ and AIM, yet failed to evolve to the consumer’s tastes and needs that led to the rise of the new breed of messenger apps.
For instance, Snap is famous for its self-destructing photos and videos and its humorous filters, while Line captured its 600 million users by combining messaging with a timeline where friends can comment, combined with a humongous sticker gallery.
Telegram found its niche with high-grade point-to-point encryption and disappearing messages, features that Viber and WhatsApp now have as well.
Toys R Us, arguably the first department store that sold goods exclusively for kids and those kids-at-heart, closed up shop after over half a century of operations. Among the factors that led to the failed restructuring and eventual closure included failing to adapt and compete with the rise of e-commerce competitors who could offer better deals and ease of delivery, while Toys R Us kept with the expensive brick-and-mortar retail stores.
In a final farewell, company mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe is shown going on a permanent vacation.
Spanish philosopher, poet, and novelist George Santayana, once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In this fast-paced technological world, the challenges facing businesses on one hand include being true to their core, their mission statements, while on the other hand seeing the opportunities and challenges brought about by change, and discerning when to evolve.
The author is the Founder, CEO, and Counselor for Compliance, Trade & Investment, and Government Relations & Public Policy at Caucus, Inc., a multi-industry, multi-disciplinary consultancy firm. He graduated MBA from De La Salle University, Juris Doctor from Far Eastern University, and LLM in International Commercial Law from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. He was a Chevening-HSBC UK Government Scholar, a Confucius Institute Scholar, and an alumnus of the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. He teaches at the College of Law of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. The author may be emailed at iap@caucusinc.com
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