Where is the Zune Hype?

Have you noticed the lack of good Zune related news lately? We have been giving our readers reviews of Zune accessories, keeping them informed on Zune problems and rumors around a second generation Zune player, a flash Zune or even a Zune phone. But real juicy news coming from Microsoft are very rare, if any, and we felt the Zune was losing a bit of its hype.

We tried to measure the buzz with basic but accurate tools and came to the conclusion that the Zune hype is fading week after week.

The top image shows data from Technorati’s database. It gives the number of posts that mentioned a specific word over a specific period. We did an analysis of 4 different words: “Zune”, “Zune phone”, “iPod”, “iPhone”.

Zune had a daily average of 650 posts on the beginning of December but is merely getting 200 these past few weeks. If you take a look at the iPod for the same period, Apple’s flagship product is getting around 6500 daily posts. But most interesting is how stable the posting has been in the last three months for the iPod.

The 10x factor between the iPod in December was representative of the sales gap between the two competitors. But now we have a 30x factor between them. That’s a lot considering the millions of dollars invested in marketing by Microsoft. Does it represent a trend in sales?

The Zune phone had hype for a few days but denied rumors slammed the posting on that too. The iPhone had a record day around MacWorld but is now more stable at around 2000 daily posts.

What is even more surprising is on 45% of the Zune related post, the iPod is also mentioned. That’s right! Looks like the discussion is still around the iPod vs. Zune battle and not around the Zune as a product by itself. Look at the two graphs below. The first one is the number of posts that have both words and the second one is for Zune only.

But if people are not writing about the Zune, maybe they are reading about it? We measured that as well and it seems that in the last 9 weeks, the number of pages viewed on the top 6 Zune related site listed on Zunelist.com is slowly declining since the beginning of January.

What is going to take to spin the buzz again? You make your own conclusions.

Comments

[zunescene]

Wow nice graphs. Notice iPod is scaled in units of 2000 and Zune 200 on the Y axis.

We just need more of those Zune SUV's playing at 3 AM in more places. Thousands of them. Louder.

[Bob Spencer]

To regain the buzz Microsoft needs to add more features or bring out new Zune products!

I think features like Vista Gadget support would add much needed interest. This would also increase sales to users who are not interested in an MP3 player.

[Stephane]

More SUV? Good idea but don't drive in Manhattan with one of those! I saw the kind of amps and speakers they packed the SUV with and I'm sure they can wake-up the neighborhood with it...

More features? Yes!!! A couple of cool Wifi scenarios would be great!

[Harvey]

Nice work, ClicZune. That was a good idea to aggregate the top sites in Zunelist and capture traffic trends that way.

It's definitely time for some fresh Zune buzz out of Redmond!!

Harvey / Zunerama

[jbelkin]

Your problem is this:

30,000 retail outlets selling the Zune.

30,000 total sales.

See the problem?

[peter]

the zune sucks balls

Cheack out these unique ipod cases, that manage your wires in the back! www.hipipodgear.com Unique Ipod cases

[Bryce]

Hmm, I wonder if it would be possible to create a new graph showing the months since then?

I'd say that if they are going to generate hype, they are going to have to keep releasing consecutive products. Just hit the market with one groundbreaking product after another. For instance, I'm still not sure why Microsoft hasn't rushed out a 60, 80, and 100Gb model of the Zune. It's an amazing product and it can command the market given the proper press releases...

To the person above: you sound like a promotion :p

But seriously, if you do a side-by-side comparison, Zune is better in features and capabilities. However, it is not in the lead because it is not "hip" yet and people who are interested in the product are scared off by the "lack" of things available for it.

[Robert Bell]

The Hype is BACK Baby!

CNN.com must have been paid off by Microsoft, as they have been running a series of "stories" about how the new Zune is the "Cabbage Patch Doll" for Christmas this year. An earlier story in November tells of franic shoppers trying to find the new 30 Gig Zune, only to find it sold out, and desperately buying any other model in its stead.

This AM, CNN.com leads with a puff piece (well, aren't they all on CNN?) about how frantic shoppers are all desperate at the NYC "Toys R US" to buy a Zune ("Retail Hoards go Looney over Zune" - no hype there!). Supposedly 10 minutes after opening, the Zunes all sold out. "The Zunes are DONE Dude!" one shopper supposedly hollars.

Another shopper supposedly says "I'll buy whatever they (Toys R Us) has left!"

(Wow, that makes a lot of sense. Haven't any of these people heard of internet shopping? Did all my Xmas shopping 3 weeks ago. I mean, geez, this is 2007, after all).

Will this hype work? Sure. That's how they sell 6,000 lb. 8 Mpg SUVs to Soccer Moms, who, after all, need a small tank to go buy groceries and pick up the kids from school. Ad men can sell ice to Eskimos. Its a proven thing.

But technical superiority or not, I'm not buying a media player that forces me to "subscribe" to a service as well (or erase all of my music). I have about 7,000 songs on my 80 gig iPod (loaded from a 20 year collection of CDs). I own this stuff already - I don't need to rent it from Bill Gates.

Microsoft is trying to force a subscription model on the consumer, and it will backfire. Consumers will eventually succumb to what I call "subscription fatigue". $5 here, $19.95 there, $29.95 somewhere else, and $79.99 elsewhere eventually adds up to a hefty monthly cash flow. Eventually the consumer says "enough, already!"

FWIW.