For one of the side projects I’m working on, I’m trying to sell the notion of giving away what could be considered “premium” content as a mechanism to raise interest and broaden an established brand among interested non-consumers. Specifically I am trying to make the case that giving away some audio recordings of presentations from an annual professional conference will stimulate interest in the following year’s conference.
In reality my concept is more nuanced than simply giving away content. The conference will be held next April, and I am advocating that we make audio recordings of the sessions that will be presented (pending presenter’s agreement, of course). Paying attendees will be given access to the recorded content for no cost following the conference. Those who did not register for the conference will be able to purchase the content as a price well under the cost of conference registration (I’m playing with price points between 1/10 and 1/5 of the cnference registration cost). Three to four months before the next year’s conference (set for April 2010) we would make some (probably not all) of the recorded content available for free.
Today a great example of using free content to broaden the appeal of a brand was brought to my attention: Tom Friedman is giving away audio recordings of the third edition of The World is Flat for free. The audio book is being made available with an audio preview of Friedman’s next book, and is likely part of a strategy to build anticipation and promote sales of the new book.
We’ve seen in the past years that diverse customer segments will pay varying prices for what is ostensibly the same product. Almost every one of us have paid for a bottle of water often enough when tap water is generally conveniently available for free. When the 9/11 Commission Report was published it became one of the best-selling tomes of 2004 despite the fact that the contents were freely available on-line. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have both demonstrated the benefits of giving away content or letting customers name their own price for music downloads.
With these and other examples in mind I’m not as concerned that freely-available content will cannibalize paying attendees. I’ve been watching presentations from the TED conference for several years, and would still be thrilled to attend the event in person if I got the chance. The real value of most conferences is in the face-to-face exchange of ideas, and you really do need to pony up the bucks to get the full benefit of a conference. Hearing the quality of the material from last year’s conference would, I am convinced, raise the interest of those who might not otherwise attend.
I’m very interested to hear what others think about this. Help me make the case to a skeptical audience. If you’re skeptical, lay it on me so I can refine or revise this concept. If you’re sufficiently convincing you might get me to change my mind. If you agree with the general concept of giving away content to spur interest among non-consumers then give me your take on this to help me make the case.
