Dr. Maximilian Böger, Managing Director of REICHLUNDPARTNER Future Thinking GmbH, revealed what “Netflix yourself” is all about at the Digital Days 2021 of the OÖNachrichten in Linz.
Sometimes even global brands get caught. One of the losers in the digital transformation is Kodak, the photographic pioneer that not only set the course for analog photography but also invented the digital camera. But managers did not want to attack the core business and held back innovation. In 2012, Kodak had to file for bankruptcy. Dr. Maximilian Böger presented this story and other practical examples, mechanics, learnings and why digital is far from future-proof in terms of business models at the Digital Days in Linz last Thursday.
“Kodak has simply not shown the necessary adaptability,” Böger said. You can’t be afraid to compete with your core business, he said. This has been understood by the US streaming provider Netflix, which began as an online DVD delivery service.
Fun Fact: Netflix still has more than 2 million customers subscribed to its DVD shipping service. Especially in more rural regions of the USA with poor Internet connections, this service is still used. Other customers have simply forgotten that you still subscribe to the shipping service. In contrast to the nearly 210 million paying streaming service subscribers, however, this is just a drop in the bucket.
Dr. Maximilian Böger explains, “Netflix realized early on that they needed to rethink their business. So they cannibalized their own core business and made DVD shipping obsolete by streaming videos.” “Eating” its own business is an active process, he said, while losing market share to more innovative competitors is a passive process. Taking matters into your own hands is better than being swept up in the wave of innovation, he said.
Therefore, “Netflix yourself, before you get coded”.
