Dr. Neil Hair

Once again a popular iconic renegade attempts to go legitimate but I suspect to no avail. The similarities between Kazaa and no hoper Napster are all too plain to see. The story is painful from a Marketers point of view. You develop a cultural ledgend through viral marketing with a massive customer base, then sit back and wait for the legal team to arrive who then attempt to shut you down. At its peak Kazaa must have been worth millions of dollars in advertising revenue alone, and now? Falling numbers of users (especially in Australia where it was particularly popular), no real business model underlying its new look (because lets face it if we want to buy music we'll all go to iTunes who have stolen much of the online music scenes momentum) and to sit back and wait, this time for the money to roll in. I don't think so. Too little too late Kazaa – your time has passed. It does pose the interesting question of when to migrate or adapt a business model however and there is much to be learned in this area. The first sign of a loss of its iconic status should have had the management team looking for buyers, I say this because original management teams are notoriously unable to adapt their styles or their vision for a company from the outset (the few exceptions to the rule are Jobs and the Google lads of course). New management, will bring with it new insight. New marketing managers who know the terrain and aren't afraid to assist in the reinventing of the core service offering, partnerships with other entities, and innovative takes on old problems. Ah to be out in the field… exciting times for marketers, this isn't work – it's fun! Feel sorry for the accountants and HR specialists who don't get to play.