Re: Avid says No to NAB 2008

[Craig Seeman] "Avid's strategy will keep them afloat as they make the BIG sales to their targeted market but I'm not sure that's a great long term strategy."

Mercedes Benz and Lexus would argue that.

You do not need to have all the mass market to be successful, you need to play your niche well.

Last year, about 400 major motion pictures were released and only a couple or so were edited in Final Cut.

Most all of the major networks around the world use Avid. A few use something else, whether it be Final Cut, Edius, Liquid (yes, there are some), etc. But most of the majors use Avid.

So like a Chevy, Final Cut makes the rounds of the mass market but you see far fewer Mercedes and Lexus's on the road. Yet all three companies have successful business models and any one of the cars will get you from Point A to Point B.

Avid is looking at itself and seeing what it does well and doesn't do well.

Its story does not play well on the show floor of NAB and throwing $2 million at it does not make great sense when NAB is clearly becoming a show for independent operators, whose numbers now make up a large part of the audience -- especially in the South Hall.

I think that Avid stands every bit as good a chance of succeeding as they do of failing in this endeavor. If they play their hand well, they will continue to serve a client base that has come to count on them. If they don't play it well, they will languish into obscurity as a footnote in the history of media production. The ball is in their court and I, like many, will look forward to seeing just how well they play their game.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net
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