LO1 (Unit 24): Understand the products that are produced within and across media industries
D1 (Unit 24): Discuss how successful media concepts have been positively exploited across multiple media industries
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| Source: Google Images |
Amazon Prime is a subscription service that customers pay for, enabling users to access exclusive features. The subscription can be paid monthly at a fee of £9.99, or annually at an fee of £79 (saving customers around £40).
The Amazon Prime services include next day and rapid delivery as well as free standard delviery, which can make users believe they are saving money on delivery, therefore making them more inclined to purchasing the 'Prime' package. Amazon Prime also offers music, television and movie streaming services. Customers can access these features via the Amazon website, where they can log into their Prime account. There are also downloadable applications (such as Amazon Prime Now and Amazon Prime Music), which provide users with Amazon Prime features at the convenience of their smartphones and tablets. To add, Amazon's virtual assistant
'Alexa' (which is accessed through the Amazon Echo devices) enables subscribers to use the features of their Prime accounts, by simply speaking to their
'Alexa' device.
Amazon Prime Vidoe is also available as a downloadable Smart TV app, enabling users to access their accounts/features from their televisons. This allows customers to enjoy Amazon Prime Video content from a large screen (as opposed to their smarthphone and tablet screens which are significantly smaller), increasing customer satisfaction and ensuring that the accessibility of Prime services are maximised.
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| Source: Google Images |
Amazon Prime has a range of features that are exclusively accessible to those paying for a subscription, some of which include:
- Prime Music - Music streaming service (allows users to stream music on up to four devices, on the same account)
- Prime Video - Video-on-demand service (allows users to stream the same video on a maximum of two devices, on the same account)
- Prime Reading - Audio and digital book service
- Prime Pantry - Food delivery service
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| Source: Apple's App Store |
Amazon Prime streaming services offer customers a wide variety of content, including
"millions of songs" and
"1000s of movies" (according to Amazon.co.uk). Among the great selection of content, Amazon Prime has also ensured that they appeal to a wide audience. Both their music and video-on-demand services offer customers with almost all genres, ensuring they cater to all ages. For example, on Amazon Prime Video, there is a '
kids' section, which includes hundreds of movies and shows appropriate for audiences under the age of 18.
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| Source: Google Images |
Amazon Prime primarily targets those who have an Amazon account. They do this most effectively by advertising their 30-day free trial, enabling users to access all the features to which Amazon Prime offers. This allows individuals to recieve the full Amazon Prime experience, and get comfortble with using the beneficial features, making them more inclined to begin paying after their free trial has ended. However, this free trial can be classified as misleading due to the automated initiation of the subscription once the 30-day trial is complete. By this I am referring to the default programming that begins charging users immediatley afte their free trial is complete. The only way to stop this is through an 'opt out' feature on the website, allowing users to cancel the subscription.
Amazon Prime is advertised on various areas of the Amazon website. These range from a
"Try Prime" tab located on the homepage, to a
"Subscribe & Save" option when adding items to a basket. These eye-catching features can intice users to purchase a subscription and unlock all of the available perks and benefits that Amazon Prime has to offer.
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| Source: Amazon.co.uk |
As part of Amazon's marketing for Amazon Prime, they also have a series of other advertisments, including billboards and video adverts. These primarily target older audiences (most likely a 20+ demographic) due to the simplistic, straight to the point content of their adverts (specifically the billboards). This makes it likely to gain attention from adults as opposed to appealing to children and teenagers. The billboards for Amazon Prime focus on their speedy delivery services as well as Amazon Prime Video, focusing on their
'Amazon Original Series'. All of the series presented on Amazon's advertisments tend to be for older audiences (mostly young adults) due to the lack of children and teen series advertiesments.
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| Source: Google Images |
As Amazon grew more popular, so did Amazon Prime - resulting in an increase of subscribers. According to an article on
'theguardian.com', by the end of 2016 the company had 3m subscribers. The article also details that in 2018, Amazon Prime Video exoperienced a "year-on-year-rise" resulting in 4.3m households using the services. This persistant increase is likely due to the increased variety of shows to which Amazon Prime Video offers, meaning there is a wider selection of content available for a diverse demographic to enjoy.
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| Source: theguardian.com |
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