I love watching TV. This has carried over to my laptop where I stream some of my favorite shows: MadMen, The Good Wife, House of Cards, Downton Abbey, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Homeland, The Americans, and Hart of Dixie (although I hate admitting to that one). I told you I loved watching TV! And, I’m not alone. The tech companies know this, so the last few years have seen the launch of a plethora of streaming media players, including Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV. For somewhere between $30-$100, these products allow us to get back to watching stuff on the medium screen (not the big screen because that means movie theaters!).
Last week, Amazon got in the game by launching Fire TV. Naming their new streaming set-top box Fire TV stays true to their long-standing fire theme. The pyromania started with the Kindle, followed by the Kindle Fire, and most recently, the Kindle MatchBook service. And, the name has the added benefit of leveraging the brand equity already created by the Kindle Fire.
Fire TV is short and memorable – two qualities of a good name. It stays true to the fiery naming protocol and it immediately communicates one of the product’s points of difference from competitors: speed. Amazon is also promoting Fire TV’s easy searching using voice integration, which allows you to cheer, “Grey’s Anatomy!” right into the remote. Fire doesn’t help to communicate easy voice searching, but, of course, you can’t have it all.
Competitively, it seems like Amazon is primarily targeting Apple TV. As such, the name structure matches that of Apple TV, instantly orienting the customer to Fire TV’s positioning. Initial reviews indicate that Fire TV only lives up to its speed and search claims for Amazon content. For content outside Amazon, it apparently drops the ball. In any case, Apple better put a fire under their butt to launch the next iteration of Apple TV.
Can I get back to watching Scandal now?
Overall Grade: A-
