Apple’s Iphone, Ipod Touch and Ipad devices mostly disprove The Ries Law of Divergence, from The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. These devices all have taken over the functions of several other devices. The Ries Law of Divergence asserts that brands should naturally diverge as new technology comes into common usage. The Law does hold true in many instances, but in this case the law does not as these branded devices have truly shown a tendency toward successful convergence.
These devices have begun to encompass multiple purposes that used to be served by individual devices such as:
- Telephones (Communication)
- GPS (Navigation)
- Portable CD Players (Music entertainment)
- PC’s (musical storage, productivity)
- Home CD Player (Music, entertainment)
- Film/Video (TV, DVD Players)
- PDA’s (Organization)
- Books (Reading)
- Radio (Radio Listening)
Clearly, in the realm of portable mobile devices these devices have challenged the Law of Divergence. This may be because there was a strong demand for convergence devices in the mobile arena, as the convenience of the all-in-one device was appealing to users. This development doesn’t have the forced nature of the TV to PC convergence, which seems to be more of a corporate market control goal than a consumer driven need.
In the area of home entertainment, communication and organization, these devices have had less impact from a convergence perspective. Most consumers still choose to receive their home entertainment through their TV’s, and they use their personal computers for organization, productivity and other purposes. However, the IPad may be encroaching on some of the personal computer and the television’s roles, as it is a hybrid between the home and the portable (casual video and computing) domains. This will continue if Kevin Kelly is correct in his predictions about the touch interface becoming the chosen method for new devices. So, even in the area of home-based devices the Reis Law of Divergence is breaking down. I do think some slack should be given to the authors, since they wrote this book “way back” in 2000.
