- May 29, 2010
- Posted in Reviews
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What makes Red Box so special?
Red Box started out as an experiment in 2002 from a little company called McDonald’s to drive more customers to their restaurants. Coinstar then invested in the company and in 2009 ended up buying the whole business .
I’ve seen these “red boxes” all over the place now for quite sometime, and finally the other day I decided to rent a movie from one of them. So I drove to a local gas station, picked out a movie, slid my credit card, and I got my movie. Later that night I watched the movie, and then the next day I returned the movie. I did all of this for $1.
So if you haven’t yet realized why Red Box is so great, I’ll point out a few of the reasons why I like this service so much.
They Don’t Advertise
Red Box has over 24,800 kiosks and I’ve never seen a single advertisement for Red Box to date. It seems like their core focus is word-of-mouth advertising which is truly the best form. Granted their huge vending machine “red boxes” out front of numerous gas stations and super markets do provide them some sort of advertisement, but not really in the traditional sense of the word.
They Promote Competition
When Netflix came out it seemed like it was one of the most practical uses of the internet to date. I really love Netflix and their business model. As a company, they seem to get it and understand that they can’t just sit back and watch the money roll in. Their latest endeavors seem to be taking streaming movies head on, and it seems like their succeeding so far. Up until Red Box, Netflix didn’t really seem to have any real competition. Blockbuster and a few others have tried their hand in the online movie-at-your-door game, but none have really been a “success.”
They’re Screwing Blockbuster
Blockbuster Video has been screwing us since 1985 with unnecessary late fees and even hurting our credit. New technology has emerged and Blockbuster is stuck in their old ways, and is now paying for it. They’re trying their hardest to fight off these new companies, but I don’t know how long it will last.
All-in-all it seems like Red Box as a company really does seem to understand the concept of good business. Taking on Blockbuster and Netflix is no easy task, but they seem to be doing really well considering every time I leave my house I see another new Red Box.