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> their core metric was the number of searches where they matched 8 out of 10 or more of Google's results on the first page of the search. That's a really defe
by pluto9 8y ago
> their core metric was the number of searches where they matched 8 out of 10 or more of Google's results on the first page of the search.
That's a really defeatist way of entering a new market--"our competitor is the gold standard, so instead of trying to be better than them, we'll measure our success by how closely we can imitate them". It's like Pepsi and Coca-Cola, which I also always found strange. Why advertise Pepsi as tasting just like Coke? Why not advertise it as tasting _better?_
> Qwant isn't even that close.
I don't think that, by itself, says anything about the quality of their search results.
- TylerE 8y ago> Why advertise Pepsi as tasting just like Coke? Why not advertise it as tasting _better?_ That's exactly what they did. Remember the Pepsi Challenge?
- pluto9 8y agoThis is weird--I remember Pepsi commercials with a blind taste test on TV when I was a kid. Oddly, I distinctly remember them framing it as people not being able to tell the difference, and that being seen as a good thing. But now I can't find any reference to those commercials or that marketing angle anywhere. Now you've got me wondering if I misunderstood the commercial as a child and have had a tainted perception of Pepsi's marketing my whole life because of it.
- TylerE 8y agoYes, the whole point was they were given two unlabeled samples, and they preferred the one that ended up being Pepsi. This is not surprising as Pepsi is much, much sweeter so in small doses it does tend to be preferred. However, when given a full glass, many go back to preferring Coke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMYzo0rgrw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghMYzo0rgrw (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQxzQGwEcI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQxzQGwEcI (1977) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK26LU5ZhmE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK26LU5ZhmE (1982) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHFJB72vi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YHFJB72vi8 (2003)
- stephenhuey 8y agoThe story of what went wrong with New Coke was that Coca Cola's research was based entirely on sip tests and people preferred the slightly sweeter taste. I read in Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" and people ultimately didn't want to drink an entire can of the stuff. This went down as one of the most famous blunders in market research history. https://www.printrunner.com/blog/sip-testing-potential-employees-new-cokes-marketing-blunder/ https://www.printrunner.com/blog/sip-testing-potential-emplo... https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/what-new-coke-continues-to-teach-us-30-years-later https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/what-new-coke-conti...
- TylerE 8y agoOne aside that might bear mentioning: Coca-Cola Classic wasn't. It was when they slipped in the change from cane sugar to corn syrup in the US market.
- rectang 8y agoThat's a fascinating (and probably harmless) misperception. :)