Ownership is Changing
Across all types of consumer products, people are realizing that long-term ownership often doesn’t make sense anymore. For many consumers, it’s a simple matter of economics, for others it’s because they tire quickly of products, and for some it can be as simple as a reaction to the clutter caused by a constant flow of purchased items. In response to this trend, new businesses are springing up around advanced models of ownership – what we’re calling Ownership 2.0 – that help customers manage the complete ownership cycle of their products. One of the common threads binding these companies together is an understanding that a product’s useful life to any specific customer may not correspond to its useful life to all customers, and this disparity allows for the spreading of the cost of the product over multiple or many customers. As the desirability of traditional ownership wanes, business models such as subscription services, temporary ownership, and fractional ownership can help.
Ownership 2.0 Defined
Ownership 1.0 – Buy an item, Own it, then either 1) throw it away 2) recycle it, or 3) resell it.
Ownership 2.0 – Realize at point-of-sale that you don’t want to own the item forever, and take steps to be able to reclaim value from the item when acquiring it.
About the Ownership 2.0 Association
The Ownership 2.0 Association is dedicated to the discussion and promotion of new modes of ownership. Companies in the space can apply to join at no cost and will receive a link from this blog, as well as joint media and PR opportunities. To join, contact join@ownership20.com
About the Ownership 2.0 Advisory Board
Jade Van Doren
Jade Van Doren has been the CEO of TechForward since co-founding the company in 2005. TechForward is dedicated to helping consumers and business upgrade their computers and electronics more easily, affordably, and responsibly. Prior to founding TechForward, Jade Van Doren has been involved in growing two successful businesses: Beatnik, Inc. an audio software company whose ringtone software is currently installed in 250 million cellular phones, and Tribal Brands, LLC., a strategic marketing consulting company specializing in brand, promotions, and business strategies. His experience includes Sony Corporation’s Partnerships and Standards Strategy group at the company’s global headquarters in Tokyo, and product management on Macromedia’s Flash product team. Jade holds an M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he won the Parsky and Wolfen fellowships for entrepreneurship, and a B.A. cum laude from Williams College.
Jodi Watson
Jodi is the Chief Marketing Officer of Bag Borrow or Steal, and brings more than 20 years of Marketing and eCommerce experience to the company. She is responsible for generating innovative marketing programs for Bag Borrow or Steal that will continue to drive its membership growth and support expansion into new product categories. Previously, Jodi spent 5 years at San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma, Inc., where she served as Vice President of Direct Marketing Services and was instrumental in leading investment strategy and program development for all new customer acquisition channels for all 6 of William-Sonoma Inc.’s portfolio brands, including Pottery Barn and west elm. Jodi served in a number of roles at Eddie Bauer, Inc. over a 5 year period, including Director of Marketing for eCommerce and New Customer Acquisition.
