Get out your sketch pad if you want to overcome a barrier…
If an organisation can create a successful barrier to entry then it will have a great competitive advantage.
In simple terms, a barrier to entry can prevent competitors entering the market.
We’ve blogged before about a good example of a barrier in the Indian telecommunication market but a recent attempt to create a barrier by Southampton Football Club in the UK was met by a truly artistic response.
Southampton FC decided that they would try to boost their income by preventing any non Southampton FC photographers from taking photos of their match with Plymouth Argyle.
This barrier meant that the only photographers present were official Southampton FC photographers and hence any photos of the match would have to be purchased from the official agency. A nice revenue source for the club.
Ignoring the rights and wrongs of this in terms of impact on other clubs and setting a precedent, this is indeed a pretty tough barrier to overcome.
Understandably upset at having to pay for photos of their local team, the Plymouth Herald newspaper approached well known local artist Chris Robinson.
Chris watched the match on television and then drew “comic strip style” pictures of the football action which were then published in the paper instead of photos.
As you can see, the results were pretty impressive.
It also resulted in a pretty unusual answer to the question of “How do you overcome a barrier to entry”.
The answer now includes, “Draw some cartoons”.
