Every day, nearly everyone on Earth does something that involves a satellite. Most of them never know it. That’s kind of cool – but also kind of frightening.
If people who benefit from your products and services don’t even know they exist, our commercial prospects are pretty dim. Especially at a time like this, when satellite communications and earth observation are poised for the first time to break out into immense global markets, from IT, mobile and IoT to finance, insurance, and logistics.
It was this consideration that drove Intel, in the 1990s, to launch its “Intel Inside” campaign. Its leadership realized that being an invisible part of a PC was a recipe for commoditization and shrinking margins. The company ultimately invested $5 billion (about $10bn today) in an international marketing campaign that was instrumental in keeping them at the leading edge of the chip industry.
The same consideration led SSPI to launch its Better Satellite World campaign in 2016 (www.bettersatelliteworld.com). We’re a few dollars short of the $10 billion we would like to be spending. But with the help of our industry’s companies, media partners and other organizations, the campaign is making a difference in how the industry communicates its value to investors, to present and future customers and to the young talent we so badly need to fuel growth.
What’s Your Sat IQ?
A recent video in the Better Satellite World series, “Is There a Satellite Inside?,” aims at young people in middle school and high school. It asks them to guess whether or not satellite technology is part of everyday applications in their lives. So, let’s take a moment to test your own satellite IQ. For each of these common objects or activities, is there a satellite inside? For answers, watch the video.
- Your mobile phone?
- A program you watch on TV?
- Video games?
- Sneakers?
- A loaf of bread?
- Weather forecasts?
- Hanging out with your friends (back in the day when you could)
Produced for SpaceNews by Space & Satellite Professionals International. See more stories and videos of satellite making a better world at www.bettersatelliteworld.com.
