The Web browser business effectively ceased to exist. Its entire cost of development and marketing became a marketing giveaway, and nothing remained that could be used to earn revenues. Brandware is a group of businesses that have the potential to be profitable if the most heavily promoted brand survives and the weaker ones fold. In Brandware businesses, the industry is still highly fragmented, implying that the cost of entry is quite low. However, in Brandware businesses it is becoming clear that customers are really not interested in sifting through the offerings of seventy different vendors.
Customers tend to buy from whichever vendor has the most compelling marketing message.
Customers also want to buy from a vendor that is likely to survive the inevitable industry consolidation. Inherent in this level of the pyramid is the notion of a shakeout. By definition, fewer vendors will survive to climb to the top level of the pyramid. Web portals, to be discussed in Chapter Six, exemplify a Brandware business. Yahoo is a familiar example.