Re: iSeries (non-) Marketing - part 24,566

["Booth Martin" <Booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Direct contact certainly works but that is the Business Partners job. They
ll do the ground work if IBM will provide the air support. 
 
Microsoft dominates the air and has nothing but token resistance from folks
like Apple and Novell. (IBM does buy lots of airtime but  does anyone
outside of the Palace Walls at Armonk feel that those ads are useful?)
 
 There are several reasons to believe that IBM top management misses some
elemental concepts of advertising. Firstly the iSeries is not an impulse buy
item. Secondly the people that make the iSeries buying decisions do not read
magazines. In fact they don't read at all. They even have staff to read
their reports for them. Any advertising dollars spent on written ads for
that audience is wasted. Thirdly there are all sorts of ways to advertise
besides magazines and direct mail Forthly IBM does not have to carry the
banner by themselves. There are pots and pots of people willing and eager to
help with the heavy lifting.
 
---------------------------------------------------------
Booth Martin http://www.MartinVT.com
Booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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-------Original Message-------
 
From: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Date: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 7:15:24 AM
To: midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: iSeries (non-) Marketing - part 24,566
 
Art Tostaine, Jr. wrote:
> Malcolm Haines was at the Lansa user Conference as the keynote speaker.
> He is a talented speaker and is very passionate about the Iseries. I
> believe he leads the marketing team? He did say, IIRC, that there would
> not be an Iseries TV commercial. I think that decision was direct from
> Armonk.
>
 
Personally, I think that makes sense. After all, what percentage of
the average TV viewing audience is going to rush out to the store to
buy an iSeries machine after watching a TV commercial? No, you want
to put your ad money in places where you can be sure that most
people who see your ad are actually in a position to buy your product.
 
Cheers! Hans