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

[Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Scott Johnson wrote:

> Selling a name only goes so far.  If ads never really say what IBM is good at or
> what products they actually have, people won't use them.  They won't know what
> to use them for.  Some of the ads they are running right now, just don't make
> any REAL sense.  They have too much of a fantasy feel to them (server pixie
> dust).
>
> Lets say Dodge makes an ad that does nothing but 'sells' their name.  Nothing
> about the different vehicles they sell, just their name.  How would you know
> that they sell a truck?  You then have Ford with an ad on their truck showing
> off all its capabilities.  Where are you going to go to buy a new
> truck(solution) to haul stuff(problem)?  Now this maybe a bad example, but it
> does try to make my point.  ;-)

First, you can't compare the selling of consumer oriented products 
(like trucks or soap) to the selling of IT services. A consumer 
watching an IBM ad on TV isn't going to jump out an buy an iSeries, 
like he might with an ad for something else.

Secondly, I think everyone knows what business IBM is in. The ads 
provide a message: "Come to us and we'll help with your IT needs." 
That's a simple and more powerful message than you'd get from 
pushing particular pieces of hardware and software. If you had an ad 
quoting various specs and numbers, you'd lose most of your potential 
audience.

Thirdly, some of those ads (like the silly "server pixie dust" ad) 
are targetted not to techies like us, but to executives who have the 
actual decision making authority. That's why some of these ads 
feature execs in a boardroom. They're the ones who'll call IBM to 
discuss solutions. At that level, they're not concerned with the 
details of the solution, but rather with making the solution happen.

Cheers! Hans