Why does SPRINT continue to publish EVO ads?

[Exe44]

Why does SPRINT continue to publish EVO ads?

The phone

 

[eieio]

Because they are still being sold, even though the quatities on hand may seem limited, stock is still being supplied..

The Sprint corporate store close to my office pushes out about 40-50 week..

Do they want more to sell, sure they do but thats not too bad, until new stock or the Epic becomes available.

 

[Tre Lawrence]

While the shortages are bad for business, I don't think it is smart to stop drumming up business...

 

[whtge8]

I think Sprint did an awful job at marketing the EVO. 99% of the people I have met think its the new iPhone, or a Droid, thanks to their marketing. Most people dont even know what an EVO is.

And as mentioned before they are still being produced, and sold. Are they supposed to stop all advertising because it is hard to find one? They want to fill up those wait lists and make their money...

 

[WaSTeLaNd]

To keep it fresh in the consumers head.

 

[ScorpDX]

Simple economics...supply and demand keeps prices up!

Low supply and consumers wanting the product is what any business wants.

 

[anon]

Simple economics...supply and demand keeps prices up!

Low supply and consumers wanting the product is what any business wants.

Economics are not so simple...

A company would prefer to expand their customer base, increase revenue and reduce overhead costs. That sounds simple to me, your theory sounds crazy.

 

[takedown609]

I think Sprint did an awful job at marketing the EVO. 99% of the people I have met think its the new iPhone, or a Droid, thanks to their marketing. Most people dont even know what an EVO is.

And as mentioned before they are still being produced, and sold. Are they supposed to stop all advertising because it is hard to find one? They want to fill up those wait lists and make their money...

I don't think the marketing is that bad at all, I see Evo ads everywhere. I think the main problem is the product name..Evo. Everyone is familiar with Iphone already, but the Droid has a very marketable and catchy name and it's easy to remember. Plus the whole DROIIDD notification sound makes people remember it. Droid also has a catchy slogan, "when there's no limit to what droid gets there's no limit to what droid does." People don't realize how important small things like these stick in a person's mind.

 

[eieio]

Just saw A (new to me) sprint commercial hyping Qik's video chat feature. How long has that been out?

I got to get out more

 

[archercc]

Just saw A (new to me) sprint commercial hyping Qik's video chat feature. How long has that been out?

I got to get out more

Since the update (you have to download from the market) but it sucks. Its "meh" phone to phone and if they themselves dont have an Evo then you send them a link where they watch you on a web page and then can "chat" using text.

Its nothing like Fring did with Skype back in the day. That itself wasnt reliable or good quality but at least I could video chat with my (hero havin) girlfriend.

 

[ScorpDX]

Economics are not so simple...

A company would prefer to expand their customer base, increase revenue and reduce overhead costs. That sounds simple to me, your theory sounds crazy.

Sure they'd like to expand the customer base. However if they flood the market with a phone then the demands is down and the prices fall. They don't make any money when the phone hits the "free with contract" shelf.

While they may drag in a few new customers with such an offer, I doubt it's enough to offset the money that would be made by existing customers dropping $500 a piece for the phone!

 

[anon]

Surely the demand would fall once those customers who want the phone already have it, that's where innovation comes in and a new phone is brought in order to attract the new wave of customers. Remember, you're not just paying the money for the cell phone, you are also signing a 2 year commitment with them.

The sole purpose of a company is to make money, while that money might not be immediately available to a company that gives a cell phone, they will get their profit at some time in the 2 year frame.

Sprint's downfall did not come from giving away free cell phones, their stock crashed because subscribers were leaving. Speaking of, just pulled a chart on S and it looks interesting. Certainly one to put on a watch list.

 

[Exe44]

The EVO is so hot that I don

 

[RiverOfIce]

Most ad spots are paid for from 6 months to 1 year in advance, no refunds. So for the most part they could not stop it now if they tried, only switch it where possible.

 

[zense]

I just saw an HTC Evo commercial for the first time. Not Sprint but a HTC commercial.

 

[bignibb]

just like diamonds, they are not as rare as some people believe but if you only release so many every so often the demand stays high.

 

[tsipa]

Simple economics...supply and demand keeps prices up!

Low supply and consumers wanting the product is what any business wants.

No business wants demand to exceed supply, nor do they want supply to exceed demand. If given a choice they would probably rather have greater demand than supply but that will eliminate some of their earnings potential because they are not able to supply everyone with their product. This is especially true in the mobile phone business where there are many alternatives to any given phone. I am sure that many people got tired of waiting for the EVO and went with the Incredible or Droid X so this is not so good for Sprint.

 

[Rob_A]

I think they do it to torture all the people who cannot get one.

 

[Tre Lawrence]

just like diamonds, they are not as rare as some people believe but if you only release so many every so often the demand stays high.

Don't think that's it at all.

I think they do it to torture all the people who cannot get one.

Count me as one of the tortured...

 

[MDbandit]

Simple economics...supply and demand keeps prices up!

Low supply and consumers wanting the product is what any business wants.

low supply is good?
how do you make money if nobody can buy the product
people wont wait forever for an EVO with the speed at which technology is changing
having low supply every since the launch makes people go buy other phones that are available
who enjoys waiting?

 

[bvbull200]

What a crazy question. Of course they want/need to keep demand up. If they let it die down at all, many of the people that are set on getting an Evo won't wait any longer and just get something else. Keep the hype alive and they will wait. Look at the Nintendo Wii. One of the most over-hyped products ever. I bet everyone either is or knows people that have a Wii that has been collecting dust for months, but for years Nintendo enjoyed higher sales than Microsoft and Sony.

I think Sprint did an awful job at marketing the EVO. 99% of the people I have met think its the new iPhone, or a Droid, thanks to their marketing. Most people dont even know what an EVO is.

And as mentioned before they are still being produced, and sold. Are they supposed to stop all advertising because it is hard to find one? They want to fill up those wait lists and make their money...

This is nothing more than the fact that the iPhone was the first to market with this type of device, in a mainstream sort of fashion. Spare me the LG and Palm predecessors, the iPhone was a game changer. The same thing happened with the iPod. It was the first to market as a highly capable, user friendly mp3 player. Nowadays, nearly everyone refers to any mp3 player as an iPod, even knowing full well that it isn't an Apple product. It will be a long time (if ever) before the non-tech savvy population calls a large touchscreen phone anything other than an iPhone, just as they continue to call a Zune, Sansa, or any other mp3 player an iPod.

This isn't unprecedented, though. Do you call it a Xerox machine or a copy machine? Kleenex or tissue paper? Scotch tape or clear/invisible tape? Coke or soda?

 

[bvbull200]

Simple economics...supply and demand keeps prices up!

Low supply and consumers wanting the product is what any business wants.

Sure they'd like to expand the customer base. However if they flood the market with a phone then the demands is down and the prices fall. They don't make any money when the phone hits the "free with contract" shelf.

While they may drag in a few new customers with such an offer, I doubt it's enough to offset the money that would be made by existing customers dropping $500 a piece for the phone!

There is a HUGE gap between "low supply" and "flood the market". You can only get away with a "low supply" if you have a truly unique and innovative product. I think the Evo is great, perhaps the best phone currently available, but it isn't very innovative and certainly not unique to its competitors. I can assure you that Sprint and HTC don't want to be undersupplied by this amount. There are tons of potential customers that they are losing. A supply just under the demand (as previously mentioned) is where they would surely prefer to be.

 

[dakidobf]

I don't think the marketing is that bad at all, I see Evo ads everywhere. I think the main problem is the product name..Evo. Everyone is familiar with Iphone already, but the Droid has a very marketable and catchy name and it's easy to remember. Plus the whole DROIIDD notification sound makes people remember it. Droid also has a catchy slogan, "when there's no limit to what droid gets there's no limit to what droid does." People don't realize how important small things like these stick in a person's mind.

Marketing is not just about having a lot of ads, its about people remembering what they saw. You just listed everything that Verizon and Motorola did right with their Droid campaign. Those are the things that Sprint did NOT do. Which is why the average consumer will see an Evo ad and forget it as soon as its over, but be in the kitchen and hear a Droid ad playing in the living room and know exactly what the commercial is about.

The only reason why the Evo ads stick with me is because they suck so bad.

 

[pwnst*r]

Economics are not so simple...

A company would prefer to expand their customer base, increase revenue and reduce overhead costs. That sounds simple to me, your theory sounds crazy.

^This.

Sprint is losing lots of potential customers because of this shortage. And please don't tell me it's because the Evo sold so well.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Having spent some time in the advertising business, I think what's being overlooked here is the marketing plan that Sprint/HTC(/possibly Google) put into place before the EVO was ever launched. Just because sales have been good doesn't mean they are suddenly going to stop running the ads for which they have already budgeted/paid.