Incredible launch?

[Opivyattack]

Is anyone else surprised about how Verizon is handling the Incredible launch? I thought we would be spammed with ads for the phone which launches on Thursday like we were for the launch of the Moto Droid. So far I have not seen or heard one commercial for it and no one I have talked to even knows that this most awesome phone is just about to come out. Is this because HTC didn't pony up any ad money to Verizon or is Verizon testing a new marketing trick or what (I don't know how advertising works with cell phones as far as who pays for what)? I'm really amazed at the lack of hype they're building here. Obviously us geeks are excited but I don't think it spreads too far beyond that.

With that being said, what do you all think that the first week launch numbers are going to look like? Obviously they will be good. I'm just thinking that they could be much much better.

 

[jwm2]

I've seen some advertising but not in the form of an ad, just articles written about it and raving about its features. Even my local newspaper published an article on it and if it gets published in BFE like this area then it must be everywhere.

 

[dm33]

I have been amazed at the lack of promotion. I was about to start a thread about it myself.

Heck the phantom iPhone 4G has gotten way more coverage than the Incredible. No one is going to buy it next week. Its going to be a very slow start. Promotion works. You need something to generate buzz. There is no buzz other than a few folks on this forum.

 

[fish2587]

we'll definitely see some things once the phone is officially released. no where near the extent of the droid, but we'll see some advertising. as their new flagship phone, they HAVE TO.

 

[jwm2]

I'm seeing banner ads for it in alot of places i visit but thats been within just the last couple of days. I think its going to be a huge seller regardless of how much they advertise it. Of course the more ads the better, but i don't think they'll have any problem selling the 250,000 units they already have in the warehouse.

 

[Tony Touch]

One of the analysts over at Motley Fool theorizes that VZ isn't marketing this phone because HTC is not confident they can make a ton of Incredibles:

"I don't think Verizon will put serious marketing muscle behind this model, because I don't believe that HTC can supply the network with millions and millions of these phones.

The bottleneck lies in the Droid Incredible's OLED screen. That component is a real selling point for this phone and others, but the technology is not yet ready for prime time. OLED technology from Universal Display (Nasdaq: PANL) and others is coming of age right about now, but screen manufacturers like Samsung Display still need to build out their manufacturing lines to keep up with growing demand. Besides, while a nice step forward, the HTC doesn't present nearly the incremental jump that the Droid provided over previous Verizon offerings.

If HTC can't easily order as many OLED screens as it wants, then Verizon can't push its marketing very hard. Nobody looks good when your best gadget is unavailable for weeks or months at a time, and Verizon is doing alright with Motorola's Droid anyway."

Verizon's New Incredible Smartphone (VZ)

 

[jwm2]

Sounds logical, who knows. I do know oled is becoming very popular with handhelds right now.

 

[Jakaro]

I heard they were waiting for advertising till the 29th, that way they can sell as many moto droids as they can by then.

 

[Flaring Afro]

Considering there's only 10-15 phones per store they can't really have a line waiting. I think they triied to get the Incredible out faster, and then they'll start advertising after it's been out a while.

There's been weirder advertising lack ofs in the phone market. Hell, Alltel had MyCircle for months before they advertised it. And they were the first to do anything like that.

 

[Reddog80p]

There will be some marketing soon. Why else would Verizon push last minute to call it the "Droid Incredible" when obviously the device's real name is just "HTC Incredible" or just "Incredible". They are setting up to use it along with the Moto Droid in the "Droid does" ads that we constantly see. The thing that suprises me is that they have not spent money promoting the device during the current sporting events that draw alot of viewers. The NHL hockey playoffs and NBA basketball playoffs are going as well as MLB baseball just starting up recently. I did see tons of Moto droid and "droid does" comercials during the NFL draft as Verizon was the main sponser. On Nfl Network during the NFL Draft they had Rich Eisen hold up a Moto droid and show the NFL Mobile app playing live on it. That would have been a perfect time to plug the incredible and show it using the NFL mobile app. Perhaps there's still a ton of inventory for the Moto Droid and there trying to sell as many as possible last minute?

 

[drhill]

It makes sense to hold off on advertising until people can see a commercial and then go to a store and get it.

I also expect the Shadow will get more marketing when it comes out (sounds like June-ish).

 

[dm33]

It makes sense to hold off on advertising until people can see a commercial and then go to a store and get it.

I also expect the Shadow will get more marketing when it comes out (sounds like June-ish).

Depends on if they want to sell them.

It makes lots of sense to advertise before its available. Create expectation, buzz. Like they did with the Droid. Like Apple manages to have happen with everything.

I'm lowering my sales estimates. I thought the Incredible would be huge. A phone that clearly eclipses the iPhone and on Verizon. Best phone and best network. I thought it would take over the world.

Instead, almost no one even knows about it. Non-event. Move along.

The EVO is getting more attention. But it looks amazingly like everyone is lying low and letting Apple keep the thunder all for themselves. I think the iPhone 4G launch will be huge. And if there's an iPhone 4G on Verizon... forget about it. Incredible will be a footnote.

Which actually brings to mind... maybe thats why Verizon is laying low. So as not to upset an upcoming Apple-Verizon announcement?