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where are the advertisements??

Seems like it sometimes takes a little while. It was a while before I started seeing HD2 ads or even many Incredible ads.

Chances are they want to have it in stores ready for purchase first. Also remember that Sprint doesn't have the advertising budget or team that Verizon does.

If they had any clue about marketing they would not have added a premium charge for this phone, instead counting on getting as many into people's hands as possible. Considering their old uncapped data plans were advertised as unlimited already, it is poor PR to about face and say "well actually they were capped but now you get *real* unlimited data", etc. I dunno. Not saying something is unfair or a bad deal and I am certainly still getting it but from a marketing/advertising standpoint, they are clueless.
 
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Some potential food for thought:

What if Sprint is already sold out, or will be close to it, on launch? Would their inventory numbers affect how and when they market the Evo? Would they advertise the crap out of something that people can't obtain and potentially tick them off?

they could be focusing on the best advertising of all (which is actually taught in marketing) - word of mouth... and to agree with you.. if they are running low on inventory then it would be better of them to NOT piss off people that want the phone..

It may have been smarter than we think for them to just slowly leak out letting the "geeks" spread the word... I have already gotten 3 people to buy it myself... imagine the numbers multiplied! :)
 
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And truthfully, just the online buzz of this phone has been pretty remarkable. And its made its way all the way to Wall St - every financial article about Sprint announces the Evo.

I went to Best Buy and pre-ordered it the day it was available and was already #14 on the list! And that was only a day after the release date and price were announced. That's pretty amazing if you think about it - us 14 only knew about it exclusively through the internet.
 
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I don't know what Sprint's advertising budget is, but in my opinion, we should be almost sick of hearing about the Evo by the time June 4th rolls around. Word of mouth and internet buzz are important, as others have said above, but that doesn't reach all the non-techy potential customers. There's so much they could be doing on TV and in print media. The phone has so many features, they could run print ads that say "8mp camera: just one more reason... blah, blah, blah" and then, a few pages later, or in the next issue... "4.3-inch screen: just one more reason.." People would have been excited about a phone that they didn't know the whole picture about. As more information trickled out, more people would become interested in what they care about (maybe someone doesn't care about the size, but loves the hotspot, etc). Then, when the whole picture becomes clear, and people had been hearing about this thing for weeks or months, it gets to the point of, how could anyone NOT want this phone?

I know alot of us are like that, but we are the kind of people who would be on this forum. The businesspeople who want a more powerful phone, the teens who want the hot new thing, and communications geeks who need to be on Facebook and Twitter 24/7 need to be as enthusiastic as we are. I'm sure the Evo will speak for itself once June 4th is here, but that level of enthusiasm should have been around already for the general public.
 
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Some potential food for thought:

What if Sprint is already sold out, or will be close to it, on launch? Would their inventory numbers affect how and when they market the Evo? Would they advertise the crap out of something that people can't obtain and potentially tick them off?


This is what's going on with the HD2 right now. I've seen tons of ads for it, but T-Mobile is consistently out of stock. My local store which claims they are a high volume store said they are getting like 3 in a week. People have been on the waiting list for close to 2 months. IMO, that's what NOT to do.
 
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I don't know what Sprint's advertising budget is, but in my opinion, we should be almost sick of hearing about the Evo by the time June 4th rolls around. Word of mouth and internet buzz are important, as others have said above, but that doesn't reach all the non-techy potential customers. There's so much they could be doing on TV and in print media. The phone has so many features, they could run print ads that say "8mp camera: just one more reason... blah, blah, blah" and then, a few pages later, or in the next issue... "4.3-inch screen: just one more reason.." People would have been excited about a phone that they didn't know the whole picture about. As more information trickled out, more people would become interested in what they care about (maybe someone doesn't care about the size, but loves the hotspot, etc). Then, when the whole picture becomes clear, and people had been hearing about this thing for weeks or months, it gets to the point of, how could anyone NOT want this phone?

I know alot of us are like that, but we are the kind of people who would be on this forum. The businesspeople who want a more powerful phone, the teens who want the hot new thing, and communications geeks who need to be on Facebook and Twitter 24/7 need to be as enthusiastic as we are. I'm sure the Evo will speak for itself once June 4th is here, but that level of enthusiasm should have been around already for the general public.

actually you're wrong (marketing wise lol)... word of mouth (even techies) is the BEST advertising a product can get... I have 3 "non tech" friends buying now.. those friends tell their friends who tell their friends.. etc.. Once they bring it up - people start going to sprint and digging more information. The ad is there on sprint's website... then let's say the do a quick google search and see the reviews..

Word of mouth - is cheap and it is the fastest way to gain/lose customers. That is marketing 101 (actually the 200-300 levels LOL - sad I just took that class 2 semesters ago)
 
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I was gonna mention it before, but wouldn't it be funny if they decided to start advertising during memorial day weekend, when everyone is gone.

I know the presales have been beyond what anyone expected, so maybe they pulled back on the ads, and don't want to come up short on launch day. You know anyone that sees the Verizon commercials, and is looking for a new phone on sprint prolly goes to sprint and says "I just saw a commercial for something called droid you got anything"

Thats my speculation.
 
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I was gonna mention it before, but wouldn't it be funny if they decided to start advertising during memorial day weekend, when everyone is gone.

I know the presales have been beyond what anyone expected, so maybe they pulled back on the ads, and don't want to come up short on launch day. You know anyone that sees the Verizon commercials, and is looking for a new phone on sprint prolly goes to sprint and says "I just saw a commercial for something called droid you got anything"

Thats my speculation.

a good one too! :) I think ROI is right tho.. I wouldn't expect anything really until after the sales are going and they have enough to combat the IPhone. :)
 
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actually you're wrong (marketing wise lol)... word of mouth (even techies) is the BEST advertising a product can get... I have 3 "non tech" friends buying now.. those friends tell their friends who tell their friends.. etc.. Once they bring it up - people start going to sprint and digging more information. The ad is there on sprint's website... then let's say the do a quick google search and see the reviews..

Word of mouth - is cheap and it is the fastest way to gain/lose customers. That is marketing 101 (actually the 200-300 levels LOL - sad I just took that class 2 semesters ago)

No, you are absolutely right about how important word of mouth is (maybe most important). I guess my point is that the word has to come from friends too (especially in the case of teens, etc) and not just techies. I personally respect the opinions of those who are more knowledgable about something than me, but I think there are plenty of people who just want to look cool or have what their friends have (iPhone!) The people who don't pay attention to this stuff don't even know they want it yet!
 
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No, you are absolutely right about how important word of mouth is (maybe most important). I guess my point is that the word has to come from friends too (especially in the case of teens, etc) and not just techies. I personally respect the opinions of those who are more knowledgable about something than me, but I think there are plenty of people who just want to look cool or have what their friends have (iPhone!) The people who don't pay attention to this stuff don't even know they want it yet!

true but those are the ones who minds won't change regardless :( sad really... but it's the truth.. however my teen daughter is going to drool over my phone ;)

I think it is a matter of just being all up in their face with it :D LOL but I am an ass that way :D
 
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actually you're wrong (marketing wise lol)... word of mouth (even techies) is the BEST advertising a product can get... I have 3 "non tech" friends buying now.. those friends tell their friends who tell their friends.. etc.. Once they bring it up - people start going to sprint and digging more information. The ad is there on sprint's website... then let's say the do a quick google search and see the reviews..

Word of mouth - is cheap and it is the fastest way to gain/lose customers. That is marketing 101 (actually the 200-300 levels LOL - sad I just took that class 2 semesters ago)

word of mouth is great because each mouth is essentially a salesperson you do not have to pay. however, you're missing one key element, the more mouths the better. so, yes word of mouth is a strong Marketing element, but if you only have a limited number of mouths you will not reach maximum potential. therefore, commercials and other ads are still needed.

my opinion is this is just the quiet before the storm. I think Sprint will start really pushing the Evo after the preorders and possibly the first wave of sales, which will give them more concrete projections.
 
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HTC makes both HD2 and Evo, but I don't see HTC caring so much about HD2 stock on the smallest carrier with a DOA OS. In addition, TMo did a BOGO on HD2s that probably wiped them out.

This weekend I spoke to some family and friends. The general consensus was that those on VZW knew about VZW MotoDroid and Incredible phones and upcoming iPhone. Those on ATT knew about upcoming iPhone but pretty much ignored Android on ATT. Almost no one knew about the Evo - even the Sprint subscribers.

Marketing this phone has to take into account that non-dEVOtees and average users will pay most attention to what this phone lets them do better/faster/cheaper than their current phone. In that regard, I hope Sprint doesn't miss.

Sprint should be saying in it's ads: 1) We're a better network because we offer you more value - just like the $69.99 ads said. 2) For $10 more, you can add unlimited text, data, SprintTV, navigation, and YouTubeHQ which is probably less than you're paying for just voice and messaging on other plans. 3) Evo is the type of smartphone that allows you to put down other devices yet still get most of the features (video recording, high MP camera, videoconferencing, social site integration, etc.) on something large enough to enjoy but small enough to not be obtrusive. 4) Well, you have to see it to believe it - it's everything we just said, only much faster. 5) Sprint has to get some mileage out of it's improvements in CS - people are still avoiding Sprint because of what they heard or bad experiences from years ago.

I just hope Sprint doesn't come out thinking Evo will sell itself.
 
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Folks like us would THINK that you'd want to advertise the hell out of this phone. But I realized something last night while watching the Lost Finale. That was the first time I actually saw a commercial for the Incredible, which has been out for a few weeks now. I wonder if they're just starting that media blitz now?

Maybe there's something about the general populace, that advertising honchos know better about than the rest of us? Honestly, that's the only thing I can think of.
 
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true but those are the ones who minds won't change regardless :( sad really... but it's the truth.. however my teen daughter is going to drool over my phone ;)

I think it is a matter of just being all up in their face with it :D LOL but I am an ass that way :D

I don't know.. I think people will want it when they see it! Minds will change, I suspect, when they see it in someone's hands and not just specs online (whereas specs are exactly what got me interested in it!)
 
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