brassMonkey & Geckotek,
Getting back to you from yesterday...
Will stake my $200k MBA (paid-off, thank you!) on the assertion that, no matter what it might bloviate, VZW (VZ) is
not marketing-driven.
The size of a marketing budget (which, in this shameless business, reflects such lawn furniture as handset "subsidies," BOGOs, MIRs, etc.) is irrelevant. For all we know, even VZW's lobbyists live in the "marketing plan." And how about those compulsive daily "streaming" press releases: "Residents of Satacoy, NJ get fleeting look at VZW's "Lou" as he commutes to work in Bedminster." In other words,
calling something "marketing" or
charging an expense to "marketing," or
throwing marginal ad dollars at politically-correct media does not make it so.
As to advertising specifically, brassMonkey, the telecom sector was ranked #3 last year with media spending of nearly $11B. VZ (the whole egg) actually placed #5 on the big budget list (following P&G, AT&T, GM and Time Warner). Its total ad spending was over $2.8B. So what?
An
authentic marketing-based firm develops responsive, sensible products and services around the culture of its audience and maintains a wholesome dialogue with its constituents. You'd certainly agree VZW doesn't do this (if it did, would this thread need 3,000 replies?). In fact, neither do the top four ad spenders.
So "marketing-orientation" isn't a question of how much money you spend. It's about the quality of your relationship with prospects and customers. The contempt that wireless carriers have for their audience, along with dirty tricks like "Unlimited," precludes them from claiming any marketing heritage.
While it may appear that VZW's marketing operation "prices" the products, rest assured that these "decisions" are subject to the approval of finance. Marketing simply doesn't rule at companies like VZW. Will grant you that marketing "calls" release dates, but such scheduling is largely driven by logistics.
As to how the i760 was "designed," quietkid122 and wanman illustrate the process very well. In particular, Sammy, LG and Pantech are among the most "captive" and compliant of VZW's suppliers. Apple was cited rather than AT&T because Apple's calling the shots for
iPhone, as is VZW for the i760. It's about who "owns" the product.
And Geckotek, I'm not saying there was no negative
iPhone press, only that it paled in comparison to major media fawning. In particular, the pre-release reviews (NYT, WSJ, etc) were remarkable (however misguided). What's funny about the InfoWorld piece you cite is that it was so badly done. Read the comments!
In the end, there's plenty of room for VZW's PPCs. Still, AT&T will shortly have
Kaiser, an apparently better buggy than xv6800 and i760.
Would a fully-featured i760 be less competitive? Not really;
Kaiser will likely drop at $399. But zucchero's right: the full feature-set product that
could have been the i760 will eventually show up...as the i790. Drat.
--BAM
) when it releases.
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