HP brings grassroots marketing with the "Veer Peers" program 70
While HP has been working to promote the Veer in several mediums like the New York Times, YouTube, and even with some help from Lady GaGa, a small group of attractive and strong influential and vocal webOS community members have been recruited to take part in a new program from the minds in HP's webOS marketing division. This program, called "Veer Peers" takes the form of a grassroots campaign, and is meant to spread the good word about the HP Veer both online and off through the areas of influence that these "peers" occupy, and to get a look at what different Veer owners do every day.
With the help of Eric Harr and Resonate Media, the third-party marketing team that has been asked to facilitate the program, ten people that have been active in the webOS community since the beginning are taking part in a number of small activities and community endeavors to help promote the new HP Veer in their unique ways. Some of them are taking pictures of cool places in their communities, others are recording videos of events that they attend, and a few are updating their blogs to tell some of the cool things that have happened while living with a Veer. Of course, they're all actively promoting webOS and their new devices (provided by HP) on social networks like Facebook or Twitter (and elsewhere).
This program is kind of a big deal for some of us here at PreCentral. Two of our writers, Jonathan Ezor and Timothy Stiffler-Dean (that's me!), have been asked to participate in this program along with several others who frequent this community. What we would all love to see, though, is more community get involved with us in promoting these very cool little devices in the unique communities outside of PreCentral. Our little team has a few fun activities planned to fulfill our duties as Veer Peers, and we'll be happy to share that victory with more of you in our community as we get ready for the TouchPad and Pre3 to be released.
This is, of course, not the end of HP's marketing campaign for the Veer. It's just another way that HP is showing that they are watching the interwebs for people who enjoy their devices, and inviting them to take part directly in the marketing vehicle that has started its travels. Goes to show you that you don't just need to be a developer to have an effect on what happens next in the world of webOS devices, though there are a few awesome devs out there that make us envious of what they can do.
And before you ask, no, we don't get to drive the cool Mini Coopers that we saw last month. We're still not sure who gets to drive those, actually.
70 Comments
This is awesome news. It is good to see HP listening to the community and making sure the people who have actual experience with WebOS devices are helping with the marketing campaign. This is the next level of word of mouth campaigning that we have been doing for the past 2 years.
This is outstanding. In this day of modern wireless we have rapid advances in hardware, o/s design, applications, wild new high speed networks, social media integration, new alliances and more and more rapid development of adjoined systems and carriers. As a Veer Peer it is crucial that you spread the word far and wide so that the whole market knows what it means to carry a Veer. And to be extra careful that you do not mention or address any of the things I mentioned earlier.
"These are cards, aren't they cool? Wanna slide some around?"
How very Palm of them.
Congrats!
Do these community people get paid?
Aside from the use of a Veer, no. But some (myself included) might argue that that is payment enough :)
I need to take a break from Pre Central, because I am becoming irrational and whiny. But between things like this and that Amazon mistake I missed, I feel like the only person in the world who will have to pay for a Veer. Hey Palm/HP, I have been using your products since the mid-1990s, have been harassing AT&T managers for not having the Veer on display for 2 weeks, patiently waiting for my Sprint contract to run out next week so I can get a Veer, and tweeting about it as much as I can. Can't you show a fella a little love?
I paid for a veer. actually thought its a lot cheaper to sign a contract, even if you have to break the previous contract. You can always sell that veer to recoup the losses.
Man, I hope they get paid. This program doesn't seem any different than tactics other companies employ, in which the companies compensate people for leaving good reviews on messageboards, review sites, etc. If they don't get paid, well, that just sucks.
Paying them with money would take away all of the credibility potentially gained by these users tweeting/blogging/videoing(not a word, I know) about the Veer and how awesome it is. Yes, they are getting paid in the sense that they were given a device, but most people will not be inclined to look at that with the same distrust as when a company is found to be paying for good reviews.
I think the other thing to note here is that HP is not asking them to go around to different websites and "review" the device for them, giving out bogus information just to make the product look better. These individuals are receiving the devices and are (from my understanding) supposed to be showing how useful the Veer is in their everyday life. That, to me, is MUCH better marketing and much more useful for consumers. Obviously, I doubt any of these Veer Peers are going to say the device sucks, but it will give an opportunity to see how the Veer performs in a normal user environment.
There are obviously some differences, but the point I was making is that they are being compensated for promoting the device. Might as well get paid for that rather than only getting the phone (although that is a nice deal in itself).
Seems to me they get a free device for doing something they are likely to be doing regardless, as advocates of webOS to begin with. It might not be a get rich scheme, but not a bad deal I would happily take.
I think a bunch of us need to get Veers and go out into the world of AT&T Resellers, Best Buys, and AT&T stores to show off how awesome it is. Because I don't see HP doing anything about it. The front line sales rep know NOTHING about WebOS or the Veer. That is pathetic and not acceptable.
So I say we need about 5 people in each state to go out there and show what the Veer is really about.
Great idea! I'm gonna get started right now! I'm going to iron an ATT logo onto my tee shirt and go into their store and pretend to be a worker and I am going to sell the sh** out of it!
Lets go guys!
I'll put on a blue shirt and khakis and head over to Best Buy! *high five*
Who needs a blue shirt?! Just hang out and look like a slacker like I do and people will approach you looking for help. Happens every time I spend any amount of time in BB.
Actually, it does sound like a good idea. I just may try it over here in Texas.
Hopefully they have a working Veer behind the counter they can let me play with. lol
I'd be on board if the Veer wasn't on AT&T whose coverage blows in the area around my home. I can skype from my iPad with better results than a cell call on AT&T around here.
bnceo is a Richard Kerris lapdog anyway, He is always kissing Kerris's a** on twitter. It's pretty sad.
I think he is hoping that Kerris throws him a free-be. Good luck RK is a D-Bag.
You have some serious anger issues man. Just mello out dude!
I'm afraid I'm on Verizon, so I can't enjoy using and promoting the Veer. Too bad, "Veer on in to Verizon" might have been a good tagline!
Anyway, was in a BestBuy last night...to get some ink for my HP printer (pre-webOS version ;) ) and I 'veered' over to the smartphones to get my first glimpse of a Veer. Found the display...and it was void of a phone! Maybe they sold them all and someone was so desperate that they sold him the display version? Oh well, I'll keep looking. Maybe I'll find one before the Pre3 comes out!
Unfortunately not. We've been hearing lots of rumors saying that they have to be asked for as they are being kept in cupboards or in the back.
This must be how HP plans to become number one plus.
You are the most negative person here! You constantly troll these comments and just post angry comments about everything. Didn't your mom ever tell you "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all"? Come on dude, get a life and quit being a debbie-downer! Be happy that Palm didn't completely fold, and be happy that the TouchPad is soon to be out!
Not true, I am the most negative person here!
Haha, ok i'll give you the title, cmil can have runner up.
Are you positive?
Well played.
Wow. Sounds like you're the angry one. There's no trolling done here. I own webOS devices.
I'm genuinely excited about webOS and its potential. But supporting webOS doesn't mean cheering on every bad decision HP makes. That makes no sense.
i'm in once the Pre3 for Sprint comes out :P... jk... but no really...
Reminds me of how I went into an o2 store last year to get info on the pre plus, only to learn from the sales lady that she preferred blackberry "because it can do pushmail". Ouch.
OK, HP, I'm living in Berlin, Germany, I'm a day 1 user & advocate, how about giving me a veer to promote webOS? Would be great fun :)
I just checked out Veer in Best Buy. It is small. Even though I have been hearing people say how small it is, I am still a little surprised. Very tempting, but I am still hoping to see Pre 3 on Sprint, so not ready to switch carrier yet.
I would be interested to see sales numbers for the veer. Probably would be shocking how few have been sold.
What would be shocking is the # of people attributing it to the usual suspects (advertising, salespeople, biased review articles) instead of the actual product itself.
Ok, maybe not so shocking.
Nothing is ever HP/Palms fault. If not for Sprint, Verizon and ATT keeping them down WebOS would be #1 in market share and Apple and Google would be fighting over the remaining 10%.
its not that difficult to monitor, in best buy you can go to mobile phones, ATT, the sort by best selling, the veers(black and white) can be found relative to other phones. interesting which sell more and which sell less, arguments on both sides
Those aren't sales numbers.
What do you call it when a company enlists people to talk positively about your product while doing contrived activities that showcase the product, and compensating them with that several hundreds dollar product for free? HP calls it word-of-mouth. What do you call it? Is everything we read on the front page to be considered an HP sponsored piece. Should we be suspicious of positive forum post, as they might be in the official HP marketing program? Honest questions. Am I the only one concerned about this?
You're just now seeing that Precentral has become more of a HP puppet?
No. This is an advocate site. Nothing is objective or balanced here. You shouldn't expect it to be.
I have the fanboy filter on pretty high on anything I read on this site. Then I lower it for what I read off general tech websites. That's the way you have to approach things, honestly.
LOL, have you tried doing anything other than singing webOS' praise in the forums over the last few months? It's infraction central in there. This site has...uhm...changed.
That's true, I started out a just Rambo, now I am up to Rambo 2.1.
I find Derek really brings down the hammer in the comments for his articles. Tim is much better at letting people speak their minds.
But what you can do is talk about how other platforms aren't good at all. For example, Apple and its App Store. So many **** and other useless apps!
Now time for me to go to the app request section to request some apps get ported...from the Apple App Store.
If you complain enough about Apple and the rest, they may make you a newshound or something. One can dream right?
Man I know my 11 old daughter and I would like to help. The use of the Veer would be great. We need something going on here in CO, USA!!
OK, so Tim and Jonathon...
As journalists for a WebOS advocate website...
Do you feel like this removes any objectivity in your reporting? If you post (or anyone else at precentral) an article that isn't favorable to HP and WebOS, do they yank back your Veer? Are there clearly defined lines of what they will / won't ask you to do?
I am honestly not trying to be offensive, just curious how you think this affects the impression of your objectivity as a journalist.
Thanks.
Objectivity? That won't change. No offense, but I don't think they can get any less objective than they are now.
At the very least, I think their future posts should denote somehow that they have been compensated. The readers can decide for themselves about what bias there is.
I don't think that will be necessary. Between yourself, cmil, Rambo and others that want to provide your own special brand of comments to every article, I'm sure that if the article(s) is too brown-nosey... you'll provide your usual colorful commentary.
Well played
I'm sure the Palm Nation will assist wherever we can. I've been doing my part ;)
nice! I was just tellin hPalm employees at veer launch how they should bring back the phones-for-bloggers program they did for the pre launch, as an example of something they could do. I doubt they've had time to implement since then, so I guess they had the idea already, nice:-)
I agree that it should be expanded tho. (no I'm not asking for one tho, surprised how many are..) a bigger program, kind of like the original. I wasn't around for that, but from reading about it, sounds like it was a bit poorly executed, the problem wasn't the number/scale. However, maybe they're starting small w/ the veer (no pun intended!), and going to do a bigger program with the tp and pre3. Here's to hoping anyways!
This (community) is clearly the biggest asset hPalm has, so tappin into it really is going to be a hugely valuable thing.
as for me, what id like to see is some support for user groups, help folks get them started, provide some tlc.. Maybe a forum on one of their sites where leaders of these UGs can come together to collaborate, share ideas/successes, etc.
HP HIRE ME!!
not only do i own a pre-, a pre2, a veer (in white and lovin it) but i convinced about 15+ friends and co workers to rock a webOS device. I haven't lost a single person yet either except this one girl who was too dumb to learn how to synch her pictures. This OS aint for everyone.. but its for a lot of people who don't even know it.
15 people does not sustain a company.
LOL @ the person deciding webOS was not for them being considered "too dumb".
Seems anyone who chooses anything other than webOS (especially if that other thing happens to run iOS) are "too dumb".
Funny stuff.
this strategy seems very odd and out of place. This is 2011, since when did major marketing campaign go 'grassroots?' What about utilizing TV and internet and vendors and carriers? Word of mouth can only go so far when you're talking about a very little product that has little to no face time. And no, no matter how many Palm enthusiasts you dispatch to the ends of the earth, you need to start from the beginning and make the product INCREDIBLE. how can you promote something that has had so many people on the fence about it? This is a niche product, you really like it or you think it's the most ridiculous thing ever in a phone. And it's free! Already!
I would put more energy into the upcoming TouchPad and Pre3. Let's face it, the Veer was created because HP needed a quick, cheap solution to get webos into as many hands as possible. And these hands are not actual consumers, these are 'give-away' devices.
Everyone talking about objectivity is barking up the wrong (mythical) tree. It has never existed. Not with the journalists here, certianly NOT with tech bloggers, and not with comments of anyone here... including me.
The goal should be fairness in reporting. And that is not hard to see if you consider ones body of work.
C
Really with all the negativity! This isn't really much different than Ford's very successful "Swap My Ride" program. You give someone the product, you tell them to go do whatever they want with it, the only string attached is that they have to report back, post something, or interact in some way. We don't hear word that HP is telling people to review the product or even say only positive stuff about it. I'm not even sure that I'm hearing that HP is telling them specific tasks to perform. What we're hearing is "show how the product can be used." They're using seasoned webOS users to give potential new users a taste of what it means to be part of this community.
It's highly likely that in advocating the product, new users will be pointed back here, to twitter, to webosroundup and other sites and get to see all of the hope and the hate our community can produce. Let's hope that the palpable frustration in these posts and the forums doesn't drive potential buyers away.
I guess my point is be an advocate and if you are not going to be an advocate at least be constructive in your criticism. If you're going to be neither an advocate or constructive then why participate at all.
@nhavar
I totally agree with you. But understand that in some circles, to be "objective" and "hip" you have to be uniformly critical of everything. But that by definition is NOT objective.
If one obsessively points to what they see as weaknesses of a product, idea, company, philosophy, etc. (real, imagined, or overblown) they can pretend to to have a prescience that the vast majority of the "unwashed masses" lack.
It would be fun to pull out all the comments of some of these to see how many time THEY were incorrect. ('There will never be another webOS phone' would be a good start)
Nice strawman, but you can most certainly be an advocate for something while being objective AND critical. Derek - bless his heart - does a pretty bang-up job of not ignoring HP and Palm's mistakes and blunders while also providing a lot of great WebOS content and doing his best to keep interest up around here. THAT is objective, and of course he gets routinely slammed for being too negative by fanboys here. But it's to be expected.
Anyway, as I said toward the beginning of the comments, I don't really have an issue with this. There's no real pretense of objectivity any more like there was in the TreoCentral days. So I'm fine with HP outright compensating writers of this site for propaganda. It's a conflict of interest in the strictest sense, but at least they're open about it.
I agree that objectivity may be less of a concern here than say on a more journalistic news site. This is an enthusiast/fan site and you're not going to find many people using it for general news or looking for balanced opinion. I do think that the team does a good job of presenting both the good and the bad of the products. It's very obvious that they are themselves enthusiasts and at the same time obvious that this is a business catering to a certain clientele. In that regard they have some stake in the success of the product.
However, I don't think that PreCentral is in any way delivering HP's propaganda. I think the inference that they are is overstating things. Should they choose to do for-pay pieces then I would expect that there be a disclaimer just like many other sites. So far I haven't seen anything that says they are under the pay or guidance of HP, especially given the annoying BB popups and ads that are ever present and some of the controversial leaks that appeared.
Strawman? "Ninja, please!" (From the funny thread on that subject last year). I bag on these guys as much as anybody, and I have the infractions to prove it. But seriously, tell me which one of them has not leveled critisim at Palm and or HP?
Does not constantly harping on critical comments over and over again once offered mean that one is a shill?
Just because they don't feel the need to do it at every turn doesn't make them any more biased than me... or you.
As I've said earlier, (in my opinion) objectivity is a myth, show me where they were not fair in their assessments. Having an opinion does not mean a writer is not able to be fair. Even having a take that proves to be wrong does not imply bias.
Also taking the reaction from the extreme left or right of any population does not prove much of anything... except that there are some people who take extreme, unreasoned views. A "dog bites man" story... nothing to see here.
The biggest problem is that the Veer is not appealing at all. It's small, it has weird additional parts. it has a small keyboard. It has a screen that is horrible for viewing media/web. Some Apps have to be specially designed for it, And it's OS is little known.
Things are getting bigger. This phone is not a winner.
I was contacted by an HP rep yesterday regarding the TouchPad and I got the sense they will be doing the same as they are with the Veer, but targeting business users (myself included). The email didn't provide specifics, but I hope to hear something very soon from them.
Thanks to Tim for writing this up. I'm very grateful to have been chosen as a Veer Peer, just as I was when I was picked as a Palm Real Reviewer in 2009, which led directly to my becoming part of the Precentral family. I also happily disclose when I've been given (or lent) hardware or software to review, since while I believe my writing to be only my own ideas, it's fair (and required) to ensure that others know all the potential influences.
By the way, if you haven't seen my daughter's reaction to our new (provided by HP) Veer, it's up on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBCcbxQy6Z4
{Jonathan}
Oh Well, WWDC is Monday, Sprint iPhone will be announced, I can finally walk away then.
I'm pretty sure the FCC has guidelines on full disclosure of freebies or paid reviews from bloggers. It will be interesting to see if PreCentral will honor said guidelines.
To be clear, the forum moderation on this site has been questionable for a while. The front page is a very different matter. These guys write from the heart. The podcast is awesome. I never miss a show. If these guys wrote in the forums what they say on the podcast, they would be banned as instigators. That is why this bothers me. Now, the blog and perhaps the podcast is just an advertorial. That makes me sad.
As for HP just wanting people to be advocates for the platform, every business wants that. It is what naturally happens when people are excited about something and pass on the word to others. When a company has to openly solicit evangelists: solicit and compensate, and direct them to do activities as ads for the compensation of a several hundreds dollar product, then that is over the line, IMO. When a news site, especially an advocacy site, accepts the offer, they are just a part of the marketing department. Selling your journalistic soul for a cell phone is much too cheap.
Please reconsider this abhorrent policy. Imagine the outcry of Apply openly bribed journalists to say nice things about the iPhone. Many journalists are criticized for doing just that even though it is not true. Now that it is a confirmed fact at PC, someone needs to be upset about it.
You have to love the consistency in the webOS bashers' inconsistency.
Palm didn't have enough cash for big-time marketing, so they were bashed for that.
Now HP is doing a multichannel campaign, putting product in the hands of consumers, advocates, celebs and influencers, launching a big television campaign, and pushing the product through multiple channels with a strong channel marketing program, and it's "too much" or "not like Apple."
HP knows how to sell boatloads of consumer electronics products. In every market to date where it has competed with Apple, it outsells Apple by a ratio of 4:1 or greater. That's not exactly a poor record in marketing and merchandising.
HP isn't aiming for the people who have to have the latest Apple phone -- they're aiming for the mainstream consumer. Just as the PC market evolved Apple into a high-priced niche product over time, it's almost certain the same thing will happen in smartphones -- and judging from HP's performance in the PC business, it's just plain foolish to insist they don't have a strong shot at success with their current strategy.
We'll all be able to come back in 18 months and assess where things are. I suspect it will be a very different landscape (and not only because of what HP is doing).