Palm's new ad campaign: Celebrating the 'Mobile Expressionist' 44
Mon, 20 Dec 2010 9:58 pm EST
Years ago, Palm CEO Ed Colligan coined the term ‘mobile accomplisher,’ meant to describe the type of folks that used Palm’s PDAs and smartphones. Today, Colligan and the gang are gone and Palm is now owned by HP, and it’s time for a new advertising campaign: the mobile expressionists.
Palm is reaching out to webOS developers to feature their works in a new marketing campaign focusing on ‘mobile expressionism.’ What is that, you ask? As Palm explained in an email to developers, the mobile expressionist is the innovative and artistic developer, many of whom were just honored with our Best of 2010 Awards. Palm is looking to feature these developers in success stories and even short documentaries to be advertised on ‘developer and tech web sites.’
While Palm isn’t direct about their intent, the purpose behind this campaign is made clear by the targeted websites: getting more developers on board with webOS. Applications are the key to any modern smartphone platform, and the relatively low number of webOS apps (at least in comparison to the oodles available to iOS and Android users) was part of Palm’s downfall. By targeting the sites that mobile developers frequent, Palm is hoping to convince more of them to ‘join the movement.’ We can think of more than a few webOS developers that would be perfect for this kind of campaign.
Source: Palm, Via: webOSroundup
44 Comments
If Palm develops the great hardware to match it's software, then the apps will flood in. Until then, talk is cheap and I'm sure most developers would agree with me!!!
This developer does not agree with you.
YO Dieter, Your going to have to start saying, Greeting Mobile Expressionist at the start of the podcast tonight.
First, that explains the whole "Grrrreeeeetings mobile accomplishers" thing from Deiter. Well at least the "mobile accomplishers" part, the slow drawn out "greetings" is still a mystery.
Second, please, Deiter, just say "no" to "Grrrreeetings mobile expresionists". That seems to be targeted at developers while your Palmcast seems to be casting a wider net.
haha! great idea!
I think HP is right. They dont need hundreds of thousands of apps, they just need the best 100 or so. That is easily doable. They could then make fart app type jokes about the others huge app catalog. They get shazam and they will be halfway home.
100% agree! Of the 'thousands' of apps on the other phones, how many provide real vaue?
I've d/l very few apps, but the ones I've purchased are critical to my continued use of the Pre. Even a couple of free apps, I'd pay for without thinking twice. e.g., ToDo Classic, ClassicNote, News! (Originally free, now fee & happily paid for). But bunches of games are not why I use my Pre.
So, I ask: What apps are on other phones that you can't live without? Maybe there are some. I just don't know what they are.
Wow, people are starting to "justify" a low app count now. Let's hope HP can sell this product to millions and get everyone to like the same 100 or so apps. That way all the customers will be happy. /smh
I dont think "quality over quantity" is a newly invented marketing gimmick.
Isn't there a point of diminishing returns on app counts? Will a million apps be far superior to 400,000?
There is an app for that, but good luck finding the needle in that haystack, and hope you choose wisely.
Yes, it's better. It's better because the more apps there are, the better chance there is that a specific app a user is looking for exists. Hard to find? Perhaps. But that's a function of the storefront's search features. I guess Amazon.com should stop adding books because there are just too many of them in it's online catalog. Maybe NewEgg.com should stop adding hardware parts to it's catalog because I only find a handful of their items useful for my situation. Record companies produce way too much music. Only a few of them make it to the top of the pop charts so they should cut back. The movie industry (and movie rental outlets) should only produce and carry the top Blockbusters of the year because nobody buys/rents/watches anything else. Crazy.
Also "quality over quantity" is something that Palm gave lip service too and quickly abandoned in order to increase their app count. Brighthouse Labs? Dijit? AppBookShop?
All stores will have what some will considered "junk". As the number of items sold increases so will the number of items that are considered "junk". It also means the number of items that any given consumer will find useful increases.
Blockbuster is a good metaphor. Do you really think a movie rental store with 400,000 movies in their aisles would really be that far superior to one that had the top 200 movies? There is a reason why the walls at Blockbuster are packed with 20 copies each of maybe a few dozen new releases-because that is what people want and rent. Sure, if you really wanted to rent weekend at bernies 2, you might be out of luck, but the large majority of people rent new releases, and blockbusters, not little indy films.
You are twisting this to make your point. There is a huge difference in having to keep multiple "physical" copies to meet demand vs keeping a single "virtual" copy that can be accessed at will.
Blockbuster keeps many copies of the current big hits to meet demand yet they still carry a ton of movies that are "B" flicks or have gone "direct to DVD" (and those "little indy films" you've mentioned) because people want choice.
Their shelves are limited by physical real-estate and must be managed as a balance between demand and the room for supply. Space is not cheap in a brick and mortar store. Apps take up a few (relatively inexpensive) megabytes on a server somewhere. A single copy of an App can be downloaded by any and every customer that want it.
By the way, Blockbuster having a ton load of movies is one (not the only) reason it was so successful compared to the smaller rental chains that didn't have much variety. This was before Netflix changed the game, of course.
No, you are missing my point. I mention the number of movies on the wall for each movie because it reflects the demand for that item. In other words, there are a few dozen movies at Blockbuster that are responsible for the bulk of their rentals. The reason they only need one copy of Ishtar is because most people do not want it.
My point is not that having more isn't better, it is that having the big apps is a relatively easy goal that would make the WebOS apps store good enough to where it wouldnt be a dealbreaker if somebody liked the actual device/OS.
Getting to hundreds of thousands of apps is kind of out of HPs hands, but they could use more than vague incentives and projections to get the best 100 apps.
Even if demand for the movie is low, it is carried (despite the fact that it is taking up valuable shelf space). Why? They carry products that are not "hit" because there is value in having a variety of offerings. If someone walks in to rent "Ishtar", it is better to say "it's due back on Thursday" than to say "No, go try XYZ rentals instead." LIkewise, if a mobile device user needs a specific app, it's better to say "we've got it" than it is to say "Go try XYZ platform instead." There is a reason Blockbuster does not limit their inventory to the current top-rated movies. No app storefront should limit their inventory to the current set of popular apps.
Stop mixing the concept of "having multiple copies to meet demand" with "we don't need the low demand items". Having multiple copies is needed in movie rentals because the item has to be removed from inventory while it is being used. Naturally, the more popular an item is in this case, the more copies you need initially.
That is NOT the same as saying "we only need to carry the top rated movies".
Your question: "Will a million apps be far superior to 400,000?"
My answer: YES, because the other 600K will continue to bring in consumers that want whatever niche those apps serve.
Again, the cost of having movies on had in a brick and mortar store is much higher than having a single copy of each app (not counting replication across something like CDN) on a server.
Also, don't get me wrong. I agree with some of what you say about HP needing to (at a minimum) get the popular apps. Having more, IS better however. For example. I really like the Mac. However, held off on buying one because 2 of the apps I depended on daily were not available at the time. These 2 apps were not "popular" to the masses, but they were "required" by me. I had to wait until I either didn't need those apps anymore or they (or an alternative) became available for the Mac. Fortunately, it worked out for me and I moved on to the Mac. The "long tail" of an app store front resolves this exact issue for many, many potential customers. It's only Palm that tries to convince it's customers that this is not true.
Do you remember when blue ray players were coming out? Were there still people who bought them despite the fact that every movie isn't in blue ray format? It is because they liked the device. The best movies were available in blue ray first, and that was enough to prevent people from NOT buying players.
That is my point.
Sigh. Blu-Ray took off when it was clear that movies would be made for it (not just the most popular movies). It also really took off when it became the standard. Would you like to compare that to some of the other "unsupported/not wo well supported" formats out there? How's that LaserDisc working out for you?
Ugh.
You get too caught up in the specifics of analogies and end up missing the point.
You also put the cart before the horse. Blu-Ray players did not become the standard and it was not clear that movies would be made for it until AFTER enough people actually bought them! Your webOS argument is essentially that BluRay first had to have every movie available before they could make a strong case for a consumer to buy a player? That is so wrong, it is criminal.
No, you keep trying change the dynamics of commerce to prove an incorrect assumption. Somehow you want people to believe the number of apps don't matter when the entire industry (including consumers) say it does. You want people to believe Blockbuster carries multiple copies of popular movies because only those movies matter. Netflix used to use their movie count in advertising for the same reason the app count is used today. That is, because consumers understand that the larger the pool, the more likely it is to find what they are looking for. They also understand that it shows a vibrant and well supported platform.
Keep on hoping that HP can "get everyone to like the same 100 or so apps". That's gonna go over well...in the coming months. /smh
And the Blu-Ray thing...wrong again. It became the standard when the movie houses and device manufacturers decided to unite behind it (for many reasons not limited to security and capacity). HD-DVDs were selling just as well...remember? It had some of the most popular movies available as well. How'd that work out? /smh
No where in my posts did I say a platform needed to have every possible product to succeed. What I've maintained is simply the more products available, the better. Twisting that into something that is not is simply in poor taste. In the case of Blu-Ray (and mobile platforms) the more movies available in that format (apps for a platform) the better. You, however, would like people to believe that all a platform needs are a few popular apps and they'd be golden. Your words: "...they just need the best 100 or so..." Sorry, but "it ain't so, Joe."
A recent study has shown that the number
of apps available does not have much
of an influence on the smartphone buyinh decision for the majority of buyers.
It might not be true for you, but most buyers just don't care that much.
"There is probably an app for that" is not so far off in a consumer's mind (except for you apparently) from "there is an app for that." And getting to the level of "probably" is not very difficult to achieve.
LOL, yeah it's only in my head. That's why it doesn't matter to the vast majority of the consumer base. Don't worry though, there is around 1.3% of the market that may agree with you (for now).
Ok, now I realize that you have missed my point from the beginning. I said if they get the 100 best apps, they would be halfway home. Even if I wasn't exaggerating, I wouldnt be far off and you would still be arguing against a strawman. Nobody ever said that more wasn't better, just that there are diminishing returns.
How about this to settle things-What would have a bigger impact on consumers' evaluation of the app catalog, going from having no apps to having the 100 best apps, or going from having the 100 best apps to the best 200 apps? If you answer in any way other than one proving my point, you are either clueless or unserious.
Developers aren't swayed by marketing campaigns, they are waiting for one thing: users. Make phones so great people want to buy them, and make them actually available for sale, and the apps will take care of themselves.
It's not as simple as that.
Users show up because of apps (and hardware to another extent). Developers show up because of users. It's a catch-22.
However, independent developers are swayed by SDKs, ease of development, and how easy it is to break into the market.
For instance, look at my foursquare app: If I tried to launch it on iPhone or Android, it wouldn't do that well, and that has nothing to do with quality of the app (many say it's better than those versions). It has everything to do with "Meh, I already have a foursquare app."
Whereas on webOS, I was able to develop the app and I essentially have the market cornered. As a result, I built up a loyal userbase that has purchased many, many copies of neato! and have vowed to buy my next app regardless of what it does.
The odds of that happening on any other platform to a developer like me who develops in his spare time when not at his 9-5er are very slim. It's happened, but isn't the norm.
Now, if you have an AWESOME app idea and you launch on webOS first, you've got a good chance of making a name for yourself and maybe you could branch out to the bigger platforms.
You can't say developers aren't swayed by marketing. Many of the independent webOS developers develop for webOS because they heard how simple it was to get started. It's why I'm here.
Now, as for big development houses, well, that's a bit different, but many of them can be persuaded by marketing and user demand, i.e. Rovio.
Fantastic points, and even more relevant coming from a respected developer. As far as developers showing up because of users, I'd say there's a loophole there. Many developers would like to see their apps make a buck, which is where iOS and Android do so well with their large userbases. HP has the resources to circumvent this part of the catch-22, though. If they paid the top 100-200 developers from each platform to port their apps, then advertised the hell out of them, I think that gets developers in. Once those developers are in with their big apps, that draws in users. I really hope HP sees it this way and gets it done.
Palm might be able to foster more of the amateur hour we've had so far on webOS, but the major developers don't need to gamble on a potential market. They've got their hands full servicing real markets. If HP starts to move a significant number of webOS devices, those developers will port their stuff in a heartbeat. For the current home-brew scene I guess that's kind of a double-edged sword: more customers, but more competition.
I think Palm made a mistake by not targeting the established development community right from the start. They should have had a C++ SDK and tools to port apps from other OSes instead of trying to turn website coders into app developers.
Anyway, I still say that it is up to HP to break this "chicken or the egg" situation (not Catch-22) by selling devices. They can do that by building compelling hardware, getting their in-house apps up to snuff (i.e. PIM and email), and contracting a few critical 3rd party apps (e.g. Quickoffice).
This is a great campaign. Most companies focus on the users, which is great, but usually only when you have the apps to entice users to buy your phone.
When you're short on super mainstream apps, targeting the developers is the way to go, especially if they see how easy it was for others to jump on board.
With the ease of development that webOS has, theirs no reason why a developer shouldn't port their apps over to webOS. The overhead is minimal and the time is much smaller than other platforms, which saves money and makes risk smaller.
As a developer, I think it's a good campaign.
Agreed,
I think the market is going to change anyways in the next year and not really talk about number of apps soon, it will be the core OS that will sell more then apps.
Over time certain things become basic and mandatory. Every Smartphone company will have these types of apps and really the one that shows off the better OS will win.
just think, does windows really advertise the billions of different apps and games and stuff for their platform. No, They show you what windows 7 can do and why you should buy it over say Apple or some other platform.
They actually might advertise their one big new cool app, Like HP did with Beats but that's it.
Isn't that a 17" MBP in the picture? I suppose it could be an HP Envy (MBP KIRF).
Yeh, it's a 17" MBP, my present to myself last year. So weird to see my mug on PreCentral :-)
They might have bothered to use HP products in their promo. It doesn't seem smart to use your competitors products to sell your ideas.
Side-note, I liked "mobile accomplishers" a lot better. I do not use a Palm phone these days, but I identify with the Palmcast greeting every week.
Well, they wanted it to be realistic. So that's me, and that's my laptop. No makeup or nuthin, I swear :-)
they need to cut all this campaigning bullshit and just got to all of the top 100 apps doors and fucking pay them to develop and app for webos. Start with iheartradio. Look at wm7. They just started and already have over 5000 apps. How do you think they are doing it?
Palm is going to amaze people by showing them what devs have managed to pull off with crappy hardware & tiny screens lol.
"Expressionist" sounds like an artist. I think HP is implying that even though you can't make much money developing for webOS, you will be a mobile artist - a starving one.
I think the first thing HP plans to do is an episode about Jason on the biography channel.
later in the year will be a Lifetime original movie about WebOS Internals. :-)
I think the first thing HP plans to do is an episode about Jason on the biography channel.
later in the year will be a Lifetime original movie about WebOS Internals. :-)
YoYo is making Game Maker runners for iPhone (already done) and Android, they need to be brought to WebOS. I want me some mobile They Need To Be Fed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLElH9oijzY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
mobile expressionist? Hahahahahaha. Give me a break. You can't express anything on crappy hardware.
"Mobile Expressionist" ???? Wha?
Slogans? We don't need no stinking slogans?
Hardware first, then the slogans... and this isn't even a good one. Please get a better one. This smells like a 'phone for mom' type effort.
With the whole app situation, I blame Palm for not giving the APIs so devs can have access to the mic, cam, keyboard etc. If Palm had given access to the APIs, then there would be waaaay more apps. Most of the apps on Android, and iOS would be on WebOS if that were the case, IMHO.
If you haven't heard already, there won't be anything to see at CES from Palm, it's official... http://www.technobuffalo.com/blog/mobile-devices/palm-tablet-ces/ Now would be a good time to jump ship, it's obvious that their last go at smartphones was the pre 2. the rest of the new models that have been rumored all this time will be different iterations of the palmpad, which will probably be announced later.
http://www.webosroundup.com/2010/12/rumors-galore-why-isnt-hp-at-ces-whe...