Conference 7.286::digital

    I doubt that there is *anything* on that car that someone didn't
    pay for. I believe that the Ferrari people do use our gear but
    I believe that DEC pays something/somehow to have the logo on the
    car. I seem to remember reading something about this in the marketing
    conference at ASIMOV::MARKETING.
    
    			Alfred

    Look up the note entitled:
    
    	FERRARI WINS JAPAN GP
    
    or something very close in MARKETING.  
    
    Gary

  There's a wonderful poster that DEC (Italy?) was distributing 
  which shows a wide-angle close-up of the F1 racer, prominently 
  featuring the |d|i|g|i|t|a|l| logo on the nose of the car.  
  Sorry, but I don't see any sort of order code on the poster.

                                   Atlant 

    
    
    Sounds good, anybody know where we can get some.
    
    		Lou

    Ferrarri traditionaly do not sell advertising space on their cars,
    but only allow companies who are directly helpful to the F1 cars
    to advertise. (They don't need to, since FIAT underwrite them.)
    
    Yes, Digital Italy do have a tie up with them; their designer
    is a guy called (I think) John Bernard, who actually lives in the
    UK. He uses a micro-vax linked to the Modena headquarters.
    
    And no, salesmen do not get free ferrarri's as their decmobiles....
    
    Peter.
    

    Regarding the poster.
    
    I got mine at the DEC ACT in Turin.  If you have friends there,
    you may be in luck !!!
    
    David 
    aus M�nchen

    
    No, it was just my Ferrari ( dreaming on behalf of Bruno C.)

    If anyone's interested, there's an article in the June 1988 "INSIGHT"
    magazine (Vol 8, No. 5) about DEC's involvement with Ferrari.  The
    title of the two-page article is "Ferrari Teams with Digital, Stays
    on Track with Networked Systems".
    
    I won't try to paraphrase what it says, but it's Order No. EJ-31099-32
    if anyone wants to get it through Northboro Printing & Circulation.
    

    Speaking of "free advertising", why do we not advertise ourselves
    more aggressively as a company?  Sure, "Digital has it now" is all
    over the trade journals.  But, the man in the street knows I*M before
    he can talk.  GE advertises all over the place.  But, even in my
    own family (not home, but extended) people ask where I work and
    they always think or guess I*M.  And, there are TWO of us who work
    at DEC, the other one being my wife's uncle in Field Service for
    eleven years.  Does anyone else out there feel we need to spread
    the gospel a little wider, like I feel?  You, know "solid as Sears",
    "a piece of the rock", "make money the old fashioned way....", why
    not a DEC household impact that will make us instantly known outside
    the techie world ?????????

    
    ........... Suchindran

    re: .9
    
    Because for the most part Digital is not selling to Mr. and Ms. 
    Consumer.  We tried that market already and found ourselves a
    day late and a dollar short.  On to bigger and better things...
    
    Jodi-

    

:    why
:    not a DEC household impact that will make us instantly known outside
:    the techie world ?????????
    
    	Because we're a techie company, and KO likes it that way.
    
    -Monty-

        I don't think that we're a "techie" company any more.  We were
        once, but those days are behind us.
        
        However, we're not selling "household" goods, so there's no
        reason for us to have household impact.  
        
        In any case, this general topic has been beaten to death over
        and over in the ASIMOV::MARKETING conference; perhaps it would
        make sense to revive it there, rather than here.
        
        Tom

>>>>>>   Because we're a techie company, and KO likes it that way.
    
    Being a techie myself, I agree with the above statement.  But, unless
    we become a household name it would be hard to vie against the saying,
    albeit ridiculous to us VAXen, that "you cannot get fired for buying
    I*M".  It is like being attacked by a rhino: I know they are
    vegeterian, you know they are vegetarian, but do THEY KNOW THEY
    ARE VEGETARIAN............
    
    ......Suchindran

        RE: .13 (notes collision) -- Having "consumer" recognition of
        Digital as a computer company in the average American household
        (or households in other parts of the world, for that matter) will
        not change the perception in the business world that "You can't
        get fired for buying IBM".  In any case, that perception is less
        widely accepted today than it was ten years ago. 
        
        When I see a statement from Ken Olsen that Digital is a techie
        company, he likes it that way, and he wants it to stay that way,
        I'll believe that that's what he believes and likes.  Please don't
        attribute attitudes or opinions to him that you can't support by
        reference to his recently stated beliefs and opinions.  The things
        I've seen attributed to him recently (in, e.g., MGMT MEMO) suggest
        that while he values Digital's heritage as an engineering company,
        he would probably not agree that we're a "techie" company or that
        our future fortunes lie in appealing only to a "technical" market. 
        
        Tom

    A number of companies have used mass media advertising, even though
    they sell nothing to the 'general public'.  Campaigns like "A company
    called TRW" come to mind.
    
    That advertising is known as "institutionaladvertising" and one
    of the effects (and reasons) is:
    
    	TO RAISE THE AWARENESS AND THE STOCK PRICE
    
    Name awareness also helps when you walk in the door on a 'cold call'.
    Can't think how many 'new' customers have asked who we are or if
    we're a local, little computer company!
    
    	-Barry-
    

>    A number of companies have used mass media advertising, even though
>    they sell nothing to the 'general public'.  Campaigns like "A company
>    called TRW" come to mind.

I'm sure that TRW would be very disappointed to know that they sell nothing 
to the general public.  Ask any automobile performance nut and you will 
soon find out that TRW does indeed sell very much indeed to the general 
public.

    I believe Ken Olson thinks of advertising as secondary to product
    performance. In other words, let the products speak for themselves.
    
    Digital prefers to sponsor beneficial programs (like Infinite Voyage)
    to do good for its community while getting a small plug for the
    Digital name; thereby associating the company name with something
    good rather than always trying to push computers on John Q. Public
    - who wouldn't/couldn't buy one anyway.
    
    I have an argument for advertising the name to make it a household
    word, but at the same time, I can't help but agree with the current
    corporate advertising philosophies. 
    
    Mike

       I'd rather see us with no commercials at all rather than those
    stupid ones that Wang uses.
                                                       Denny

    
    Wang?   Wang who???
    
    There are only two computer companies, Digitial and IBM.

Just to bring this old note back to the surface, why doesn't the upper
management take advantage of "free" advertising?  Guest editorials written
by BP or other members of the SLT will help to bring the public image
of Digital up a few notches.  Last year, BP wrote in an editorial or letter
to the editor of the Boston Globe about how the Clinton administrations'
redefining of the measure of a supercomputer will help computer companies
(like Digital) sell their products in foreign markets.  I thought it was
well written and I think it gives the general public a different view
of a company that they usually hear about through the eyes of the media
or advertisers.  By "targeting" certain newspapers, we could target
the group of people we most want to influence.

I am suggesting that someone (with a "name") write an article on some
positive aspect of the company or about something that occurs in recent
history that will or did have an influence on high tech companies.  A
good example might be the recent elections in South Africe, with Nelson
Mandela scoring big points there and how this will have an effect
on business, and in particular, Digital's business.

Any comments?

Phil