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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:	The Digital way of working

Moderator:	QUARK::LIONELON

Created:	Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5321
Total number of notes:	139771

4769.0. "Marketing Idea - Star Trek writers" by LABC::HA () Mon Aug 12 1996 14:40

    Given that "give" is a four-letter word, I had the following idea to
    market Digital.  I was at a conference where the writers for Star Trek
    spoke and answered questions a couple of years ago.  They mentioned
    they had to work on equipment that was not exactly state of the art. 
    The pictures they had of their offices looked like they were working on
    old IBM PS/2's and I think I even saw and old IBM PC/XT in there.  What
    if we were to give the writers for Star Trek some Digital PCs,
    printers, etc. in exchange for a small credit at the end of Deep Space
    Nine and Voyager or the right to use their name in other advertising,
    etc.?
    
    							Michael

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
4769.1	sell them some PCs...	CSC32::C_BENNETT		`Mon Aug 12 1996 14:54`	1
	Why GIVE it away? Sell them some PCs.
4769.2	quicker, easier, cheaper	LABC::HA		`Mon Aug 12 1996 15:36`	20
	Re: .1 1) If they're still working on old PC's then there is little incentive for them to spend money to upgrade. 2) We're only talking about a few PC's here - by the time we have a Digital person contact the distributor (most likely a distributor like WYLE, Pioneer, or AVNET Computer), then have the distributor call on them, give them a pitch on why our computers are good, be put on hold until they source out other vendors if they are in a buying mood, and discount the heck out of the systems to the point where there is little or no margin it seems like it would just be quicker, easier, and cheaper to give them the systems and get the advertising in return. 3) Once they get used to the donated equipment we could sell them on upgrades, etc. and use them to get our foot in the door to other production departments in Paramount.
4769.3	Good idea - with a caveat	POMPY::LESLIE	Andy Leslie \| DTN 847 6586	`Tue Aug 13 1996 03:56`	9
	Don't forget to arrange that they get "Golden Service" too. Some years back, I worked in the UK Support Centre and one of my regulars was Douglas Adams, who was trying to use a WP package on a DEC PC called the Rainbow. For whatever reasons he had lots of problems with it and he migrated to an Apple Mac eventually - evangelising free-of-charge upon their behalf ever since. /Andy
4769.4	throw in some software, networking, anti-virus	LABC::HA		`Tue Aug 13 1996 13:38`	8
	Re: .3 Absolutely! What I had in mind was to throw in Microsoft Office or Corel Office (whatever they're used to), anti-virus, some networking, etc. Michael
4769.5		BIGUN::chmeee::Mayne	Dag.	`Mon Aug 19 1996 04:36`	18
	Star Trek: Voyager uses Lightwave 3D on Windows NT Alpha already to do the spiffy stuff. So does Babylon 5. And possibly so do SeaQuest DSV, Sliders, The X Files, VR.5 (haven't heard of that one, what is it?) and "virtually every other science fiction-related TV show". See http://www.byte.com/art/9507/sec8/art2.htm. If this is so, why aren't we making something of it? Oops, silly question, that would mean we'd have to let marketing have some money, and we're too busy doing important things for that. Imagine Captain Janeway getting up and saying "I couldn't fly Voyager without Digital's Alpha". Or a Digital logo on the bridge. No, I can't either. PJDM
4769.6		IROCZ::MORRISON	Bob M. LKG1-3/A11 226-7570	`Wed Sep 04 1996 18:13`	3
	> Files, VR.5 (haven't heard of that one, what is it?) and "virtually every other VR.5 was a virtual reality S.F. show that ran for a few months in 1994(?).