Palm Pre viral

[WMicke]

I saw a few rumors about this online a day ago, but it was more of a "I talked to a guy that knows another guy, who's brother's sister..." etc, etc, etc... about Palm casting actors/actresses for a viral vid to take place in Seattle and run from 4/29 to 6/5... but now, Gizmodo has apparently gotten a hold of the actual posting so this might be real indeed!

Gizmodo - Palm's Casting a Pre Viral Video Right Now - Palm pre viral

Check it out!

Didn't somone say there might be a 6/7 release date? Wouldn't a viral add running right up until 6/5 seem to lend credence to that?

[Derek Kessler]

That seems like an awfully long time to work on a commercial, or even a series of commercials...

[WMicke]

I think it's supposed to be some sort of ongoing video blog about a guy getting frustrated with the lack of a Palm Pre release date and refusing to leave his house until Palm announces the Pre's release date... In fact the role is labeled "Palm Pre Protest Guy"

[bryanharig]

Unfortunately yes. I was hoping for the 5/17 personally. +3 more weeks now.

[Reminiz]

$10,000? I'd do it for half.


Off topic, reports from NBC, when Billy Mays does those infomericals, he gets a minimum of $30,000, and upwards of 15-20% of the sales.

[ImmaSlave4U]

Originally Posted by Reminiz

When Billy Mays does those infomericals, he gets a minimum of $30,000, and upwards of 15-20% of the sales.

It's no wonder he's so enthusiastic about every single product he pimps...jeez!

[asforme]

Well, maybe I'm just too optimistic, but wouldn't it look suspicious for this guy to just drop off the map 2 days before the pre is released? I'd imagine if they want to really use this marketing they'd have shots of him going to finally buy his pre, and possibly showing up in commercials with his pre afterwards. So maybe this means it has to be released before 6/5.

[cary328is]

Originally Posted by WMicke

I saw a few rumors about this online a day ago, but it was more of a "I talked to a guy that knows anohter guy" about Palm casting actors/actresses for a viral vid to take place in Seattle and run from 4/29 to 6/5... but now, Gizmodo has apparently gotten a hold of the actual posting so this might be real indeed!

Gizmodo - Palm's Casting a Pre Viral Video Right Now - Palm pre viral

Check it out!

Didn't somone say there might be a 6/7 release date? wouldn't a viral add running right up until 6/5 seem to lend credence to that?

As far as how this relates to the release date.. I would think that if this is a "Palm Pre Protest Guy" part - that this would air after the Pre has already launched. I'm just speculating here - but I think that the "protest group" would be taking a stab at the iPhone ******* and they are protesting the aftermath of the Pre launch and how it is affecting the iPhone culture. What do I know - I'm not a marketing pro but just trying to predict how Palm/Sprint would be using a "protest group" to spread the news even further about the Pre.

Again, I don't think you can read too much into this as far as release date. I still think it has a GREAT chance of being released mid May.

[mobileman]

Why is Palm wasting time on this garbage?
Why aren't they flooding tv and the internet with commercials?
Why don't they release a new "Meet the Pre" video once a week?
Why don't they give more hands on previews to journalists?

So far I give them a solid F for Pre marketing.

[asforme]

Originally Posted by mobileman

Why is Palm wasting time on this garbage?
Why aren't they flooding tv and the internet with commercials?
Why don't they release a new "Meet the Pre" video once a week?
Why don't they give more hands on previews to journalists?

So far I give them a solid F for Pre marketing.

I don't watch much mass media, so can someone put this into perspective? Was there much if any mainstream advertisement for other big tech product launches before they were released? Things like the Wii, iPhone, ps3, various netbooks? I know I've seen some adds after all of these items were released, but the only products I know of that have ever been heavily marketed before launch are movies. Maybe I'm totally off base here, I only ever watch tv at other peoples houses so I'm no expert on the subject, but this all just seems pretty normal to me. They advertise it after it's released so the folks with short attention spans can go buy it immediately.

[Reminiz]

Originally Posted by mobileman

Why is Palm wasting time on this garbage?
Why aren't they flooding tv and the internet with commercials?
Why don't they release a new "Meet the Pre" video once a week?
Why don't they give more hands on previews to journalists?

So far I give them a solid F for Pre marketing.

wow, do we actually agree on something? I didn't know if this was possible.

Maybe it's the way you presented it. You didn't use any apple or at&t references.

[cary328is]

Originally Posted by asforme

They advertise it after it's released so the folks with short attention spans can go buy it immediately.

Looking at it from this perspective, I somewhat agree that this could be their approach. If they launch commercials now, it will lead to more people saying "when is it coming out? Why can't I get it now?" - compare this to a commercial showing after launch that shows all its features, then in the end says "AVAILABLE NOW! Call Sprint to order or visit your local Sprint store for details" I would think the short attention span folks would react more positively to that

[prereferee]

Palm is trying to generate buzz the real advertising will be from Sprint. Generally the phone manufacturers, Apple being the exception rather than the rule, don't advertise the phones, that is left to the carriers. If anything, I am willing to bet the viral campaign will come out after the launch and may relate to a counteroffensive against the iPhone 3.0. Just a hunch.

[cary328is]

Originally Posted by prereferee

Palm is trying to generate buzz the real advertising will be from Sprint. Generally the phone manufacturers, Apple being the exception rather than the rule, don't advertise the phones, that is left to the carriers. If anything, I am willing to bet the viral campaign will come out after the launch and may relate to a counteroffensive against the iPhone 3.0. Just a hunch.

Ah good call prereferee! I was wondering what the "protest group" purpose would be but wow - good call on this one. It definitely would time the video to air around the same time as either the 3.0 iPhone release or the new iPhone announcement.

[LurkMoar]

Originally Posted by cary328is

As far as how this relates to the release date.. I would think that if this is a "Palm Pre Protest Guy" part - that this would air after the Pre has already launched. I'm just speculating here - but I think that the "protest group" would be taking a stab at the iPhone ******* and they are protesting the aftermath of the Pre launch and how it is affecting the iPhone culture. What do I know - I'm not a marketing pro but just trying to predict how Palm/Sprint would be using a "protest group" to spread the news even further about the Pre.

Again, I don't think you can read too much into this as far as release date. I still think it has a GREAT chance of being released mid May.

i already posted this in the speculations thread but here it goes again, somebody posted a comment yesterday that said

I know this will fall into the unsubstantiated rumor category, but here's what I learned today: I was at a casting studio auditioning and noticed next door they were holding a casting session for the "Palm Pre Viral" campaign. It was a non-union gig, so I hadn't been asked to audition, but I talked to one of the actors after he left the room.

The "viral campaign" begins, contractually, tomorrow. They are going to put the actor up in an apartment in Seattle. The actor is going to pretend he is a man who is upset because the Pre has not been released. He will have a camera on him in his "living room" and will be posting to Facebook and MySpace all day. The idea is that he won't leave his apartment until Palm releases the Pre. The ad agency was calling it a "protest." Eventually, the actor learns Palm knows about his protest and then they make contact - finally giving in to his demands. The actors have been told they will be done with the shoot on June 5th.

So, June 6th, a Saturday is looking like a good bet from what I've just heard.

Actors often know of things ahead of time because of ad campaigns.

and another thread on a different forum has the date of june 7th which would be right after "they give into his demands"
Handsets in Testing and a Release Date - Sprint Gurus Forums

[Eguy]

This makes me mad. They are acting just like the 700p MR. I thought Palm had learned their lesson but the dates just keep going back (Yes, I know they are all rumors) but with the rumored date going back and no confirmed date people are just going to take their business elsewhere and I would have a long time ago if I needed a new phone. This is bad bad bad

[Rhody]

That's a great ad campaign. They present themselves as a company that is so slow to bring a product to market that people actually get ANGRY!

Maybe the posting about the casting call is the viral marketing campaign. Maybe this thread is part of the viral marketing campaign. Maybe I'm in on it. Maybe I'm being used and manipulated.

[meyerweb]

Originally Posted by mobileman

Why is Palm wasting time on this garbage?
Why aren't they flooding tv and the internet with commercials?
Why don't they release a new "Meet the Pre" video once a week?
Why don't they give more hands on previews to journalists?

So far I give them a solid F for Pre marketing.

You'd be surprised at just how effective viral marketing is. Millions of people watch u-bube every day, and forward email links to their friends, who forward it to theirs, and post the linke on forums (like this one, but also on forums for totally unrelated subjects). Companies as big as Ford and Coke do viral these days.

And it's cheap. Figure 10K for the actor, and another 50 to 100K for the total production costs, and Palm can get exposure to millions of people for next to nothing, compared to the $10s of millions a big national TV campaign costs.

If this were the ONLY advertising Palm and Sprint were doing, I'd agree with you, but there's no evidence of that. To spend a tiny bit of money on alternative marketing strategies makes a lot of sense.

[meyerweb]

So you'd rather they release it earlier with a few major bugs? Now THAT would certainly be a smart thing to do.

[meyerweb]

My bet is that this will be release in "real time." Every day or two there will be a new segment of the video released as the actor gets more and more antsy, and closer to launch.

That's the only logical reason for taking this long to film the commercial. Otherwise, a commercial set in a single location like this would be completed within a week (not including post-production, but they wouldn't keep the actor around for that).

Originally Posted by asforme

Well, maybe I'm just too optimistic, but wouldn't it look suspicious for this guy to just drop off the map 2 days before the pre is released? I'd imagine if they want to really use this marketing they'd have shots of him going to finally buy his pre, and possibly showing up in commercials with his pre afterwards. So maybe this means it has to be released before 6/5.

I'd agree with you, but there's no reason they can't shoot the ending of the commercial, with him picking up the Pre, before it's actually released. In fact, they almost have to do that, to allow for editing and other post-production activities.

My bet is the viral campaign starts a couple of weeks before the Pre is released, and "ends" on the day it's released.