16 Sep
1998
16 Sep
'98
5:58 p.m.
On 17 Sep 1998, Eric Smith wrote:
I won't deny that marketing influences consumer
perceptions and decisions;
that would be absurd. However, I think you grossly overestimate the
degree to which marketing is able to override other considerations that
consumers may have.
I think you grossly over-estimate the intelligence of the average American
consumer.
For instance, before 1990, Apple had much better
marketing than Microsoft,
yet Microsoft was outselling Apple by a considerable margin even then.
You mean in DOS sales? Then you're assigning the PCs (and therefore,
IBM's) marketing success to Microsoft?
Sure I'm waving around marketing as the be all and end all of why people
choose one thing over the other. Because basically that's most of what's
to it. Like I said, marketed properly, I could sell dogshit to people and
they wouldn't be able to get enough of it.
It has a lot to do with why 10,000 owner's of castrated dogs have bought
false testicles for them called "Neuticles". I'm not making this up. Do
you think people start clamoring for fake pet testicles and some company
came in to fill the niche?
Anyway, I cede your point. There is more to it than just "marketing".
But marketing is a huge factor. Do you think people would be clamoring
for the iMac if Apple wasn't advertising it as well as they are?
Otherwise it'd be just another damned Mac.
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
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