Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

I was distracted by a picture of a HP Mini-Note while reading John Naughton’s blog recently.

While I wouldn’t exactly be drooling at the rather colourful design, it is a sign that competing on price isn’t enough to set you apart from the competition as it is a short term tactic that is replicable by the competition. Up until the last two years or so, laptops (apart from the likes of Apple and Sony’s Vaio range) were a commodity item. By definition a commodity is anything for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market.

PC manufacturers have realised this and it is noticeable in terms of product development and advertising. Apart from HP’s gorgeous looking laptop, I have also pointed out Dell’s new advertising which plays upon the same theme. HP have also been clever to develop niche features such as 24 hour laptop battery runtime that are highly attractive to the target market, rather than simply trying to make their machines go faster and be able to hold more content.

Looking beyond what the product looks like, you’ll notice that the same companies are slowly starting to move away from geek talk, Andrea Learned sums this up perfectly in her ChangeThis Manifesto:

Geek Talk is exemplified by the way a laptop is described with numbers in a sort of better/stronger/faster approach:

Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)

The problem, however, is unless computers are my hobby, I really don’t know how those numbers apply to the way I use my laptop or how my use of it may be evolving. Just stop a minute and read the above line again. Whether you are a man or a woman, what does that really mean for you on first glance? Now, compare it to copy that hits the key lifestyle con- nectors for a new laptop:
“If you check your email a few times a day, occasionally type up documents, do your book-keeping online and surf the Internet a few times a week, this is the perfect laptop for you.”

As long as those numbers and tech specification are accessible, it shouldn’t hurt to market products in a non-geek way, first and foremost. Lifestyle details serve as filters for women, who will then look into the tech specifics. Men, on the other hand, may filter on the technical specifications, but find it helpful to consider the lifestyle aspects as well.

In terms of degeeking their products, one of my clients, Canon, are doing an amazing job of making their cameras accessible to consumers. Ignoring my obvious bias given that they are a client, it is fair to say that Canon produce some of the world’s most leading cameras, whether it’s digital compacts or SLRs. I should know, given that I use a 400D myself which I went out and bought before Edelman ever won the account. Basically if you buy a camera from a participating retailer in Ireland, you get to go on a free training course run by the guys at the Institute of Photography. The course explains all the features and shows you how to get the most of your camera.

I think this is a great offer from the Canon guys here in Ireland because it is in their interest that you get the most of their cameras. From a basic perspective it reassures customers that they made the right choice by buying Canon, but then it also opens up the world of photography to them. After completing the course I had a new found appreciation for my camera and realised I only had a slight grasp on its full potential. All of a sudden I was contemplating buying lenses and flashes, something which will obviously benefit Canon financially. So Canon stand to make a profit because they are investing in their customers and making sure that they get the best experience from their products, ultimately building brand loyalty and generating future sales.