Re: IBM Spin Doctors on AS/400 Marketing

[CVWD@xxxxxxx]

> Al Barsa, Jr. wrote:
>       < snip >
>  > I spoke about the effectiveness of AS/400 marketing, Bob Tipton spoke
>  > about it, and the audience applauded robustly and lengthy for each of
us, as
>  > they did for the others that followed us.  In fact, this is documented
in IBM's
>  > internal minutes from Soundoff.
>       < snip >
>  > The AS/400 is the best computer platform in the world, and the AS/400
>  > is IBM's best kept corporate secret.  (After all, Microsoft uses it!
 Not to
>  > mention a wealth of other technology firms like Gateway 2000, Packard
>  > Bell, COMP USA and Nintendo.)  We (AS/400 Divison, IBM BPs and AS/400
users)
>  > are ineffective at communicating this message to the general public.

General public awareness is EXCACTLY the problem.  IBM thinks that only MIS
mid-range techno-weenies need to know about the /400 (since they are the ones
who use them) and so it pitches to them.  But we live in Dilbert-space where
management by in-flight magazine is a reality.  CEOs really do want to spew
technobabble while playing golf with their peers and Microsoft understands
this.  Clients actually say "My son in high school says NT is all I need.
 Does this thing run NT?"  IBM needs to give high school kids woodys for the
/400 the way MS does for its products so we can sell /400s for them.
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