Palm launched a new marketing campaign today that illustrates the power of the Treo Smartphone. The Palm Treo 680 will be the highlight of the campaign.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec 11, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) today launched a $25 million worldwide marketing campaign to generate mainstream awareness of and attract new users to the Treo(TM) smartphone line. The six-month campaign highlights Palm's new Treo 680 smartphone and encompasses a fully integrated media mix consisting of print, out-of-home, online, mobile and viral-marketing components. AKQA, a leading interactive marketing agency, developed the campaign, which combines non-traditional marketing approaches with tried and true media.
Palm believes that accessing the web while on the go is the next killer application. The popularity of web services, such as eBay, in combination with a Treo smartphone means that, for example, eBay fans can watch for products they want and monitor auctions of interest while away from their desktop or laptop PCs.(1) The new campaign helps people who aren't necessarily early adopters see how their personal and work lives can be enriched with a mobile computer that also is a great phone.
Palm wants people to see just what all a Treo is capable of doing. In the color adds will be the phrase, "Not just a cell phone. A Treo."
In the next few months consumers and businesses will see Palm advertising with Fandango, Google(TM), The Onion, Orbitz(R), and Yahoo. People will also see Palm's first-ever SMS-activated kiosks, which enable people to select and view category-specific content on larger-than-life Treo smartphones.
"By aligning with passion brands such as Amazon, Orbitz and Yahoo!, we're demonstrating that Treo smartphones do much more than the average cell phone," said Scott Hancock, director of marketing communications, Palm, Inc. "We're showing people how easy it is to interact with these sites while mobile. For instance, one ad might simply say 'Buy tickets on Fandango' or 'Orbitz and go' with the corresponding logo appearing on the home screen of the Treo smartphone."
Also, Palm today announced their new flagship store in New York, located at the historic Rockefeller Center. Complete with Palm's entire product portfolio, the store features live demonstrations and activations on three major U.S. carriers. Between Dec. 11 and Dec. 17, the new store is offering customers who purchase any Treo(TM) smartphone a free Palm Z22 handheld.
This loyal Palm customer is certainly drooling over the Treo 680!
The new flagship store should be a big hit in New York. I'd love to be able to go there. If I lived close to that new flagship store, I'd be buying my new Treo and getting a free Z22 today!
Palm's new marketing campaign sounds exciting. Palm will most likely pick up many new customers over the next few months as first time buyers discover the "wow factor" of the Palm Treo.
Just as Palm's marketing campaign gets started, Palm has today announced that Brodie C. Keast has joined Palm as its senior vice president, marketing. Keast is responsible for the company's product strategy and mobile-computing roadmap for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses, as well as for marketing and brand-building aimed at expanding Palm's presence around the world and to a wider customer set. Keast reports to Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer.
"Brodie's track record of creating great products that delight customers and his proven expertise in building world-class brands will help Palm grow global recognition for simple, reliable and innovative mobile computing," said Colligan. "We're delighted he's joined Palm."
Keast was formerly senior vice president and general manager of consumer electronics at Seagate Technology, the world's leading maker of hard drives. There, he was responsible for product-line management, product marketing and strategy, market development and external partnerships. Prior to Seagate, Keast held a variety of executive positions at other big corporations such as TiVo, Inc., DLTtape Division at Quantum Corp., Apple Computer, Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Company.
Palm's new marketing campaign certainly seems to be in good hands with Keast on board.
