"Graphics chip giant Nvidia chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang said in a conference call with analysts today that consumers realize “a great tablet is better than a cheap PC.”That’s an interesting statement coming from a PC industry leader who plays in both the PC and mobile markets. But Huang pointed out that in the most recent third fiscal quarter ended Oct. 28, 30 percent of Nvidia’s revenues now come from non-PC chips, up from just 3 percent three years ago."
Watch out for false advertising
Most of us recognize the ads & spam trying to sell us stuff that's either too good to be true &/or has a price tag that's too good to be true. I want to remind folks that false advertising goes way beyond the latest gadget or fake viagra. Marketing has the goal of making advertising invisible, based on the same idea as traditional ads, that if you're constantly exposed to the same message it'll stick, & once embedded, it will influence how you think & buy, but undetectable, so that advertising might sneak by the BS detectors we've grown over the years. Several years ago when it was a new concept it was named *Creating Buzz*. This reported statement by Nvidia's CEO might be a great example of how "creating buzz" is self-serving.
One, he's making a statement that might sound controversial & because of that it will be reported & hopefully repeated -- that get's the name Nvidia mentioned & into your consciousness. Two, the CEO's statement is targeting gamers who run ATI or Nvidia graphics cards - Nvidia's market -- playing on their lack of respect for "Cheap" PCs that can extend to the people who might buy one... those gamers &/or power users that are looked to for help & advice might think it's a great idea, since a tablet would mean no more requests for help. Three, people in the market for a "Cheap" PC might actually buy a tablet instead, which is very cool to the Nvidia CEO, because he might make money off you if you buy a tablet, & almost certainly won't if you buy a low end PC/notebook. And fourth, Nvidia competes with other companies to supply the chips in tablets & smartphones -- he's giving some of the companies making tablets & smartphones with Nvidia components a bit of free advertising, making them happy, while giving companies that are using competing brands reason to reconsider.
Does Jen-Hsun Huang, the Nvidia CEO, really believe what he said? Doesn't matter because we're pre-programed to take people at their word -- that's why we get upset with liars -- so Huang can rest assured that lots of people will take his quote as something he might be right or wrong about, but feel that regardless, it's something he genuinely believes. Flipping over to a marketing perspective OTOH, there's entirely no reason what-so-ever, to ever tell a [potential] customer how you really feel -- revealing anything that doesn't further the sale is really forbidden. [Some execs do grow arrogant enough that they feel they can ignore that rule, believing that how they personally feel is as important as their position &/or status, and their company ALWAYS loses business because of it -- that exec's opinions become the issue rather than whatever her/his company sells, & as hard data, can't be as managed by marketing.]
Why mention it at all here in the GOTD forums? GOTD could suffer indirect, so-called collateral damage from much of the marketing buzz several companies & execs are promoting today. If enough people come to agree with them that it starts killing off markets, one of those markets bound to be effected early on is the one small to midsize software companies depend on, not the Adobes or Microsofts but the nice folks who provide GOTD with their offers -- we've already seen the effects on smaller game companies. In any marketplace it's not always a matter of survival of the fittest, but the best marketing that wins -- look at Apple, and how so many of their most loyal customers immediately add Windows, turning their brand new Mac into a PC, yet still swear by the Apple branded hardware & OS.
