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210

ubuntu pc's communication

210 points posted to Advertising and Marketing, Linux by siger Apr 12

why don't you communicate more about ubuntu pc's ?for instance why arent't there ads in newspapers for ubuntu 's pc's

matt_d
Apr 12		 I can name at least 2 reasons why we haven't run ads in newspapers for the systems with Ubuntu pre-loaded. First, newspaper ads target a wide audience - far wider than the mostly technical and Linux-savvy users that have so far purchased these systems. Which brings us to the second reason - reaching out to a wide audience is expensive. While our sales of systems with Ubuntu pre-loaded have met our expectations, they still are greatly outnumbered by sales of our other systems. It doesn't make sense to spend quite a lot of money for ads aimed at the wrong audience for a product which that wide audience isn't likely to purchase.

I would rather see our investment in Ubuntu continue to focus on making a great product, one that "just works".
jmxz
Apr 14		 matt_d:

That makes me wonder if Dell advertises its newer Linux offerings in more targeted print ads. Perhaps the various Linux/Unix magazines, or perhaps direct mail to people who previously bought Dell Linux Servers.

I'd be interested in direct mail (or even better, email spam) regarding any special deals on your higher-end Linux workstations .
acelin
Apr 14		 I agree- If you spread the word more to specific Linux magazines, websites, forums, etc., it would be great for both Dell and Ubuntu. Increased attention to Ubuntu would be beneficial, and better working computers would be great for Dell's reputation. I was not a fan of Dell after my first encounter with a certain Dell desktop that came with Windows ME, and said I would never buy again. With Dell's Ubuntu offerings, however, I will definitely be being Dell- I see now that the problem wasn't Dell, it was Microsoft.
siger
Apr 15		 yes i understand the reasons but why do you sell lnux ubuntu if you don't communicate about ? I have never seen any ads for ubuntu computers. The demand for ubuntu could be more important with ads. Even on dell website the ad for ubuntu is not enough. it is wirtten : ubuntu is for those who don't want of windows. Ubuntu is more than that.
kelly_h
May 1		 Hi siger,

I work in email marketing at Dell and can speak a bit to why there is rarely advertising for Linux. I ran the numbers for Linux and No-OS systems sold at Dell in the past year - it accounts for less than 1% of our systems sales for the year. Consumers need to tell Dell that they want Linux - 99% of all systems purchases were Windows. It would be incredibly hard to replace a Windows system in an ad when we know that is what the majority of consumers are looking for/purchasing.

I am working to get an Ubuntu ad into one of our marketing emails and hopefully link to Dell's "Why Ubuntu" page to educate the list about the different OS options from Dell.

Hope this helps!
jmxz
May 1		 @kelly_h.

Perhaps what's missing is the way it's communicated too.

If you said "want the same hardware for $X cheaper - get it with Ubuntu instead" perhaps more new users would be interested in giving it a try even if it was new to them.
aikiwolfie
May 3		 matt_d would it really be asking a lot for Dell to just add one Ubuntu system to it's newspaper adds or even god forbid to make the link for opensource PCs more obvious on the web site? On the UK site the link is now hidden away behind the laptop drop down menu. I also think you're missing the point of this idea and the whole point of Ubuntu for that matter.

Ubuntu is Linux for people. Ordinary people who don't have any Linux experience. My M1330n worked perfectly fine straight out of the box. It achieved the common goal Dell and Canonical strive for with Linux. It "just works". But for some reason you're still hiding it. Which suppresses demand. Advertising helps to generate demand.

How many people would be buying Dell consumer PCs if Dell hadn't advertised it was building consumer products? Correct me if I'm wrong. But, didn't Dell start out selling boring beige boxes to corporate clients? How did Dell turn that around? Was it enough to just start pushing out consumer oriented systems or did Dell need to do a little advertising?

If a news paper add is too expensive then why not let your own people put something in a news letter? It's pre-sales education. The first step is to tell people the product or technology you're selling exists.
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