Daniel, I think the problem here is that we have two different marketing strategists arguing from their different experiences. Ian is much more focused on the idea that OOo can replace Microsoft - as would be the case with adopting OOo as the predominant Office Suite in schools and government to work with MSO, and Louis is trying to promote OOo as a simple migration - where format isn't really an issue. If OOo was the only suite to use odf and it wasn't interoperable - it wouldn't really matter.
Personally, I think Ian's stance on this issue is more relevant to the current OASIS debate. Since ODF is now the ISO, it is going to be government and the public sector that will make the switch first. We need to be extremely proactive in making the schools and governments switch over to OOo. If MS were to include the odf format in their next release then there would be little need to offices to switch. Like Ian, I believe interoperability with MSO can only be good. If OOo is completely interoperable (with both MSO and OOo using OASIS standards) then OOo would no doubt become the choice suite for the Home User (because it's a quality product and also free). As far as Daniel's group 1 and group 2 theories are involved, I think that it is the best summary of the markets that OOo should be marketing to that I have read on this list. However, I would hasten to try and include a differentiation between public and private sector. I'm not 100% clear on what stance MS are going to take on the odf, but were the 'Comment' and 'Track Changes' Features used in MSO interoperable with OOo's respective features I know that OOo would be used on all my family's home computers. Big Business is going to stick with MSO for the near future. The way in which OOo should try and get to these businesses is to become a viable option for the business individuals' home computers. In this way we would get the exposure to potential clients without having corporate liability. Both Louis and Ian have been doing lots of work with OOo. It was Ian who welcomed me to the list (which is a hell of an ego boost) and made me feel like I should offer my time and efforts to support OOo. Louis does much of the bigger picture work, but in order for OOo to succeed with its disruptive marketing plan... It needs to be able to rely on the small and personal approach. We promote giving the discs to friends... Bringing OOo up in conversation... Please let's have some time for each other on this list. I think we need to have a discussion at the conference 2006. A decision needs to be made upon what direction OOo is going to take. I would appreciate a reply from both Ian and Louis on this issue. Am I right in the aim of the project being interoperability for a real free market... or am I working for a project that it more focused on its own success than supporting the principle of a free market. Andrew Loughran -----Original Message----- From: Daniel Carrera [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 07 May 2006 10:32 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Marketing] Publicity strategy Graham wrote: > Do we convince our clients run with OOo > > a) Because it is a great piece of software or > b) Because it's not Microsoft I don't think that's what it's about. The origin of this thread was "how do we get press attention? (a) make a purely factual report (b) add a bit of controversy like 'OOo beats MS to ISO'" This then diverted into whether Microsoft supporting ODF would help or harm OOo. So, no one touched the issue of how to convince clients. The closest we got to was how to get more diggs. If I want to convince a client, I'd first look at what the client's needs and motivations are. If I know he's mainly interested in saving money, I'll focus on that. If I know he's a Microsoft hater, I'd play on that. > However it cannot be OOo Marketing's position to try influence the > direction that our opposition should take, Marketing's job is to do things that help OOo get more market share. Saying that MS should support ISO standards seems like a good strategy. It has the right level of controversy to get us in the mainstream news, so at a minimum you can see it as a tool to get free publicity. > Certainly not as a first tier, but then I have a pathological objection > to mentioning a competitor in any upper level campaign, so that may be > just me. But marketing that mentions a competitor gets more attention both from the press and from readers. OOo vs MSO comparisons are a good strategy. Cheers, Daniel. -- /\/`) http://opendocumentfellowship.org /\/_/ /\/_/ ...and starting today, all passwords must \/_/ contain letters, numbers, doodles, sign / language and squirrel noises. _____________ NOD32 EMON 1.1523 (20060505) information _____________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system http://www.eset.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
