re: FUD - Use of in Marketing or Sales or Technology "Promotion"
<< There's no doubt both sides are using the very common marketing tricks in promoting their standards. >>
"Tricks" of the "trade", eh?
You are now stepping into my profession (although most of my career has been sales side, not marketing side) and since it is my profession, how a company markets, and how successful they are at marketing, is something I keep a weather eye peeled for, as an investor.
I also watch closely how skillfully FUD when it is employed is woven into a marketing campaign, and I also try to distinguish how much hyperbole is involved as well, and I am always on the lookout for what you call "stretch".
I'd like to make a comment or two here, as someone who has been a member of the SI boards since late 97, (and used them for business research initially for over a year before that, until I finally shelled out a whopping $75 for lifetime membership and started to post).
When I use the word FUD, I use it in its strict denotative sense, with no other connotations applied.
I don't think I have ever seen the word FUD used more often than on the various Qualcomm threads. On those threads it takes on a life of its own, and is evidently used with every negative connotation in the book. It is highly possible that the connotations you apply to the acronym are different than the denotation I ascribe it.
If I want to connote something other than FUD you will see me use acronyms like FUDD or FUDSI
FUD of course, as generally viewed on the various Qualcomm threads, is something that the bad guys indulge in, and something that Qualcomm would never THINK about indulging in, and of course Qualcomm would never THINK about indulging in the use of hyperbole either, or "stretch".
<< However the things I start to sense recently is the lack of contents from the Nok FUD comparing with the Qcom FUD. >>
That is an interesting observation, and I'm going to point out to you that the more specific one gets with FUD, the more "content" one attempts to include when applying it, the more a company puts there credibility on the line when someone, particularly a prospect (but also an investor), drills down on it.
<< It's more and more like the sixers fans chanting "beat L.A."<vbg> >>
You seem to have your teams reversed, if you are talking about marketing.
<< So is it safe to say the common criticism against it is mainly because of the impact it had on the share price? >>
Actually, potentially had, ... had, still have ... and could have ... all apply.
... but in the general sense ... that is my personal criticism of not applying FUD skillfully, yes.
The commencement of the 1xEV-DO "Marketing" campaign which started shortly after IS-856 was published and we started seeing those "commercially available" slides was when I first started worrying about the possibility that this campaign could injure Qualcomm's valuation and Dr. Jacob's credibility, and I commented on it on my home thread.
Now I fully understand why Qualcomm would want to show off the benefits of IS-856, but not only is Qualcomm's valuation tied to 1xEV, but it is also tied to WCDMA.
I am very glad that it appears that those "commercially available" slides of Irwin, Paul you know, and Rich seem to have been expunged from the Qualcomm web server, or at least appropriately archived. The reason I am glad is that Qualcomm set a benchmark for defining "commercially available", and I suspect it will not be to hard for some vendors to have WCDMA "commercially available" in 2002, not 2003 as Jacobs, Jacobs, and Sulpizio, FUDingly suggested.
Bottom line is that long term, the valuation of a company, is determined by results in its marketing and sales expertise and effectiveness, and the credibility it is able to establish as a result, not just its technical expertise, technical accomplishments. time to market, and promiseware.
Short term, you witnessed on February 23rd, the results of FUD being carelessly applied, in an uncertain market, in a sector as uncertain as any..
My personal opinion of that fateful London lunch that Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs enjoyed the day before, significantly retarded any hope that Qualcomm might have of implementing 1xEV-DO in Europe, and after Cannes, I sincerely thought there might be an opportunity there.
Related to this subject Perhaps you should very carefully read the article called "Stronger or Just Louder?"written by David Molony of "Communications Week International" last week:
totaltele.com
[EDIT: I notice in looking forward that Ruffian scooped me in posting the article here, but it is so appropriate to the topic we have under discussion that I think I'll be redundant and leave this in]
An excerpt:
So far, Europe is way behind in the promotional war of words over third-generation mobiles. Equipment vendors and mobile network operators should consider setting up a new European forum for 3G cooperation, to sell the European message as heavily as the U.S. is doing its own. This forum would not rival the UMTS Forum, which focuses on promoting cooperation in standards development. And it is needed. In recent weeks, Europe's financial newspapers have admired the chief executive of Qualcomm Inc., Irwin Jacobs, for making daring claims that European operators will abandon their wideband CDMA systems - the European flavor of 3G mobile systems - in favor of his company's CDMA2000, which European vendors cannot deliver.
<snip>
The company could, however, be deluding itself. A party of Qualcomm officials who recently brought their 3G handsets from San Diego to show off at a conference in the U.K. were crestfallen when European consultants said they had already seen and tested 3G handsets over here.
What was it that Roesheen Cosgrave of BT said when she saw AOD/VOD on SKT's 1xRTT network:
"If that's what my company is working towards, I will be very disappointed,"
Message 15921717
<< Oh BTW, it seems to me what IJ said in Cannes is looking more and more accurate now. >>
Oh BTW, you have not yet responded to my previous question in regard to this.
Sorry for the long post, but I'll be scarce on threads this coming week, and since you keep bringing up FUD (as it relates to its use by either company I am invested in wirelessly) , I thought I would at least let you know my feelings on it, as it relates to investing.
Best,
- Eric - |
