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When You Get Exposure Leverage It

Posted in: Marketing,Technology,Usability,WebDev by Richard Hearne on November 24, 2006
Internet Marketing Ireland

Publicity leads to sales. Why? Because getting people to notice you is half the battle. If you can get a customer’s attention you can sell him the benefits of your product.

GPS mapping software for your Symbian phone

Sometimes in the morning I have the radio on. Occasionally I hear Pat Kenny, not because I particularly like his show, but because he comes after whoever preceded him.

Yesterday morning there was a very interesting interview with a guy from OSI (Ordinance Survey Ireland). They’re the people who produce the maps of our country.

The discussion was about a new GPS mapping application that lets users view OSI maps of Dublin on their mobile phones. The benefits were spelt out in a very compelling manner. Tourists, it was mentioned, could guide themselves with the mapping software, while Dublin’s residents could use the maps to find unknown streets and locations. And if you use a Nokia GPS phone the mapping software will even guide you to your destination. Pretty cool, and definitely the way of the future.

Buy on-line

Users can purchase and download the GPS mapping software for €29.99 from the OSI website, and the product comes complete with 500 POIs (Points Of Interest) for many of Dublin’s top attractions and locations.

It sounds like a really fantastic product, and I was quite surprised that an Irish company (and a publicly mandated body at that) was actually at the cutting-edge of this type of technology.

Great exposure, dreadful follow-through

This morning I got a chance to visit the OSI website to learn more:

OSI homepage

Hmm.. not much to go on there. I expected there to be some emphasis on this new cutting edge mobile phone GPS mapping software. Well I’m honestly none the wiser so I select ‘Browse our mapping products and services’:

OSI mapping products and services

I’m really not making much progress here. I cant see any mention of mobile phone GPS mapping software. Maybe ‘digital products’?

OSI digital products

Not there, so back to the homepage and this time I try ‘GPS services’. The guy on the radio did mention that this works with GPS. Nothing there either. To be honest at this stage I’m beginning to wonder if this is just some big joke. So I try ‘OSi Trail Master’:

OSI Trail Master

Well this might be it. Unfortunately there’s no real reference material here to tell me what I’m looking at. Alas, it’s another false hope. Only two more options on the homepage left, and next up is ‘OSi StreetSmart’:

OSI StreetSmart

Bingo. With hindsight the name makes sense, but without any pointers figuring this out is far from trivial. Anyhow, now that I’ve finally found what I came here for I’d like to find out more. I suppose I should click the image – it is an anchor after all:

OSI more details

How to burn great publicity

Now most people couldn’t buy the publicity gained from a nationwide radio interview. That type of broadcast is just marketing gold-dust. Businesses have flourished on the attention garnered from radio mentions…

Yesterday morning the OSI gave us a text book example of how to burn through fantastic publicity with poor follow-through.

What’s the lesson? When you do get great exposure make sure you’re ready and waiting to fully leverage it.

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8 Comments »

  1. “Occasionally I hear Pat Kenny, not because I particularly like his show, but because he comes after whoever preceded him.”

    so you’re saying you like ryan tubridy then? you sick bastard.

    Comment by fmk — November 24, 2006 @ 10:13 am

  2. Ordinance Survey Ireland, burning tax payers’ money!…

    Richard Hearne at Red Cardinal describes an incredible display of incompetence by Ordinance Survey Ireland -Most people couldn’t buy the publicity gained from a nationwide radio interview. That type of broadcast is just marketing gold-dust. Businesse…

    Trackback by EirePreneur — November 24, 2006 @ 10:22 am

  3. Is that who’s before him? Who’s before Ryan then? :mrgreen:

    Comment by Richard Hearne — November 24, 2006 @ 10:23 am

  4. Morning Ireland – but that ends at 9.00, giving you a full hour to get up and switch channels before the dreaded Kenny arrives – how the hell can you go that long without atleast needing to get up to get a fresh coffee, or do you have a pot of the stuff percolating on your desk? :)

    Comment by fmk — November 24, 2006 @ 10:38 am

  5. I am religious about my coffee. I grind my hand roasted speciality coffee beans at about 7.30am then brew up a very large pot. Currently I’m on Kenya AAA, but sometimes find that a good Columbian hits the spot. Absolute faourite is Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Min 2 large mugs prior to eating.

    Take about 90 mins to read all the feeds (today is slow because it’s holidays in the US :grin:).

    TBH rarely take any notice of what’s on the radio – just background noise. (oh.. have to run… Ian Paisley is on now…. :mrgreen:) (seriously he is!)

    Comment by Richard Hearne — November 24, 2006 @ 10:47 am

  6. [...] When You Get Exposure Leverage It Still Listening Why, before sending out your product. New Category Suggestions for the 2007 Awards so far Measuring Contribution The Fragile Power of Reputation Without a blog, do you exist? Laptop theft: How to protect your business data Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]

    Pingback by Advanced Technology Products Interactive » Blog Archive » Business links — November 24, 2006 @ 12:41 pm

  7. the number one worst organised government department we have ever had to deal with!!!

    a client tried to get a map off them for use on a cdrom and it only took 3 months to organise!

    they dont answer the phone or answer emails!! must be nice being based in the phoenix park – everydays a picnic….

    Comment by LT — November 24, 2006 @ 1:00 pm

  8. [...] It’s just that the PR isn’t fulfilling it’s primary function, which I believe was to draw attention to the releasing agent. I’m reminded of the Ordinance Survey Ireland mobile mapping application some time back. But in this case I think the problem is compounded by the fact that the company in question is an Internet marketing firm. [...]

    Pingback by 53% of Irish Companies Fail On-Line Search, Says Captivate Digital (Who Also Cannot Be Found) | Search Engine Optimisation Ireland .:. Red Cardinal — February 22, 2007 @ 5:26 pm

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