Buzzword Marketing: Macworld edition

Freshness Warning
This blog post is over 15 years old. It's possible that the information you read below isn't current and the links no longer work.

Josh asked me if I knew of any Sacramento area companies that are going to be at Macworld, so I was perusing the Macworld exhibitor list and found some lovely examples of small business marketing.

SmartMotion Technology says they develop "SwingSeat, the Ultimate Computer Chair. Doctor-Recommend, Reduces Back, Hip and Leg Pain." Sounded interesting, so I clicked their web link. The page has an Under construction banner on it. But there’s a link on the page to their product catalog that has a nifty video showing off their chair. Why not link directly to that?

In another effective use of web traffic from MacWorld, Starking Limited’s web link goes directly to a password protected page. Their company description isn’t too useful, either. "Starking Limited has developed a wide range of products dedicated to music fans. Products are mainly targeting iPod users, but does not exclude other Mp3 players' users either. Starking Limited has become one of the most innovative companies in the multimedia accessories' market, by developing its own designs and adding the newest technologies available. Starking Limited has the Made for iPod licence [sic]."

iStockPhoto has a good description. "iStockphoto is the only image site you need: fast, easy to use, with the best new exclusive content from around the world starting at just $1 an image. With more than 1.2 million royalty-free photographs, Vector illustrations, and video clips, iStock has the right image for every project. Join us today." Tells me exactly what they do, and what value they bring.

LapWorks has a great description for a small business. "We make lap desks & desktop stand for notebook computers that reduce heat, protect the lap and improve ergonomics. 20% to 50% discounts at our booth." As a small business, they have no brand to promote, just their product and their value. From this description, I know exactly what they do and why I should come to the booth.

iSkin makes a great product that’s the epitome of elegant simplicity. My son has one of their covers on his iPod. Their product description is a little convoluted, however. "iSkin, the preferred choice among iPod owners creates new and fashionable ways to protect the iPod without sacrificing the functionality and aesthetics of the device. iSkin makes protective devices for the iPod, MacBook and other Apple products, iSkin is committed to delivering the best protection using the most advanced technology available." How about a simple "iSkin protects your iPod without changing how it looks or works. Also available for many other Apple products."

Recently Written

The Trap of The Sales-Led Product (Dec 10)
It’s not a winning way to build a product company.
The Hidden Cost of Custom Customer Features (Dec 7)
One-off features will cost you more than you think and make your customers unhappy.
Domain expertise in Product Management (Nov 16)
When you're hiring software product managers, hire for product management skills. Looking for domain experts will reduce the pool of people you can hire and might just be worse for your product.
Strategy Means Saying No (Oct 27)
An oft-overlooked aspect of strategy is to define what you are not doing. There are lots of adjacent problems you can attack. Strategy means defining which ones you will ignore.
Understanding vision, strategy, and execution (Oct 24)
Vision is what you're trying to do. Strategy is broad strokes on how you'll get there. Execution is the tasks you complete to complete the strategy.
How to advance your Product Market Fit KPI (Oct 21)
Finding the gaps in your product that will unlock the next round of growth.
Developer Relations as Developer Success (Oct 19)
Outreach, marketing, and developer evangelism are a part of Developer Relations. But the companies that are most successful with developers spend most of their time on something else.
Developer Experience Principle 6: Easy to Maintain (Oct 17)
Keeping your product Easy to Maintain will improve the lives of your team and your customers. It will help keep your docs up to date. Your SDKs and APIs will be released in sync. Your tooling and overall experience will shine.

Older...

What I'm Reading

Contact

Adam Kalsey

+1 916 600 2497

Resume

Public Key

© 1999-2023 Adam Kalsey.