Nokia Ace to receive $100M marketing campaign for US launch
Nokia's Windows-Phone-based Ace smartphone will benefit from a $100 million marketing push to be shared among Microsoft's partners, with AT&T rumored to have received "hero" status from the software giant in order to promote the device, according to a new report.
Sources have confirmed with BetaNews that the Ace will arrive in late March accompanied by a major marketing push during the second quarter of 2012. The Ace, which will reportedly be known as the Lumia 900 outside of the U.S., will be the new flagship device for Microsoft's Windows Phone platform.
Though insiders pegged the campaign as costing roughly $100 million, they were unable to specify how the funds would be divided among AT&T, Microsoft and Nokia.
"The Ace will launch first on AT&T, where Microsoft has reached an agreement with the carrier to give it "hero" status. This means that AT&T itself will promote the device in its advertising, through its retail channels and direct store associates to push the device within its stores," the report read.
Nokia is set to hold a Windows Phone-related event on Jan. 9 as part of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. The event is widely believed to feature the unveiling of the Ace.
According to a leak from PocketNow on Tuesday, the Nokia Ace/Lumia 900 will feature a 4.3-inch display, 512MB of RAM, eight-megapixel camera and 4G LTE connectivity.
Mockup of Nokia Ace (left) based on Lumia 800 (right).
The Finnish handset maker revealed its first Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 800 and 710, last October, but held off on releasing the smartphones stateside until early 2012. However, analysts were largely unimpressed by Nokia's offerings, with some even going so far as to drastically lower sales estimates.
Nokia's Lumia 800 (left) and Lumia 710 are its first Windows Phones.
Though Nokia insists that the phones saw record preorders, neither Lumia device was able to crack the list of top-selling smartphones in the U.K. in December. By comparison, five versions of Apple's iPhone made the list.
Microsoft was rumored to have budgeted as much as $500 million on marketing for the Windows Phone 7 launch in the fall of 2010. Executives at the Redmond, Wash.,software giant had also indicated that the company, carriers and manufacturing partners would spend "billions" of dollars marketing WP7 devices during the first year.
Last November, the company desperately tried to attract interest in Windows Phone by erecting a 55-foot replica in New York City. The marketing blitz featured live performances and pop-up showrooms to promote the Samsung Focus S, Focus Flash and HTC Radar 4G.
According to one recent analysis by market research firm The NPD Group, Windows Phone's smartphone market share has not topped 2 percent since it launched. Meanwhile, sales of Android and iOS handsets reached a combined 82 percent of the market in the first three quarters of 2011, according to the firm. Nielsen estimated Windows Phone's share of the market for the third quarter of 2011 alone as just 1.2 percent.
Even Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has admitted that Windows Phone sales remained "very small" in its first year on the market. Ballmer announced last month that the company was rearranging its management team for the mobile operating system in order to help maximize the platform's potential.
Sources have confirmed with BetaNews that the Ace will arrive in late March accompanied by a major marketing push during the second quarter of 2012. The Ace, which will reportedly be known as the Lumia 900 outside of the U.S., will be the new flagship device for Microsoft's Windows Phone platform.
Though insiders pegged the campaign as costing roughly $100 million, they were unable to specify how the funds would be divided among AT&T, Microsoft and Nokia.
"The Ace will launch first on AT&T, where Microsoft has reached an agreement with the carrier to give it "hero" status. This means that AT&T itself will promote the device in its advertising, through its retail channels and direct store associates to push the device within its stores," the report read.
Nokia is set to hold a Windows Phone-related event on Jan. 9 as part of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. The event is widely believed to feature the unveiling of the Ace.
According to a leak from PocketNow on Tuesday, the Nokia Ace/Lumia 900 will feature a 4.3-inch display, 512MB of RAM, eight-megapixel camera and 4G LTE connectivity.
Mockup of Nokia Ace (left) based on Lumia 800 (right).
The Finnish handset maker revealed its first Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 800 and 710, last October, but held off on releasing the smartphones stateside until early 2012. However, analysts were largely unimpressed by Nokia's offerings, with some even going so far as to drastically lower sales estimates.
Nokia's Lumia 800 (left) and Lumia 710 are its first Windows Phones.
Though Nokia insists that the phones saw record preorders, neither Lumia device was able to crack the list of top-selling smartphones in the U.K. in December. By comparison, five versions of Apple's iPhone made the list.
Microsoft was rumored to have budgeted as much as $500 million on marketing for the Windows Phone 7 launch in the fall of 2010. Executives at the Redmond, Wash.,software giant had also indicated that the company, carriers and manufacturing partners would spend "billions" of dollars marketing WP7 devices during the first year.
Last November, the company desperately tried to attract interest in Windows Phone by erecting a 55-foot replica in New York City. The marketing blitz featured live performances and pop-up showrooms to promote the Samsung Focus S, Focus Flash and HTC Radar 4G.
According to one recent analysis by market research firm The NPD Group, Windows Phone's smartphone market share has not topped 2 percent since it launched. Meanwhile, sales of Android and iOS handsets reached a combined 82 percent of the market in the first three quarters of 2011, according to the firm. Nielsen estimated Windows Phone's share of the market for the third quarter of 2011 alone as just 1.2 percent.
Even Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has admitted that Windows Phone sales remained "very small" in its first year on the market. Ballmer announced last month that the company was rearranging its management team for the mobile operating system in order to help maximize the platform's potential.
Comments
That said, I think the Nokia HW and WP7 are great. I just hope they don't try to do a slam ad against the iPhone but instead focus on the many things they have to offer in this market.
That's 100 million wasted. Why not give every working American 1000 dollars and a Windows phone instead? I guarantee you will get more followers!
There are 309 million people in the US of which 20.2% are children. With 8.6% unemployment that leaves around 225 million working Americans.
If your promotion gave away a $600 unlocked Lumia 800 along with the $1000 your total cost would be $360,000,000,000 or 3600 times the 100 million dollar budget.
Just sayin...
There are 309 million people in the US of which 20.2% are children. With 8.6% unemployment that leaves around 225 million working Americans.
If your promotion gave away a $600 unlocked Lumia 800 along with the $1000 your total cost would be $360,000,000,000 or 3600 times the 100 million dollar budget.
Just sayin...
Don't forget retired and those not working but not eligible for unemployment benefits.
edit: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
There are 309 million people in the US of which 20.2% are children. With 8.6% unemployment that leaves around 225 million working Americans.
If your promotion gave away a $600 unlocked Lumia 800 along with the $1000 your total cost would be $360,000,000,000 or 3600 times the 100 million dollar budget.
Just sayin...
Conservative estimates on New Years now has the US Population over 314 million.
There are 309 million people in the US of which 20.2% are children. With 8.6% unemployment that leaves around 225 million working Americans.
If your promotion gave away a $600 unlocked Lumia 800 along with the $1000 your total cost would be $360,000,000,000 or 3600 times the 100 million dollar budget.
Just sayin...
Well, since I already knew that only about 1/3 of the 300 million population is actually employed, that was the figure I used. And since we can figure the lumia 800 will likely eventually be sold for a penny anyway, might as well give them away for free now and actually get the product in people's hands. Better than wasting the 100million on a marketing campaign that will bear no fruit.
Just sayin....
It's a global marketplace and if you can't be bothered to treat the rest of the world as you treat the US, well then sell your phone to someone else. I mean why not "the ace" everywhere. How are reviewers supposed to refer to it? Can you imagine the iPhone being called "Macia 600" or something outside the US..... Grrrrr
Microsoft always put the emphasis on Marketing instead of substance. Why not spend that $100 mil on backing a decent product?
While I've heard that the interface has some interesting features, I've yet to see one in the wild. The imagery that comes to mind is that interview with Ballmer back in 2007 before the first-gen iPhone launched and he guffawed at the idea of a $600 phone with no buttons; 100 million iPhones later, he's scrambling when MS has had all the time in the world to do something interesting.
and marketing? you can spend all day polishing a turd?guess what?
The interesting question is whether Apple should bother spending money on advertising?everybody loves their products and users become die-hard evangelists. Apple's secrecy has always been one of its best marketing tools?why not spend the money on building wind turbines and revolutionary initiatives; give it go, Tim
They lost me at, "Outside the US it will be known as...."
It's a global marketplace and if you can't be bothered to treat the rest of the world as you treat the US, well then sell your phone to someone else. I mean why not "the ace" everywhere. How are reviewers supposed to refer to it? Can you imagine the iPhone being called "Macia 600" or something outside the US..... Grrrrr
My Galaxy S is the North American T-Mobile Vibrant.... but it still is a Galaxy S
Their other partners are already doing fine selling Android whereas selling WP7 appears to be going nowhere and besides the handsets all pretty much looks like rehashed Android hardware. If Microsoft drops everyone else and sticks to Nokia as its exclusive hardware partner, then markets (properly...not like the Win7 "Launch Party" ad *groan*) the hell out of it and what you can do with it then they might really have a chance.
I think really the only reason Microsoft is where they are is that they got complacent and figured they would shake things up and everyone would love them again like everyone supposedly did years ago. That hasn't happened because Android and iOS snuck in and blew that all up. I think the only reason Android is where it is...is because of all the BOGOs and rebates and the carriers that bet big on it to market the hell out of it. I think Apple is where it is because they do the whole experience and a lot of people like that. They do the HW and the SW and everything is generally cohesive. Microsoft is attempting to do that, but I think having several HW partners isn't helping them like it did for Android...because really nobody but Microsoft is doing any marketing for the platform like Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint did for Android. At least I haven't seen any real marketing for it outside of MS.
Nokia is also doing some more risky things that might give WP7 a chance. Android hardware all looks pretty much the same: clunky. Thats been Microsoft's MO for years: clunky. Nokia is attempting to make a handset that actually looks interesting and actually looks like something that could compete against the iPhone in terms of build quality or at least give the impression of good build quality. It also looks nothing like an iPhone unlike some other manufacturers who can't really do anything without copying their classmates. Though, oddly, it does look like a larger iPod Nano from a generation or two ago. Still...not an iPhone clone.
While I agree that Microsoft only has so many failures to go before they are forced to either rethink their strategy or quit, I think if Microsoft and Nokia go this alone and MS drops its other WP7 hardware partners, they might have a better chance.
Their other partners are already doing fine selling Android whereas selling WP7 appears to be going nowhere and besides the handsets all pretty much looks like rehashed Android hardware. If Microsoft drops everyone else and sticks to Nokia as its exclusive hardware partner, then markets (properly...not like the Win7 "Launch Party" ad *groan*) the hell out of it and what you can do with it then they might really have a chance.
I think really the only reason Microsoft is where they are is that they got complacent and figured they would shake things up and everyone would love them again like everyone supposedly did years ago. That hasn't happened because Android and iOS snuck in and blew that all up. I think the only reason Android is where it is...is because of all the BOGOs and rebates and the carriers that bet big on it to market the hell out of it. I think Apple is where it is because they do the whole experience and a lot of people like that. They do the HW and the SW and everything is generally cohesive. Microsoft is attempting to do that, but I think having several HW partners isn't helping them like it did for Android...because really nobody but Microsoft is doing any marketing for the platform like Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint did for Android. At least I haven't seen any real marketing for it outside of MS.
Nokia is also doing some more risky things that might give WP7 a chance. Android hardware all looks pretty much the same: clunky. Thats been Microsoft's MO for years: clunky. Nokia is attempting to make a handset that actually looks interesting and actually looks like something that could compete against the iPhone in terms of build quality or at least give the impression of good build quality. It also looks nothing like an iPhone unlike some other manufacturers who can't really do anything without copying their classmates. Though, oddly, it does look like a larger iPod Nano from a generation or two ago. Still...not an iPhone clone.
great points and discussion, but a long haul
While I've heard that the interface has some interesting features, I've yet to see one in the wild. The imagery that comes to mind is that interview with Ballmer back in 2007 before the first-gen iPhone launched and he guffawed at the idea of a $600 phone with no buttons; 100 million iPhones later, he's scrambling when MS has had all the time in the world to do something interesting.
and marketing? you can spend all day polishing a turd?guess what?
The interesting question is whether Apple should bother spending money on advertising?everybody loves their products and users become die-hard evangelists. Apple's secrecy has always been one of its best marketing tools?why not spend the money on building wind turbines and revolutionary initiatives; give it go, Tim
I would have totally agreed with you ... until over the holidays I met an old friend who looked at my wife's iPhone and noticed the Apple Logo on the back and remarked ... "Oh do Apple make iPhones?"
Well, this is it for both Nokia and Windows. This phone has to be successful.. or investors are gonna bail.
There is a word for that ... Nokia and Microsoft better not zune .. or investors are gonna bail. My guess is they will it's too little too late. Plus the Apple haters are already far too involved in Android to want to switch.
Microsoft always put the emphasis on Marketing instead of substance. Why not spend that $100 mil on backing a decent product?
What is Apple's iPhone marketing budget?