marketing

Nokia Austria is attacking the public with effective marketing and dominant advertising with "The Amazing Everyday". From covering trams in Lumia advertisement material, to handing out small packages containing food. The video montage illustrates how the manufacturer is working with retailers to set up stands and ensure the Lumia handsets are getting maximum exposure.

The Nokia Arch also makes a return in a shopping centre, sporting interactive demos. An interesting video that's well worth checking out.

Source: YouTube; thanks, Ellis, for the heads up!

Marios Karagiannis, the developing superpower behind the title MonsterUp, has published an interesting article on his blog detailing how 2012 is going to be the "Year of Nokia" for Windows Phone. Looking at the above charts, on the left we have the total breakdown of Windows Phone OEMs since early 2011 and on the right we have the representation of the month of January 2012 only (data is extracted from devices playing his games).

There's a clear trend that is noticeable when comparing both charts. Nokia is on the rise (within the Windows Phone market anyway), helped by the quality of the handsets manufactured and the sheer scale of marketing. HTC is still the clear giant, but with the 900 uprising, as well as the probability of the monster Lumia handset being available on a global scale, we should see a further increase to the chunk Nokia owns.

While we have no exact figure for the amount of handsets Nokia has sold, apart from the 1 million shipped estimation by analysts, this is an indicator that the Lumia family is selling. Especially with the 11% jump in Windows Phone OEM shares in just under a month.

Source: Marios Karagiannis

Paul Thurrott has stamped his mark on some information regarding the upcoming expenditure the software giant is set to embark on in the Sates. The details allegedly come from internal Microsoft documentation. Windows Phone has been failing when it comes to retailers and carrier stores, not just in the U.S., but on a global scale and it's a huge mountain to climb to get to a level playing field with competitor platforms. We covered the report today, which BetaNews published, that pointed to the Nokia Ace receiving "hero" status on AT&T. Not only that, but $100 million was said to be going into the marketing kitty.

Thurrott has now "corrected" information published by BetaNews, announcing that Microsoft and co. will be looking to unleash not $100 million, but $200 million marketing and promoting the platform. We're already aware that the plan for all companies involved with Windows Phone are looking to spend large sums of money, especially Nokia with CEO Elop commenting that they're "game". HTC, Samsung (among other OEMs) will also be set to increase budgeting for advertising, much like what we've witnessed across Europe with newspaper adverts and more.

Thurrott also moves on to state that retail sales staff are set to receive incentives (as part of the massive budget) for moving handsets from the shelves and into consumer hands.

"The amount of payments are $10 to $15 per handset sold, depending on the number sold, for some handset models."

This all makes sense and is pretty much what we're all expecting the companies to roll on. But remember though; Mr Thurrott is the gentleman that stated we wouldn't be getting Mango until 2012, so take this information as you see fit.

Source: WindowsITPro

Nokia has posted episode 5 of the 'Little Amazing Show', which is shot in Paris and focuses on happiness. A pretty neat stunt was on Parisian street, where bubbles flooded the area and excited the public with contagious smiles. The video is perfect media for a rainy day, or to simply lighten the mood. Nokia really is going all out with marketing and advertising, and these video montages compliment their efforts.

Be sure to check out the previous episodes if you haven't already:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4

Source: YouTube (Nokia)

We saw the other day YouTube featuring Windows Phone on its front page and tonight it's Last.fm's turn. Hopping over to the site and heading to the Radio area, you'll have your browser overtaken by the Samsung Omnia W and Windows Phone, including that $25 app card good for the Marketplace.

Although people have rightly complained about lack of exposure for Windows Phone in the past, it seems clear that everyone is stepping up a bit on the second go-around. Hopefully it will pay off in some sales.

Thanks, Sayon, for the tip!

Nokia and T-Mobile U.S. are in full swing with their announced launch party of the Lumia 710, but what's coming up next for the Finnish Windows Phone manufacturer? Operation "Rolling Thunder", as it's internally referred to, is Nokia's plan for rolling out a number of handsets next year and aiming for multiple price points. Chris Weber, head of U.S. operations at Nokia, explained that the company will be at CES in January making a noise as they have been doing in Europe.

"We will be launching a portfolio of devices in the U.S. across a range of price points, user experience and operators. The rollouts are referred to internally as "Operation Rolling Thunder". We’ll have a very large presence [at CES] and it’ll be clear that Nokia is back in a quite strong way in the U.S."

We'll be sure to check out CES in Las Vegas to see what Nokia will be bringing to the event. The Nokia Lumia 900 is still on the list, a more powerful option for U.S. consumers, and is set to hit the states early 2012 if rumours are to be valid. Nokia has the daunting task of getting carriers on side to stock their Windows Phones. Battling hard against the iPhone and a plethora of Android handsets will make a successful and effective marketing campaign all that more important.

Source: Bloomberg, thanks to Baljinder for the heads up!

Telerik, the company behind the RadControls developer tools and the Windows Phone Task app, have just published a whitepaper that will aid any developer who has recently submitted their Windows Phone app to the Marketplace. The free document runs through how to effectively present your application with a well designed landing page, upload YouTube videos (with some SEO tips), monitor the analytics, as well as covering some in-app tricks.

The 13 page whitepaper will help provide developers (who have no marketing experience) the knowledge to kick off promotion campaigns on the web that will drive in traffic, while optimising the app to reach full potential. Head on over to Telerik (source below) to check out the free resource.

Source: Telerik

We know Nokia has had a tough ride, especially since they ditched Symbian to pair up with Microsoft and dedicate resources to Windows Phone alone. Not only shares, but the minds of customers, have been bouncing around, following Stephen Elop's moves closely. The manufacturer has had little over six months to produce a Windows Phone since the partnership with Microsoft was announced.  

According to a report over at Reuters, Nokia is attempting to keep the smiles with releasing an optimistic statement:

"Lumia 800 sales in the U.K. are off to an excellent start. Based on earliest data the sales start of the Lumia 800 is the best ever first week of Nokia smartphone sales in the U.K. in recent history. By our measures, we have gained significant smartphone sell-out share in the channels in which we are operating in the U.K."

As noted by Gigaom, the above statement is pretty vague and with no sale data published it's difficult to tell whether the company is actually doing extremely well with the launch or is attempting to liven the mood.. Were we really expecting a massive sell out? Probably not. Windows Phone is still young and requires much promotion to sway the minds of potential adopters. Nokia has come to the game with nothing and have spent erratically to pick up momentum for not only the Lumia family of handsets, but the platform as well. It's a tough assignment for a manufacturer who has been in trouble for some time.

Nokia has been busy focusing on "The Amazing Everyday" marketing campaign, with hosting impressive promotion events, setting up advertising effectively (including Heathrow Airport) and working closely with U.K. carriers. As we previously reported, the Finnish manufacturer has tripled their marketing expenditure, which should be setting the ground for their volume introduction of handsets in 2012.

The Lumia 710 and 800 (our review) are entry handsets, the first two from the Finnish company. They've continuously stated that 2012 will be the year for both Nokia and Windows Phone, while 2011 will see one or two devices to see the year through and show what Nokia is capable of. A turnaround that Nokia requires will not happen with the launch of two rushed devices on a new platform. This is going to be a marathon, just like Microsoft with Windows Phone. We'll have to wait and see how the two companies work together to make both the platform and Nokia handsets a success on a global scale.

Source: Gigaom, Reuters

Nokia has unravelled plans to attract developers to the Windows Phone platform in collaboration with Microsoft. Keith Varty, head of apps and partnerships at Nokia, told The Inquirer that the game has changed since the partnership between the two companies was formed. Microsoft already has a superb connection with new and established developers, something that Nokia can look to build ontop of.

Varty continues to explain that the manufacturer will offer marketing support to developers, and ways to reach new markets where the company has a strong presence, such as China and the far East. He moves onto say that Nokia is working with Microsoft to create a programme that will help developers translate apps for these multiple markets.

Nokia won't be abandoning those who are closer to home, however. For starters, the manufacturer will run a number of UK based workshops, which will target Symbian and Nokia developers. We've already witnessed what the Finnish phone maker can do with some funds for promotion and product advertising, so it'll be interesting to see how this partnership grows with the software giant.

Source: The Inquirer