Commentary

'Pre' Game: Goodby Effort Sparked Early Interest In Smartphone

Palm Pre ad

Sprint's ambitious "Now Network" campaign this spring, which included home page takeovers on sites including Yahoo, YouTube and AOL, laid the groundwork for the June launch of the Palm Pre, the carrier's much-hyped answer to the iPhone.

The Internet effort, by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, garnered much attention for its innovative interactive elements and last month took home a Gold Lion in the Integrated Campaign at the 56th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. But did it work?

In an analysis released Friday, comScore says the Now Network campaign was effective in sparking early interest in the Pre and reaching target audiences. In particular, comScore looked at the YouTube takeover, which featured a clock in which users (who filmed themselves holding up a pre-assigned number) became a real-time clock.

The ad reached about 13 million people on the day it debuted in late May, with "gadget-crazed" 18- to 24-year-olds making up more than a third of the audience. More than 60% were male. "In conjunction with other online and offline advertising, this renewed interest in Sprint helped to generate early buzz for the Palm Pre," according to comScore.

The research firm also found that the number of people searching on terms related to the Pre more than doubled to 216,000 during the week ending May 24, coinciding with YouTube takeover. Search activity peaked two weeks after the June 6 launch of the Pre but fell steeply after the June 17 debut of the iPhone 3G S.

But the data suggests the Pre and iPhone may attract different users, since only 11% who searched for Pre-related terms also queried iPhone-related terms.

Of course, the Pre began generating buzz as an aspiring "iPhone killer" when it was first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. And a Compete analysis in March of traffic to the Palm and Spring sites indicated that people were still hungry for information about the forthcoming phone. So it's hard to separate the earlier word-of-mouth online from the interest generated by the Now Network campaign. The only number Sprint and Palm may care about ultimately is sales, and both companies have expressed satisfaction with initial consumer response to the Pre.

A recent report from JNK wireless consultant iGR, however, suggests demand for the Pre is cooling. Based on a survey of more than 50 Sprint stores conducted on July 3, the firm found the majority had "plenty" of the phones available. In any case, the Now Network campaigns rolls on, with fresh online and TV spots for the Pre. Perhaps comScore can check back on the effort's impact a couple of months from now to offer a longer-term view.

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