How to present the unit
- small, 1 page brochure
- and a more detailed, 4 page brochure (PDF)
- and a few website pages with similar content as the 4-page brochure
is essential to get the attention of tuners (so they read the detailed manual and buy the units, and perhaps add value to the project later).
What should be in there?
- ECM pictures. TIFF or JPEG in high resolution.
- Publication ready logos. Prefer vector art (EPS) where possible, or TIFF/JPEG/PNG for bitmapped images.
- features
- OtherTuningSoftware pictures
- installation pictures
- where to buy
- support related info
- other, franchise related info (remember: we want end users too, but the best customers are the workshops who install a dozen or more every year, and can potentially provide support to others)
WEBSITE
(front pages)
Daniel Says- I believe the best way to begin to push the product to the market is to produce a flashy front end. Several pages to hype people up about the Genboard (which is a fantastic product!) with some interesting graphics a couple of rolling GIF's and some concise well organised information. Nothing serious just a couple of pages. Who is Versatile EMS? Why was the Genboard constructed?, how? what can it do? what can it do "straight out of the box"(off the web buy) and how do I buy?
I absolutely agree. It seems to me that it is basically the same information as the 4 page brochure, just a bit more animation.
Q: What happened to the trifold brochure that was started?
A: Not a whole lot. If the tuning software was a little more ahead, the details would be easier to fill in. Not that they couldn't be changed later however.
Q: Was it Jason that started working on it?
A: Yes
Q: What format should it be in?
A: It's MS Word right now, but RichB suggested putting it in LaTeX or something better than Word. Agreed that is the better direction. Final output of PDF would probably be the best.
Rich says... I was thinking of Scribus more than LaTeX, but anything open is good. Dunno if there's a Scribus port for Windows yet, but it'll probably work with Cygwin. Main reason is that Word is horrible from a publishers perspective. Typical workflow is word processing in Word or OpenOffice.org. Saved as text or RTF and imported into layout application. Layout is then done in Scribus or similar. Print to Postscript and convert to PDF (or straight to PDF if possible). Can be previewed on screen easily, and made available for download. For output, we need something that can be taken to a bureau and sent to the colour laser printer with no hassle. A print ready PDF is best for this - with high res graphics and fonts included (I've done the publishing thing before :)). In Scribus, please "Collect for Output" to include images and things, then zip it all up. Perhaps we should use a locking/dating process similar to the PCB development?
Here is the link:
http://www.6speed.org/vems/v3/files/VEMS_v3.doc (Old, deprecated MS Word format)
http://www.vems.hu/files/marketing/vems_v3_brochure.zip (zipped archive in Scribus format with images)
The Keith's picture in the zip is very nice. Too bad it has some of the FETs reversed :-(
Can the Scribus be converted to pdf or jpg for viewing? Yes, PDF is one of the output formats of Scribus. I can not get Scribus to work on Redhat 9 (my install anyway) and don't have the Font that Rich used. :( I have it installed at work though (without the font)
A PDF version, optimsed for web viewing. Not much to see yet though... http://www.vems.hu/files/marketing/vems_v3_brochure.pdf
I used Arial, thinking everyone would have it! I've got the MS TTF core fonts package installed - http://corefonts.sourceforge.net/
Scribus homepage: http://www.scribus.net/
A HowTo site: http://ahnews.music.salford.ac.uk/scribus/documentation/topics.html
I like it. Small correction:
- developed (typo in title!! ) :-)
- we should add something like: not only it is tunable to match any engine, extendable to add new functions, it is more advanced than most of the engine management systems installed in cars on the roads. The Wideband Oxygen sensor allows very precise fuel control, and invaluable help for tuners.
- the board with 4 reversed FETs ....
Target audience
Daniel says- Before any marketing material is produced should we not have a basic marketing plan? At the very least an idea as to the target audience.
We could say that the Genboard 3.x should have an open target. However I doubt that professional race teams will be interested in such a virginal device. In addition some of the FI intellectually inept people wouldn't be a good target as they'll end up taking engineering recourses from development into support. (I think this can be solved by a 2 level support: there are more and more people who can help others installing and configuring the unit, and relieve developers from 98% of the support tasks. Financing is simple: they get money and hardware for this ).
Daniel says: Agreed, and I've started a discussion on SupportStructure to progress this further.
If we say that our audience will be your more technical home tuner, FI mechanics / tuners through to a low end race team then we should produce marketing material that attracts the punter by giving them a taste of what they want and the opportunity to research / contact for more information.
Will a tri-fold work? It most certainly is a good start. Link Electro here in Christchurch (New Zealand) use trifolds to push their ECU and it does tend to ensure that they are well known in the market. (in New Zealand)
I'll try to complete a draft trifold over the next couple of days and post it to the WIKI.
That is if we agree that the target audience is correct?
I agree that in most cases the target audience is very important.
Honestly, in this case I don't see how we should restrict the audience. We could tell what VEMS is (tell the truth about how simple it is to install), and anyone who thinks he'd be able to use it with some help, would be a potential customer finally.
Considerations:
- a certain amount of support should be included: above that should be billed
- before we have nice(ly organized) installation documentation, the professional tuners are more wanted. When we have enough skilled tuners, who are willing to help others (for money), the audience can be broadened to the less skilled.
Daniel says: Marcel I agree with you in concept, however if you want product placement, limiting the amount of support for a product isn't prudent. Get a following for the product, have a moderator take care of the more interesting questions and so long as there is a largish community a majority of the questions will be answered by forum members without Genboard technical contributor intervention.
In regards to your second condideration to a two phased marketing approach I couldn't agree with you more.
If it's agreed that this is a strategy that should be looked into, then I'll certainly draft the pages and post them on my own site for review by members.
See also