From: Kevin.Vahey@f475.n101.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Kevin Vahey)
Newsgroups: hsv.general
Subject: WP Article
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 92  3:16:00 CDT
Organization: FidoNet node 1:101/475 - Fenway Amiga, Cambridge MA

 * This message forwarded from area 30, Amiga News (AMIGAnet)
 * Original message dated 24 Jul 92  21:21:40, from Fred Layberger 

==========================
amiga.dev/news #54, from jwiede,
7781 chars, Fri Jul 24 16:50:17 1992
--------------------------
TITLE: Commodore asks for help...

Commodore is aware of the activity on computer networks in
response to the "Amiga/Slow Death" article written by Mr. Phillip
Robinson. Commodore wants to assure all you who are concerned
that we are not taking this lightly, and would appreciate your
help in responding to Mr. Robinson and to newspapers who have
reprinted the article. Therefore, we are providing the
information that follows.  It is a version of a correspondence
sent to dealers in market areas where the article has appeared.

All of us at Commodore share your concern about this story.  The
Commodore marketing and communications staff agree that this
story is one-sided, contains several inaccuracies, and does not
communicate the current thrust of our emerging, dynamic and
leading U.S. business presence in multimedia and related
applications.

Specific Actions And An Update

We've had two conversations with Mr. Robinson since his article
first appeared.  We communicated to him all of the reasons why
suggesting that "Amiga is dying a slow death" couldn't be further
from the truth!  We have one additional interview scheduled with
Mr. Robinson next Wednesday (July 29th).  He will be writing a
follow-up article after the interview.  The follow-up article
will appear first in the San Jose Mercury News and then will be
distributed through the Knight Ridder distribution channels to
your local paper.  That process usually takes up to two weeks.

Mr. Robinson reports that the feedback he's currently receiving
from the "Amiga/Slow Death" article is the heaviest he's
experienced in the eight years of doing this column.  He reports
that some of the more virulent negative feedback has included
threats of violence.  We of course do not endorse violent
feedback of any kind.  But you can take constructive steps to
channel your negative reaction to Mr. Robinson's article.

You can help manage the negative public perception Mr. Robinson's
article has created by taking action with your local broadcast
and print media.  Please consider doing the the following:


1)  Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper that ran the
     Robinson article.  Correct the record.  Use some of the
     message points we've provided.  Voice your strong objection
     to the one-sided and ridiculous suggestion that Amiga and
     Commodore have no future.

2)  Send a copy of your letter to the editor directly to Phillip
    Robinson.  His address is P.O. Box 1357, Sausolito, CA  94966
    (as printed in the San Jose Mercury News).

3)  If you wish, voice your opinion to Mr. Robinson by leaving a
    voice-mail message for him at (415) 289-9498.  Do this in the
    next seven days so you have impact on his follow-up article.

Here are the primary message points that Commodore hopes to get
across to Mr. Robinson.  Perhaps you can include some of them in
your letters to the editor:

*   Commodore is a one billion dollar company.

*   There are more that three million Amigas installed worldwide.

*   Phillip Robinson's recent article, which talks about a "slow
    death" for the Amiga, was written with no input from
    Commodore.

*   Commodore is not "killing" the Amiga.  In fact, the company,
    and its developer network, currently are working on several
    enhancements to the Amiga product line.  Significant product
    announcements are planned this Fall at the World of Commodore
    show in Pasadena.

*   Approximately 1000 dealers distribute the Amiga in the United
    States.

*   Commodore recently signed a sole national distribution
    agreement with Merisel, Inc., the world's largest publicly
    held distributor of microcomputer hardware and software
    products.

*   Commodore recently signed a strategic product reseller
    agreement with Digital Equipment Corporation.

*   Commodore, its shareholders, its dealers, its developers, and
    its end-user base continue to have a long-term commitment to
    the Amiga and its future as a multimedia, business and
    consumer microcomputer.

*   Commodore (and the Amiga) is a pioneer in the emerging
     multimedia market.  The company and its independant
    developers actually are helping define multimedia.  Many
    companies say they are "in" multimedia without really knowing
     what that means. Commodore has a strong end-user base
    executing a wide variety of multimedia applications today.

*   Multimedia is not a single market or application.  Multimedia
    is a method of designing and integrating computer technologies
    on a single platform that enables the end-user to input,
    create, manipulate, and output text, graphics, audio and video
    with a single user interface.

*   Commodore is focusing on four key business markets, for
    professional applications, in the United Sates: videography,
    professional training, kiosk information systems, and
    presentation systems.  The company has significant market
    share in each of these business markets.

*   The company recently launched an aggressive marketing and
    advertising campaign to support and increase its leadership
    position in these four key business markets.  In addition,
    Commodore is updating industry trade editors and reporters
    about the company's U.S. business strategy against these four
    key professional markets.

*   Commodore has added new senior management to the consumer side
    of the business.  The company plans to extend current
    strengths of the Amiga into consumer channels with a variety
    of product announcements and new consumer applications during
    the next 12 months.

*   NewTek is a valued developer.  The Video Toaster is a great
    Amiga peripheral.  But the Amiga is much, much more than just
    a power supply for NewTek's Video Toaster.  In fact, to say
    that the Amiga is "just a power supply for the toaster" is a
    totally wrong and misguided depiction of the Amiga.  And,
    NewTek's Video Toaster is dependent on the Amiga's custom
    chip technology.

*   The Amiga offers the best "price/performance" for multimedia
    computing solutions available today.  In addition, the Amiga
    provides "traditional" office computing applications and a
    wide variety of entertainment packages.  The Amiga also
    provides options to read and write MS-DOS and MacIntosh files.

*   This is the most exciting time in the history of Commodore
    and Amiga computing.  The company's visibility in the
    microcomputer industry should increase significantly during
    the next year as new programs, products, strategies and
    applications mature.

Final Thoughts

We are taking specific steps to not only regarding this incident
but also to ensure that we regain more leverage and positive
coverage in the general media and reporting environment going
forward.  To that end, we're planning some specific press events
at both World of Commodore and Fall Comdex.  We've also begun an
intensive telephone contact campaign to strengthen our ongoing
relationships with hundreds of editors, reporters, SN        freelancers
who write about Commodore and the Amiga.  We are committed to
increasing the flow of accurate information to these important and
influential media audiences.

In the meantime, please help us with the impressions precipitated
by the Robinson article; follow through on the recommendations
we've made in this correspondence.

Please consider faxing Mandi Griffies, in our corporate
communications department, copies of any correspondence you
generate on behalf of this effort and report subsequent media
feedback and results directly to her.  Her fax number is (215)
431-9465.  Thank you for your concern and partnership.

P.S. "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
                    -- Mark Twain, 1897


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