Flotsam and Jetsam #67

By Nick at October 20, 2012 09:12
Filed Under: Flotsam and Jetsam, Delphi, Software Development

For those of you who still cling to the archaic notion that “Delphi Marketing Sucks”, you should know that I can’t go anywhere on the internet without seeing an add for RAD Studio XE3. One of the things I appreciate about Google Adsense is that it knows the kinds of ads I want to see and what I am interested. And it has very astutely determined that I like Delphi. And Embarcadero marketing has very astutely provided ads to let me know that RAD Studio XE3 exists and that I can buy it. That’s what marketing is all about.
How have I managed to miss this page of cool stuff all these years -- Delphi Inspiration? I’m particularly intrigued by the Delphi pre-processor.
Cool Thing Built With Delphi of the Week: dbConstructor
A bunch of you have ordered Delphi XE3 from me. I am very grateful. Thanks. It's a great release -- I'm really enjoying using all the cool new language and RTL features, and I think you should too.

Comments (18)

10/20/2012 10:04:07 AM #

Agreed one day the EMB Marketing will have influenced the product deeply - listbox1.items.ad();) AddSense maybe better than Adsense. Strange world we are living in.

The most cool thing built with Delphi is the spring framework still.

Bunny |

10/20/2012 10:13:09 AM #

It's great that Embarcadero tells people who know about Delphi that XE3 is out (sometimes even to those who already have upgraded to XE3), but it might be even more welcome to reach out to the people who are not yet Delphi developers... (and maybe they do, but I still meet a lot of people who have no clue what Delphi it all about nowadays, and who have not seen a single Delphi ad in the past decade).

Bob Swart |

10/26/2012 12:50:19 PM #

Even if you are a Delphi user, like I'm a Delphi user maybe you don't see an ad. My google profile is not (or at most barely/likely) linked to Delphi stuff, so I can't remember the last time I saw any Delphi ad outside a Delphi blog.

EMB |

10/20/2012 12:33:27 PM #

I have noticed this too, though for C++ Builder XE3. I don't know how effective this is going to be, since a lot of shops use free tools these days, but we'll see.

I miss Delphi, a lot. Haven't used it to pay the bills in over a year and a half now, and I made the decision a few months ago not to do any software development on my own, in order to make time for reading and creative writing. So my copy of RadStudio XE2 sits unused on my hard drive. I loved Delphi, but it was just too risky to base a career on, and I don't do hobby programming anymore.

Regarding Delphi, I feel like I've said goodbye to a dear old friend.

John Jacobson |

10/20/2012 3:19:29 PM #

Don't all those Google ads say more about Google's targeted ad capability than Embarcadero's marketing? Google knows you're into Delphi, so it gives you ads for Delphi. (And largely wasted ones, since you (I assume) already have the latest version.)

Good marketing would be if it was feeding the Delphi ads to programmers who are not currently Delphi developers but could be induced to pick up the language. ;)

Mason Wheeler |

10/20/2012 5:06:45 PM #

Marketing needs to communicate with existing customers. Existing customers need to know that XE3 exists and that they can buy it.

Your first responsibility is to communicate with existing customers.

Beside, how do you know that the ads aren't being shown to non-customers?

Nick Hodges |

10/20/2012 6:39:24 PM #

If you were Austrian your reply would be a sarcastic one.

Marketing is not about existing customers only. The profit a company does make with the new licenses usually. Maybe @EMB Marketing is defined the way you described. Stakeholders count too... - It seems to be hard to reach existing Delphi developers.

EMB simply have no other option at the moment. It does make sense to bundle heart drops with Delphi. Both are good for software developers and EMB does a chance that the developer will survive another year in order to upgrade.

10/21/2012 10:23:58 AM #

I didn't say that Marketing was *only* about existing customers. I said that the first responsibility to cater to existing customers.

10/22/2012 3:35:15 PM #

Ok. Accepted. Of course EMB need to communicate with existing customers. From this perspective EMB is doing a good job, imo. Sometimes I think, it is easier to reach a prospective Delphi developer than existing ones. 'Reach' meaning

10/22/2012 3:36:55 PM #

'Reach' meaning attracting them to new ideas.

10/26/2012 12:59:11 PM #

I need people to do not confuse me with EMBT.

10/20/2012 6:07:06 PM #

I have a suggestion. In the online store - put the version with lower price on top. Otherwise people maybe think Embarcadero is an auto salon/car show. In general the store is attractive and the implementation seems solid.

The RAD Studio ads are everywhere. Strongly dependent on the emails, if you use a google mail account. The moment I write another product name into an email or company name their ads appear.

10/20/2012 6:51:06 PM #

Yeah. I bought XE3. As soon as it was out. Purely for 2 bug fixes but anyways I getting their emails asking me to buy one every other day.

Kostya |

10/20/2012 6:55:21 PM #

Nick Hodges wrote:
"...For those of you who still cling to the archaic notion that “Delphi Marketing Sucks”...". Everything is being judged by the end result. When I see Delphi having some REAL market share then you can tell that it does not suck. Until then ...

10/21/2012 8:42:42 AM #

How many a bunch contains?

vrv |

10/21/2012 9:39:39 AM #

vrv --

A "bunch" would be "enough to make me happy with the money I've made".

10/21/2012 2:45:06 PM #

Hmm. Since I use FireFox with AdBlock+ I don't see many ads when surfing the net. So I missed also this one. But generally I'm not sad to miss the ads...

Klaus |

10/23/2012 11:13:53 PM #

Inn the good old days you put an ad in Dr. Dobbs Journal if you wanted to get seen by the wider developer community. Now there's really no centralized place, other than the Google adsense network that you could use. That Embarcadero is paying for these Google ads is a VERY good sign indeed, and it shows they are on the ball about marketing.

The inevitable results are that all of us who blog about Delphi will see a lot of them. And at $0.05 a showing, it's not killing Embarcadero that existing customers (who may not have bought Software Assurance) may find out about, and may buy an upgrade. I'll wager that's 10x more motivation than new sales are, for the google ads.

So I'm agreeing with Nick, basically.

W

Warren Postma |

Nick Hodges

A man's got to know his limitations

Flotsam and Jetsam #67

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Flotsam and Jetsam #67

Comments (18) -

Stuff You Can Find Here

A Pithy Quote for You

Good Code

Fun Places to Go

Amazon Gift Cards

General Disclaimer

Month List

Nick on the Intertubes

Little Buttons and Stuff

Category list