[Mageia-dev] Identifying Target Markets

Thu Sep 30 21:50:42 CEST 2010

On Friday 01 Oct 2010 02:04:26 Marc Paré wrote:
+> Le 2010-09-30 07:21, Graham Lauder a écrit :
+> > A group of the marketing and communication peoples got together to get
+> > our heads around Vision and  Mission Statement.  Everyone brainstormed
+> > what they saw as the core values of Mageia to give a direction that the
+> > Projects Vision and mission statement could head.
+> > 
+> > The reasoning behind this is it points a figurative arrow at our  primary
+> > target market and thus gives us a guide toward where our branding should
+> > be aimed.
+> > 
+> > A mistake that is often made is branding from an internal aesthetic when
+> > in fact branding should be more aimed externally to attract a new
+> > demographic. If the gods are in alignment then ideally it should point
+> > toward our principle point of difference and again this influences our
+> > branding choices in terms of Colour Pallet Logo and so forth.
+> > 
+> > The "feel" to me that came from the brainstorming was that Mageia could
+> > be marketed as the "Family Distro".   This being a principle point of
+> > difference when a user makes a decision as to what operating system to
+> > run.
+> > 
+> > Our principle competitor, MS competes against the Linux universe as a
+> > whole but other distros compete for the MS user base aimed at particular
+> > Demographics. For instance:
+> > OpenSUSE aims at the "Power User" Market
+> > Ubuntu aims at the young individual end of the market
+> > CentOS at Community enterprise and Not For Profits
+> > Fedora at the Computing Professional
+> > 
+> > Mageia could therefore aim at the Young Married professional market,
+> > being the Distro that could be installed on the home computer and geared
+> > so that the whole family could use it.
+> > 
+> > So for instance as well as the standard software, educational programmes
+> > would be installed by default, be NetSafe (Dans Guardian), have OOo4Kids
+> > installed as well as a full office suite, Tuxtype, TuxPaint and so on.
+> > 
+> > Documentation added to show parents how to set up accounts for the kids
+> > and how to make it Net safe.
+> > 
+> > I think that this is an untapped market right now and something that the
+> > project could leverage into a marketing campaign and guide us in terms of
+> > branding.
+> > 
+> > Comments?
+> > 
+> > Cheers
+> > GL
+> 
+> I think that if you target the software packages that are compatible
+> with Educational software advocated by educational organizations, we
+> could make quite large inroads in the adaptability of Mageia.For
+> example, when marketing the OS, emphasis on the distro that can carry
+> your kids through their educational paths with such packages as
+> OpenOffice (soon to be LibreOffice -- make sure the MSWorks plug-in is
+> also included) compatible with MSOffice; GIMP similar to Photoshop and
+> some plugins are compatible; Freemind mindmapping; etc. If Mageia
+> concentrated on making these software packages work solidly then you
+> could have a good run at competing with other linux distros in the
+> educational field.
+
+Indeed, that's why I suggest OOo4Kids.  The go-oo.org version is pretty much 
+essential right now because of it's GoogleDocs/Zoho integration.  Schools are 
+using the cloud as an educational tool more and more. 
+
+> 
+> BTW, in Canada, many school boards still use the Novel Netware setups
+> and they are just now in the midst of planning out its replacement. My
+> school board for example will have to replace close to 10,000 units if
+> they were to move to a Linux setup. I sat in on a meeting about 5 years
+> ago to hear out a RehHat re-seller's pitch. Most school boards are
+> almost at the break point and will be actively looking for new
+> networking/desktop solutions.
+
+Common all over the world and if the school can see that the software used at 
+school is as friendly on the home computer...
+
+> 
+> So, compatibility with educational software. The distro should also be
+> an easy install for everyone and GUI run. If we are going to make it and
+> contend with other distros, the majority of users want a GUI run install
+> where everything works right away. There should be as little fiddling
+> around as possible. Install (15-20 minutes), then, register user
+> accounts, shares for accounts, re-name the computer to instill a sense
+> of ownership to the user (rather than having your computer called
+> "localhost" all the time, and then you are done! (Cups and 3d should be
+> installed automatically during the install phase). Make the install as
+> easy as possible.
+
+When I started using Linux (Mandrake was my first distro and the reason I 
+abandoned Windows) MCC to me, a nongeek, was the killer app.  OpenSuSE's Yast 
+is/was the only real competition.  The ability to administer everything from a 
+GUI is killer for the Ex-windows user.
+
+> 
+> The next is a distro with games and solid multi-player game setups that
+> work. Get the distro to play nice with WOW and other popular games. This
+> will kill the competition and grab kids attention. Have a Mageia games
+> advocate(s) who periodically send out "snazzy" e-newsletters and a
+> "Magei Games Korner" on the website to foster gamesmanship on the
+> distro. Get the kids talking about the "rock-solid" install of WOW (for
+> example) using Wine -- the distro should come "hard wired" to play! and
+> rock!
+
+The critical thing about aiming at a family market is that you are not aiming 
+at Kids.  The target in this market is Mum, she is the power here, the rest of 
+the family follow along meekly. 
+
+
+> 
+> Have a great advocacy group that will stand up to Mageia bashing and
+> hand out comparative studies on the distro's performance and keep the
+> name in the headlines with such sites as LinuxToday.com. Be proactive
+> rather reactive to Linux possibilities of use where it can rationalized
+> as a good replacement desktop distro.
+
+What we have to do is replace the Linux=Ubuntu with Mageia instead of Windows.  
+Linux has already been sold to those who fill the market that needs to know 
+about that, let Ubuntu have that space.  What I would like to see is a 
+decision making process that goes Windows or Mac or Mageia.
+
+> 
+> Sorry for the long note.
+
+A long note is only long when it doesn't say anything, this ain't long, many 
+thanks for your input Marc
+
+> 
+> Cheers
+> 
+> Marc
+> 
+
+Cheers
+GL
+
+-- 
+Graham Lauder,
+OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ
+http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html
+
+OpenOffice.org Migration and training Consultant.
+
+INGOTs Assessor Trainer
+(International Grades in Open Technologies)
+www.theingots.org
+