[ez] Re: [EuroPython] Promotion of Zope in Europe

[Paul Everitt]

Olivier Deckmyn wrote:
> Hi Nicolas,
> 
> I am happy to see that I am not the only one to have such ideas ;-)
> 
> We have 3 ideas to promote Zope :
> 
> 1/ Zope Pavillion :
> On each major exhibit we should buy a big pavillion where each suscribing
> company could have its booth. I am sure that Zope Corp would send us someone
> for major exhibits. This pavillion would be "Zope Pavillion". It would be
> huge ; like the one that "Oracle solutions providers" have at major exhibit
> (well...may be not as big !)
> We (IngeniWeb) were at ComDex Paris (Online 2002) last week, and a _lot_ of
> people were attracted by our solutions and by the Zope flag. Ask Paul.

Yep, ask me.  Olivier is right.  I was in the booth with him for 2 days. 
  Even though this was a mainstream, selling-oriented conference (vs. 
LinuxExpo), there was clear interest.  IngeniWeb really did a good job 
of connecting with the audience and getting the point across.

However, IngeniWeb by itself can't justify the expense of a major 
presence.  The kind of presence where mainstream people (customers and 
journalists) feel comfortable and convinced about the viability of a 
particular technology choice.  The kind of presence that is distinctive 
and memorable.

In general trade shows are problematic.  They are expensive and the 
output is sometimes vague.  But I think that Zope and Python are at the 
point a single, concerted effort can pay dividends (and also lead to 
quality sales prospects).

> 2/ Paper ads :
> Buy magazine ads. This is only a country-wide solution. Zope Solution
> Providers should buy a full page with an ad for Zope together, with a list
> of their logo/name/url at the bottom of the page.

While each spot is country-specific, the campaign could be coordinated 
across a series of months.

Again, ad purchasing has fallen into disrepute.  However, whenever the 
conventional wisdom is unanimous on something, it always makes me think 
there's an opportunity. :^)

Right now ad sales have hit the bottom.  Which means they're as cheap as 
they are ever going to be.  You could probably buy all the ads in Linux 
Magazine now for the price of a half page ad two years ago.

There are ideas for making the ad campaign more effective, such as a 
limited-time promotion of t-shirt giveaway, free web space, etc.  I'm 
sure others can concoct some better ideas.

> 3/ Banners :
> Buy Internet ads. The banner, zope-centric would redirect to a page where
> subscribing companies would have a short summary of their solutions and a
> link.

If paper ad prices have hit rock bottom, then banner ads are in the 
basement. :^)

> I have no "free" solution : participating ZSPs have to give money to be
> there.
> 
> On each solution, all ZSPs have to take part of the game. One need to have a
> Zope centric organiser. This could be EuroZope. This could be
> something/somebody else. The most important thing is that it(he) must be
> Zope centric, not "vendor" centric.
> 
> ZSPs have to understand they have to work together to get a bigger market.

This is the most important point.  Other ZSPs as competitors isn't the 
real issue.  Dramatically growing the market potential is more 
important.  And no ZSP (ZC included) can do this single-handedly.

> All this should make Zope 10x bigger.

Mmm, yummy. :^)

--Paul