Subject: Commodore's Reply
From: David <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 08:43:00 CDT
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.i-amiga

Sorry it took so long:

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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, and 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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