For a long time there has been a king sitting atop of the desktop and notebook computer industry, and that king has been Dell. However, over the computer maker has had a relatively rough go at it over the past two years. Much of the trouble can be attributed to their well documented customer service issues, but we also believe a lot of their challenges are based on a formidable competitor who has all of the momentum lately...Apple of course. If you've been following this blog or subscribe to any of our work you are more than familiar with the whole notion of the "iPod effect." The effect came to a head this past fall as more teens and young adults purchased more Apple Macbooks than any other notebook computer brand. Sensing the threat from Apple and other computer makers, Dell is shoring up its service unit and creating marketing programs that could potentially be considered out of character for itself and others in its industry. For example, yesterday at the giant CES trade show in Las Vegas, Michael Dell took the stage to announce a pro-environment initiative where it asks consumers to pay a couple of dollars extra for their computer so they can plant a tree. Now, if they were really, really slick, they would have said, forget having consumers donate the extra $2 or $6 (regardless of how immaterial it is on a $800 or $1000 computer purchase) and just come out and say we're planting a tree in your name (meaning the consumer's). It's a start...For many members of Generation Y, the environment is their BFF and this new initiative from Dell, if marketed smartly, could get many of them talking.
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