Publicity Is a Big Part of Consumer Communication

Although the bulk of the Treo advertising is controlled by the wireless phone carriers , Handspring has a lot of control over the public relations aspects of communication for the Treo. Handspring believes that this is the most leveraged form of marketing that it has. Publicity was an important part of the initial Treo product launch, and it continues to be a significant part of ongoing communications.

The public relations objective is to get the media to talk about, write about, and review the Treo as often as possible. Handspring often sends the media Treo units so that they can write independent reviews. The company has been very effective in getting to key writers and motivating them to review the device. Part of the reason for this success has been the unique nature of the Treo. That is one of the advantages of a preemptive product.