The Tension Between Marketing and Reviewers

Not much to say about this article aside from it being a good read.  As hardware reviewers we are tasked with the challenge to be objective, fair, and knowledgeable.  Being creative with the ability to put words together also helps. Loyd Case helps shed a little light on why reviews are important and why we often hear conflicting stories from rival companies.

It’s not overt brainwashing, but the goal is the same: co-opt reviewers’ hearts and minds.

Reviewers are different from ordinary consumers, particularly experienced reviewers. When you’ve seen a bazillion products in a category, it’s easy to become jaded about the next release. The way around that, of course, is to put yourself into the mindset of the person who’s going to shell out tens, hundreds or thousands of dollars of real money.

There are actually 2 kinds of reviewers out there, supported and unsupported.  Most of your high dollar sites will get mfg support in the form of product and "from the source" marketing material that, if anything, helps provide the reviewer the technical details that are otherwise unavailable.

The unsupported sites are generally smaller and either have to beg for product or buy it themselves with the sole purpose of doing a review for the site.  These sites will usually have the product well after launch, and in some cases will be less biased than a supported site.

Which one is better??  All depends on what you are after.  Ninjalane.com is actually a little of both, we are fully supported by several mfgs, however, sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get tangible samples. We try to remove bias from our reviews but there are several occasions that we inject out opinion based on how "we" view the particular product.

Related Web URL: http://www.improbableinsights.com/2010/12/06/the-t...