Moto Back in the Saddle Again

It's possible that Motorola could see some gains this quarter as Samsung has failed to deliver updated products for the holiday shopping season, and Motorola, uncharacteristically, did not make the same mistake.

Hello Moto! It's possible that the man from Sun, Ed Zander, has found a way to instill a sense of urgency on the technical and marketing folks at Motorola. We're really not accustomed to accusing Motorola of having 'good timing' with their offerings. I guess something had to change after the company shrunk by half during the last slowdown.

Historically, (speaking as a Motorola alum here) the conventional wisdom, and documented history both show Motorola to be a great engineering company. The flip side of that reputation is that they aren't especially noted for their marketing prowess, but who would be when they get compared to a marketing juggernaut like Intel all the time? Unfortunately, after years of getting beat up by Andy Grove and his cohorts, a kind of fatalism develops. The result is a slew of me-too marketing campaigns like Digital DNA etc. that do nothing but inspire chuckling in your competitors and resignation within the ranks.

Of course, when half of half of you co-workers (and possibly the entire Marketing Department of which I am an Alum) have disappeared, and you have a new boss, it's possible to create something new and forget the malaise of the past. Three cheers for Motorola and the here's hoping for continued success in executing their strategy.