Either the German company Smartbook are very stupid. Or very clever. Or very stupid.

Until today I would have probably never used the word ‘Smartbook‘ in my blog or it’s lowercase neighbour. Let me explain. In the recent past people have been referring to devices that are somewhere between smartphones and netbooks as ’smartbooks’. First Smartbook defended their trademarked name by preventing other companies they compete with using it as a generic term. Resonable and understandable. But now they have decided to go after bloggers and the press too.

Stupid? If they are just doing this because they think they should and it is their right then they are stupid for not thinking through the consequences. The bloggers and the press are the people that will recommend or trash their products, or just fail to give them any column inches or bandwidth at all. They need these people to plug their product. Going after them and trying to take them to court is really a very foolish move. If this isn’t a ‘clever’ marketing trick then they are just plain idiotic.

Clever? If it is a ‘clever’ marketing trick they know it will get more headlines and more blogs about their product than they would by just putting products out there (e.g. I would have never mentioned them if it wasn’t for this). By being controversial and downright idiotic they are getting people talking about their company. More exposure means more people might know that Smartbook exists and check out their products.

Stupid? Or will it. That’s a very short term strategy, if it is a strategy at all. Once this media furore blows over they have damaged relationships with media companies and bloggers alike. They are going to have to work a damn sight harder to get positive reviews. Not to mention the damage to sales, people are very much driven by emotion and it’s much harder to be persuaded to part with the big bucks if you think you’re lining the pockets of the idiotic and power crazy people that run the company. If you are a power crazed idiotic individual it’s best not to shout about it, stay quiet and let your product talk for you (unless you are Michael O’Leary who seems to get away with it by offering stupidly cheap flights. I digress…)

If this is meant to be a clever and planned strategy it’s not a risk I would ever recommend taking. Bad publicity for short term hype is a huge gamble if you’re a company planning to be around for the long haul. As I suspect that this is meant to be a ‘clever’ marketing trick I’d suggest they sack their marketing director. Go find someone with the vision and ingenuity to come up with something that will get people talking, blogging and writing headlines without potentially causing long term damage. Apple do it all the time.

Thanks to Geek & Poke for making me giggle and then directing me towards Tech Crunch so I could get on my high horse to write this blog (on a Macbook not a Smartbook)