Hi all, Just a quick note from the Blueridge Elementary computer lab, while the students have their free time (and a much needed chance for me to catch up with this week’s discussion). I just demonstrated to the students how Evernote can instantly upload from a mobile device onto their school’s desktop, also connected to […]
Continue reading My first Mobile-to-SMARTBoard upload Posted in: Uncategorized
As an EVA I was not particularly captivated by the Evernote pitch. While I found the idea of an “external brain” intriguing (being a person with limited space for remembering things) too much was lacking in this short pitch. The presenter started off by immediately identifying himself, CEO Phil Libin and gets straight into the […]
Continue reading Evernote falls ever short on pitch Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
A very average presentation even though the topic was rather interesting. As you mentioned, the presenter lacks confidence and tends to be rushing. I think he needs more time for the presentation. I am not even sure how feasible this venture is as reality doesn’t match up with his rhetoric when one analyses the what is being presented.
Good, original point on the security of info. Keeping information safe as well as protected ownership of material is something very important.
I agree with both you and Everton about the presenter. I am a huge fan of Evernote but his pitch almost turned me off it. This is perhaps a case where the merits of venture outweigh the presenter?
Evernote allows you to save, store, and organize anything from lists and notes to pictures, audio files, and websites. Two of its selling features are that it can run on virtually any Internet-ready device you already own, and that it aids in organization by allowing file labeling and tagging. Another selling feature is that the […]
Continue reading Hello… I’ve Waited Here For You… Evernote Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I agree that the the pitcher passes on a level of trust. I also agree with how your initial enthusiasm is not maintained.
This pitch is end users, not EVA people. It gets the uninitiated interested, in the way that your interests were piqued. However, the more specific things that separate it from its competitors (Livebinders and even OneNote to some extent) require more in-depth comparisons than what a 1 minute pitch can deliver.
I really like how they pitched the mobile device aspect. I’ve been an Evernote user for over a year and it can be useful. It does a good job of indexing and allowing users to search the materials you’ve uploaded, including PDFs. This is one area that OneNote is terrible at.
I think you’re right in your end users vs EVA audience. I think I went through the same transition as a viewer… at first, I liked the idea, but, in the end, if I had to put money into it, I’m not so sure I would.
Hi Doug,
Interesting and correct that you say this pitch is aimed towards end users rather than EVAs. The question is, however, would end users watch this type of pitch? It seems that the pitch, per se, is a business-type of thing that is generally not targeted at general public type end users. So, if this is his target, he should use something more video-like and media rich (like what you see on the website). If the pitch is, by definition, targeted at investors, then why not focus on what they want to hear? Show me the money, right?
Emily
Mcquaid,
I must agree with you about the body language of the presenter. Do you think this was a ploy to remain different? It always amazes me when presenters present their product as if they are appealing to inanimate objects. However, sometimes this is not a reflection of the quality service or product being advertised. It’s just up to the consumer to trust his or her judgement and do his own research before investing or buying.
Hi, Everton.
I don’t think body language was even on his mind. I think Libin was solely focused on two things: showing off the logo and cramming program information into a minute time frame. He did a pretty good job of both, but neglected things like energy and a rationale for why his program solves some hitherto-now unsolved problem.
I think this also reflects that the CEO is not a marketing, “get up in front of everybody” type of person. I suspect that Evernote, like many tech companies, has very few employees and perhaps no one specific as the front person for marketing?
I would agree with you that this CEO is not a “get up in front of everybody” type of person and not everyone is or can be, but I think that this is initial enthusiasm is so important in a position where you only have 1-2 minutes to capture someone’s attention. Of course it is not only this and a pitch must contain many other important things, but if this important information such as problem–> solution, how you will do it, and why it should be done can be pitched with more confidence it is likely to be more successful in that short amount of time.
Hi Mcquaid,
You are right that the pitcher delivered a comprehensive message though I though he only focused on what the product does. I also can relate to what you mentioned about his body language, I though he was a bit nervous. I guess we can assume everyone is their target audience. I initially thought it sounded like a personal digital library and then I thought, “with media cards, my smart phone can do all that” and is right in my hands, I do not have to pay to access the data I put on it. I guess I am saying that it would have been more informative if he had mentioned what they are trying to improve on or compete against .
Hey Ifeoma,
I agree with your post that the pitcher delivered a well-rounded message and that he did limit himself by mainly focusing on what the product does. I believe its important in a short pitch to include as much information as you can, touching all the key parts of what most critiques would like to see addressed.
The two pitches I’d like to deconstruct are Phil Libin’s Evernote and Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col’s winning Pitch This! project Kill Shakespeare. Evernote elevator pitch 2010 Toronto International Film Festival’s Pitch This! Out of all the elevator pitches I have viewed so far, this one seems most likely to take place in an […]
Continue reading Evernote and Kill Shakespeare Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
At first I was a little put off as well by the ‘gateway drug’ comment; okay, maybe not exactly put off, but a little voice saying ‘this isn’t for the classroom’. It wasn’t until I was going back through the criteria for a good pitch that I remembered the audience types. That statement isn’t intended for the learner, but instead the end-user (the teacher). It connects us to a statement that is cliché, but gets the point across.
I liked your analysis of both products. I felt the same about the EverNote presenter– he seemed genuine and confident in his product, like someone that I could trust and seek further information from.
Thanks for the thoughts,
Kristopher
Thank you, Kristopher,
Regardless of how the pitch plays out in the media, I also had to get over my issues over using graphic novels to teach literature. Some of the students I tutor have teachers assigning The Watchmen, Maus and other classic comics for English, and it took a while for me to warm up to the idea of presenting graphic novels to the class. With most other manga editions of Shakespeare, the focus is all on the images, and too much of the text is crammed into speech bubbles, thus making it a pointless way into understanding the play. The creative team on KS took a more thoughtful and engaging route with their design (modeling their character on movie stars they’d cast in their film) and has at least raised my interest in graphic novels in the classroom.
Kyle
As result of Evernote elevation pitch several times, I think your analysis this pitch is very good. I concur with you that wearing the company logo of by Phil is a simple gesture which adds to the experience he is evoking. Good point.
Thanks, Conroy,
It wasn’t until I downloaded EverNote on my iPhone that I realized what the image is: an elephant with part of its ear folded over, like an “earmarked” paper note. Very impressive how much attention to the slightest details went into this project. It would be silly to wear anything but the company logo when pitching to prospective investors.
Kyle
Thanks, Conroy,
It wasn’t until I downloaded EverNote on my iPhone that I realized what the image is: an elephant with part of its ear folded over, like an “earmarked” paper note. Very impressive how much attention to the slightest details went into this project. It would be silly to wear anything but the company logo when pitching to prospective investors.
Kyle
I think I generally agree with your thoughts on Evernote. Like WeBook, I appreciated the fact that he had a logo (and wore it). That gives at least an air or being established and serious. Edufire’s pitch, in front of a world map, did almost nothing for me. I decided in the first second that the pitcher was also a little crazy. While he got better, I couldn’t shake that first impression.
In a classic Simpson’s episode, the town is convinced to buy a monorail by a slick salesman. What distinguishes a good salesperson from a good pitch is a message that is not only persuasive, but is competitive and marketable. This company – Evernote – smartly offers a free basic service (that can be upgraded), employing […]
Continue reading evernote in under 200 words… Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
I have been using Evernote for some time now, and I am a huge fan of the tool, but if I had watched this pitch first, I may never have tried it. For a quick pitch, there should have been a greater effort to catch my attention – having the CEO standing still in front of the camera, speaking a bit too quickly in my view (at times it was not easy to distinguish his words). I would expect this type of pitch to come from a high-school student who has just created his first free-ware assignment in class. Maybe I am being too harsh, but I would not buy his product, let alone invest in it….and like I said, I love his product after all!! How did I learn about it? Word-of-mouth by trusted friends who are also big fans of the product. The idea is great…but I find the pitch far too amateur-ish.
I also find that both the appearance of the presenter and the lack of “visuals” leave me unclear and uninterested about most of the products promoted by these elevator pitches, including this one. I guess the CEO’s Everclear logo t-shirt and clean, non-distracting background are improvements over some of the pitches on Youtube, but I guess I need the motivation of an assignment to listen to any of them twice! Maybe I have “caught” ADHD from my students. Perhaps, if my money was on the line …?
Hi Karen,
I have been noticing the lack of visuals in these pitches as well. It doesn’t seem as though the presenters are taking advantage of what new media has to offer. I keep wondering if this is something that is a key characteristic of elevator pitches (that we are supposed to be focusing on the person face to face). I did a little digging and found the following article that debates the current status of the elevator pitch: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/career-advice/is-the-elevator-pitch-outdated/
Hey! Great link, Emily. It did make me reflect about this whole process, and how sometimes when I’m being a talking head up at the front of the class, the best approach would be an elevator pitch, especially given the short attention spans of my victims, I mean, students.
I’m not a fan of feature lists as pitches. I prefer to hear a story about a problem and how their venture will solve that problem and take advantage of a huge market and competitive barriers to entry to build on their solution. I realize EverNote is a successful app, but I nearly fell asleep during this pitch. No passion about how EverNote can change my life…
I like the clarity that your summary brings, David. I think those key points are at the heart of assignment 3, as well.
You had me at Simpsons. Classic pitch in that episode by Lanley – not sent by the devil (since he was on the level), as he reassured us.
I also thought that the foot-in-the-door marketing strategy was smart. Giving something good away for free that can only get better with a small amount of money is a great form of, well, manipulation. I would have mentioned it as you did, but you did so first and actually knew what to call it (well, I assume that’s what it’s called).
I think, to encourage a bit more interest (if the pitch were a longer venture pitch, perhaps), I would either further develop or promote the compatibility and tagging/organization/searching. I’d like to see some more in the lines of automatic tagging, labeling, and organization. Not everyone is ready for the semantic web yet. If or when we’re all on that train, something like Evernote won’t be as useful. Their time to strike is now!
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Allie 12:31 pm on November 25, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
sweet! i’ve been enjoying using evernote too, mainly as a cloud-based space to deposit thoughts, links and notes.
and since it’s social analytics week how do you think Evernote might use social analytics to enhance its service?