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The power of celebrity endorsement at work. This isn't to say that had this app been built without any connection to Tom Hanks it wouldn't have found an audienc

by olefoo 12y ago

The power of celebrity endorsement at work. This isn't to say that had this app been built without any connection to Tom Hanks it wouldn't have found an audience, but this way it starts with a much bigger audience than it would have had on it's own. Now, nobody needs a typewriter styled text editor on their iPad, but we can all imagine Forrest Gump tapping out the first draft of his story on a manual Remington typewriter. And that inspires the desire for an app like this. It's the power of the story you tell about your product, and celebrities tend to be expert storytellers.

mind_heist 12y ago
Well , Tom Hanks being associated with the App definitely drove a lot of traffic to it. But would you consider this as an endorsement ? Like Britney spears endorsing Pepsi ,where you arent involved in any of the development process and simply show up in an Ad ? Looks like this is an App that Tom Hanks wanted to make himself out of his love for old and archaic Typewriters* , did not have CS Skills for it , hired an agency and got it done! ( some other articles do mention that he owned a personal collection of vintage typewriters) Definitely more than an endorsement , but yeah the app has a celebrity appeal to it ( like how Super Copters would now get a lot of press , just because its from Flappy Bird's Dev ) . A fair amount of effort is involved in building one's brand before things you do gain automatic traction.
viggity 12y ago
A buddy of mine was in a non-yc accelerator. One of the questions/goals they had for him was to find his ideal celebrity investor. It's so simple and effective at generating PR (and a little investment cash), I was disappointed I never had thought about it that way before. Not necessarily easy to do if you don't have the right momentum, but effective if you can pull it off.
- mind_heist 12y ago
  Interesting ! But celebrity investment doesn't guarantee anything apart from a lot of initial press and traction,do they ? Those startups continue are vulnerable to the same failures like any other. Ashton Kutcher invested in the social flirting app which failed to take off , Leonardo Di Caprio invested in Mobli (which isn't big right now either) and a few others. If there is no alignment of the celebrity's existing brand & image to the startup they invest in , the value seems to be strictly initial publicity.

by olefoo 12y ago

mind_heist 12y ago

Well , Tom Hanks being associated with the App definitely drove a lot of traffic to it. But would you consider this as an endorsement ? Like Britney spears endorsing Pepsi ,where you arent involved in any of the development process and simply show up in an Ad ? Looks like this is an App that Tom Hanks wanted to make himself out of his love for old and archaic Typewriters* , did not have CS Skills for it , hired an agency and got it done! ( some other articles do mention that he owned a personal collection of vintage typewriters) Definitely more than an endorsement , but yeah the app has a celebrity appeal to it ( like how Super Copters would now get a lot of press , just because its from Flappy Bird's Dev ) . A fair amount of effort is involved in building one's brand before things you do gain automatic traction.

viggity 12y ago

A buddy of mine was in a non-yc accelerator. One of the questions/goals they had for him was to find his ideal celebrity investor. It's so simple and effective at generating PR (and a little investment cash), I was disappointed I never had thought about it that way before. Not necessarily easy to do if you don't have the right momentum, but effective if you can pull it off.

mind_heist 12y ago
Interesting ! But celebrity investment doesn't guarantee anything apart from a lot of initial press and traction,do they ? Those startups continue are vulnerable to the same failures like any other. Ashton Kutcher invested in the social flirting app which failed to take off , Leonardo Di Caprio invested in Mobli (which isn't big right now either) and a few others. If there is no alignment of the celebrity's existing brand & image to the startup they invest in , the value seems to be strictly initial publicity.