In computer news this week, 12/18/2002

Putting the old logo out to pasture, or so much for the saying "Till the cows come home ..."

Gateway computers was one of the many success stories in the rapidly changing pc marketplace. The company was started by a couple college kids, with a loan from their grandmother, and they started selling quality pc's at lower prices than most of their corporate competitors, back around 1986. These were farm kids from South Dakota, and they chose a cow as their company logo. A black and white cow. And there was something about that cow that I loved. I mean, of all the corporate logos - a cow? What a great "in your face!" logo. Sort of like the Apple computer logo.

I know Gateway very well because I was one of their first customers back in 1987 when I started my own business, when I bought at the time a state of the art Gateway computer for $ 4000. Their competition at the time were corporate giants like IBM and Compaq, and a few other now-dead pc startup companies- like Northgate computers. Gateways' pricing at the time was at least 20% lower than their competitors and I was a little nervous about buying a computer from an unknown company. I even checked them out with the local South Dakota better business bureau, and with some other early Gateway customers.

I was very satisified with that Gateway computer, and over the past 15 years I've usually bought a Gateway computer every other year. Up until a few years ago, when they started having problems. As computer industry analysts have pointed out, the ma&pa computer stores have closed down, and the buying channels switched to direct market - also still known as mail order - and computer super stores. But somewhere, someone at the top of Gateway made the decision to open a nationwide chain of computer stores - almost going backwards in time. But the weirdest thing was that you couldn't walk in and buy and take home a Gateway computer at one of their stores - you could look at different models, and pick one out - but then they had to order it for you, and you had to wait weeks to get it.

"Why I could do the same thing on the internet, and buy a Gateway computer online from the comfort of my own home! " you might say, as did millions of other people too. And so Gateway's opening of a chain of computer stores where you couldn't buy and take home a computer became a historic marketing mistake in the history of the pc industry, and Gateways' sales and stock were affected, and they laid off people and cut prices and made other changes in a last ditch attempt to turn things around.

And as it always happens in big corporations - which Gateway had grown to become - that when things go wrong they always look for a scapegoat (In this case a scapecow) - and of course - standing right there in the pasture - was the obvious source of all their marketing problems - that stupid cow logo.

The cow logo which had become a world wide phenomenom, with news stories of gateway cow boxes being spotted near the Great wall of China, and in South American jungles, and on the slopes of Mount Everest. People adored the cow boxes and valued them and displayed them, and Gateway sold thousands of cow tshirts and other cow paraphenalia.

But in the Gateway boardroom - the cow was out, and a new logo was in. When Betty Crocker updated its logo, a Modern Betty appeared. And many American brands who used a person as a logo have updated them to look modern. But how do you update a cow?

A corporate dilemma .... and probably the end of Gateway computers.

When the cow goes, so do I. Dude, I'm buying a Dell this year.

For Raw Bytes, This is Frank Delaney

POB 222 Spangle, Wa 99031 (509)245-3736 624-7230