Swedish TV giant eyes Apple with web campaign
Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT) is hoping to secure a speedy approval of its iPhone application by launching a guerrilla campaign aimed directly at Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
SVT spells out its desire to make the Play video service available to the growing hordes of iPhone owners on the designated website dearstevejobs.com. In a direct appeal to the Apple chief, the broadcaster implores Jobs to take himself to the nearest webcam and approve the app in person:
"We have tried to simplify the approval process as much as possible for you. Just press the green button below and record a video of yourself saying "JA" (that’s "yes" in Swedish, pronounced "yah").
"Come on, Steve, Sweden is waiting. Say JA!"
With some 100,000 visitors already registering their support for the app's approval on the one-day-old website, SVT is hopeful that the Apple founder will quickly heed the Swedish call.
"I'm optimistic, and I imagine Steve Jobs sees the humour in it. It is after all good exposure for his company as well as ours," SVT director of communications Helga Baagøe told The Local.
To further help expedite the process, SVT has flown over three lobbyists to stand outside Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California wearing traditional Swedish costumes. Far from the rigours of the Swedish winter, SVT's envoys bear placards urging Jobs to "Hurry up and approve the SVT Play apps".
"Our people will stand there as long as they need to," said Baagøe, adding that the Swedish invasion had not come entirely unannounced.
"We got in touch with Apple in Sweden a couple of days before the launch and they understood that this was a guerrilla marketing campaign with a lot of warmth and humour."
Apple's flagship mobile phone has made massive inroads into the Swedish market in recent months, with more than 300,000 handsets already sold.
"Obviously this is a platform we need to take seriously. SVT Play is already available on most other mobile platforms and as a public service broadcaster it's important for us not to exclude anybody," said Baagøe.
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SVT spells out its desire to make the Play video service available to the growing hordes of iPhone owners on the designated website dearstevejobs.com. In a direct appeal to the Apple chief, the broadcaster implores Jobs to take himself to the nearest webcam and approve the app in person:
"We have tried to simplify the approval process as much as possible for you. Just press the green button below and record a video of yourself saying "JA" (that’s "yes" in Swedish, pronounced "yah").
"Come on, Steve, Sweden is waiting. Say JA!"
With some 100,000 visitors already registering their support for the app's approval on the one-day-old website, SVT is hopeful that the Apple founder will quickly heed the Swedish call.
"I'm optimistic, and I imagine Steve Jobs sees the humour in it. It is after all good exposure for his company as well as ours," SVT director of communications Helga Baagøe told The Local.
To further help expedite the process, SVT has flown over three lobbyists to stand outside Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California wearing traditional Swedish costumes. Far from the rigours of the Swedish winter, SVT's envoys bear placards urging Jobs to "Hurry up and approve the SVT Play apps".
"Our people will stand there as long as they need to," said Baagøe, adding that the Swedish invasion had not come entirely unannounced.
"We got in touch with Apple in Sweden a couple of days before the launch and they understood that this was a guerrilla marketing campaign with a lot of warmth and humour."
Apple's flagship mobile phone has made massive inroads into the Swedish market in recent months, with more than 300,000 handsets already sold.
"Obviously this is a platform we need to take seriously. SVT Play is already available on most other mobile platforms and as a public service broadcaster it's important for us not to exclude anybody," said Baagøe.
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