SAN DIEGO, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Gateway CEO Jeff Weitzen leads a media
conference call today, discussing and answering questions about Gateway's
initiative to improve America's relationship with technology. Highlights of
the grassroots, community-by-community effort include:
-- Free weekly clinics on computer technology in all 290 Gateway Country
stores nationwide
-- "Ask-a-Tech" sessions in all stores, free of charge
-- A newly formed team of local Gateway Technology Ambassadors
-- Training classes providing even more learning opportunities
-- A new advertising effort to create awareness of these resources
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
TIME: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
AUGUST 1, 2000
DIAL-IN NUMBER: (800) 633-8620
PARTICIPANTS: JEFF WEITZEN, GATEWAY CEO
CLIFF HOLTZ, GATEWAY SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GATEWAY
CONSUMER
SUBJECT: GATEWAY'S EFFORT TO IMPROVE AMERICA'S RELATIONSHIP
WITH TECHNOLOGY
B-roll highlighting this initiative is available today at the
following times:
10:30 - 10:45 AM EDT Ku BAND TELSTAR 5, TRANSPONDER 25
C BAND GALAXY 11, TRANSPONDER 8
1:30 - 1:45 PM EDT Ku BAND TELSTAR 5, TRANSPONDER 25
C BAND TELSTAR 5, TRANSPONDER 7
For more information, please contact Gateway Media Relations at:
Greg Lund, 858-799-2512, or Tyson Heyn, 858-799-2587.
Gateway Launches Unprecedented Effort to Change America's
Relationship with Technology
Gateway Country Stores Lead Charge
To Replace Frustration with Know-How
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Gateway Inc. (NYSE: GTW) today launches
a massive, grassroots initiative to unlock the power of unused technology and
help consumers and businesses get more real-world use -- and less frustration
-- out of technology.
The company's 290 Gateway Country stores will lead the charge in a
community-by-community effort to teach people how to get more out of their PC,
whether it's a Gateway system or any other brand, with new offerings
including:
-- Free weekly clinics in all Gateway Country stores
-- "Ask-a-Tech" sessions in all stores free of charge
-- A newly formed team of local Gateway Technology Ambassadors
-- Training classes providing even more learning opportunities
-- A new advertising effort to create awareness of these resources.
In a recent national survey commissioned by Gateway, 69 percent of PC
owners said they're not using their PC's full potential -- and only 32 percent
said they know what their PC's full potential is. Only 15 percent of PC
owners said they believe that PCs and technology products deliver on
everything they promise.
"We think it's overdue that someone in the technology industry take the
time to show people how technology advancements can benefit their lives and
businesses in practical ways," said Gateway CEO Jeff Weitzen. "So we're
launching a comprehensive initiative to do just that, with our Gateway Country
stores serving as technology community centers and providing a range of
training options -- many free of charge -- to start demystifying technology
for people. It's not about selling more products, but about helping people
get more out of the technology products they already own -- whether or not
they're Gateway products."
Gateway's initiatives to address the "technology overload" issue include:
-- Free weekly clinics in all of its 290 Gateway Country stores, teaching
customers everything from PC and Internet basics to digital
photography, digital music, online investing and business network
planning.
-- An "Ask-a-Tech" program in each store to make technicians available
once a week to provide free guidance, answer questions and analyze
problems.
-- A developing network of Gateway Technology Ambassadors whose sole
mission is to provide localized outreach to community groups and help
demystify technology with free mobile clinics, in-store advice
sessions and other activities tailored to their needs.
-- Additional training offerings, leveraging Gateway's 5,000 training
seats in Gateway Country stores nationwide and expertise as America's
leading provider of non-vocational technology training.
Gateway is announcing the effort with new advertising. The campaign's
objective is to create awareness of the possibilities available to people that
can be accessed with a little training and guidance from an expert.
Television commercials will start to air the week of August 6, in addition to
newspaper, radio and outdoor advertising. In Gateway Country stores, new
point-of-sale advertising also will appear the week of August 6.
The initiative will continue to unfold in the fall and winter when Gateway
will introduce new capabilities, training offerings and events designed to
help people get more out of technology.
About Gateway
Gateway (NYSE: GTW), a Fortune 250 company founded in 1985, focuses on
building lifelong relationships with consumers and businesses through complete
technology personalization. Gateway ranked number one in U.S. consumer PC
revenue in 1999(1) and was rated among the top ten best corporate reputations
in America according to a survey conducted in August of 1999 by Harris
Interactive and the Reputation Institute and published in The Wall Street
Journal. Gateway employees worldwide provide clients with services and
built-to-order computers that consistently win top awards from leading
industry publications. Gateway had total global revenue of $8.65 billion in
1999 and shipped 4.68 million systems. For more information, visit our Web
site at http://www.gateway.com
(1) According to GartnerGroup/Dataquest US PC Quarterly statistics.
Possibilities Gap: How Americans Really Use Technology
Gateway Research Highlights
Background
Between July 14 and July 17, 2000, Gateway commissioned a nationwide,
anonymous telephone survey to be conducted by Alliance Research of Cincinnati,
Ohio. A randomly selected, nationally projectable sample of 750 Americans
(both PC owners and non-owners) were asked a series of questions about their
technology usage and its impact on their lives.
Key Findings
Americans are not using the full potential of their PCs.
-- 69% of PC owners feel they are not using their PC's full potential.
-- Only 32% of PC owners indicate they know what their PC's full
potential is.
-- On average, PC owners say they are using less than half (44%) of their
PC's capabilities.
A significant gap exists between what activities PC owners are aware they
can do with their PCs, and what they're actually doing with them.
-- Beyond more "basic" PC activities (E-mail, games, and Internet usage),
a significant differential exists between the PC activities people are
aware of and those in which they're actually participating. Some
examples:
Activity Awareness Actual Usage
Children's education 83% 39%
Online shopping 78% 45%
Online purchasing 77% 40%
Downloading music 78% 35%
Digital photography 72% 27%
Online banking 71% 24%
Personal finances 70% 32%
Online investing 65% 18%
Editing videos 49% 11%
PC owners appear cynical about the technology industry's performance in
creating realistic expectations for its products.
-- Only 15% of PC owners believe that technology products deliver on
everything they promise.
-- Only 41% of PC owners agree with the statement that "technology
products often live up to my expectations."
PC manufacturers and retailers lack credibility as training resources. By
a wide margin, people seeking technology training and guidance tend to avoid
the "technology establishment," relying instead on themselves or
acquaintances.
-- When asked where they go for assistance when looking for training and
guidance for PCs and other technology products, PC owners were most
likely to consult family members, friends or co-workers (78%) or learn
on their own (68%).
-- Fewer PC owners said they consider training classes in their local
area (40%), the place where they purchased the product (33%) or from a
PC vendor (21%).
However, the Gateway brand and its ability to deliver training through
local stores are attractive to PC owners and non-owners alike.
-- Respondents said that if they were to look to a PC manufacturer for
technology assistance, Gateway was the manufacturer most often cited.
-- "Training classes at a local store" was the technology assistance
channel preferred by PC owners (36%) and non-owners (42%) seeking such
assistance.
PC owners' complaints about PCs focus primarily on the gap between product
capabilities and their own ability to fully utilize them.
-- Asked what complaints they have about PCs and technology products, PC
owners cited the following (Note: multiple responses allowed):
"Not enough training on how to use" 44%
"Not enough tech support available" 44%
"Technology is advancing too quickly
for me to keep up" 43%
"Too complicated" 37%
"Don't have time to learn" 34%
-- Asked to name their single primary complaint about PCs and technology
products, the top response was "Technology is advancing too quickly
for me to keep up."
SOURCE Gateway Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.gateway.com
CONTACT:
Brad Williams, 858-799-2511,
brad.williams@gateway.com, or Greg Lund, 858-799-2512,
greg.lund@gateway.com, both of Gateway Inc.
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