Norwegian PR award for Opera Mini launch on the iPhone

November 5, 2010 · by Haavard

Opera Software just received the Norwegian PR award "Gullkornet" for the Opera Mini launch on the iPhone earlier this year.

The jury had this to say:

In this year's product profiling we find a typical David vs. Goliath-case, where a small player succeeds in exerting pressure the big one - something a lot of people thought to be impossible. This is a well-integrated campaign, where the activities are coordinated towards the same, large objective.
The winner of the product profiling of the year can show impressive and measurable results.
We are talking about a successful, Norwegian project on an international arena. Clever and creative thinking - very good visibility - and even with a big budget, it's not that much considering the major markets that were to be affected.

It's nice to receive some recognition at home, and the fact is that the coverage of the release of Opera Mini on the iPhone was amazing. The YouTube video got nearly one million views, and that was before the actual launch!

I still can't believe this. And people kept using it too, our numbers show. Luckily, our experience with proxy browsers allowed us to keep the servers running nicely.

Since we don't have the vast resources (or unlimited advertising opportunities) of the likes of Google, we have to be clever about the way we do things. And while we do regular ads, we also do things that may not be as obvious, but which still is advertising such as videos about potatoes, or creating hype around products (like Opera Mini for the iPhone).

So if you thought we weren't doing a lot of marketing or advertising, you either didn't see it, or you saw it but didn't realize what you were looking at.

Readers' comments 10

Left under the original article, as archived.

Anton DiazFriday, November 5, 2010 2:36:12 PM
However, don't relax. Need more marketing. MOOAAAR!)
d4rkn1ghtFriday, November 5, 2010 2:52:27 PM
Charles SchlossFriday, November 5, 2010 3:22:11 PM
http://files.myopera.com/Tamil/Smilies/Applause.gif -
Cutting SpoonFriday, November 5, 2010 5:06:35 PM
SOLID. Driving enough impetus to ensure the product could not be denied on any SOLID legal ground, having girls at the airport and many private demonstrations, the execution of Opera's push to iOS was excellent. And with some of the hi-def feature improvements in Mini's core, it will be a treat on iPad.
vipin kumarFriday, November 5, 2010 5:41:56 PM
Top charts

Potatoes

David vs Goliath

Reddit

Over all
Pål Unanue-ZahlFriday, November 5, 2010 8:25:17 PM
The "big budget" was tounge-in-cheek...
Rafael LuikWednesday, November 10, 2010 4:55:20 PM
Ok take a look at this guys, I don't know how to answer:

But if the device did not violate the policies, and did not run any interpreted code, what pressure did it exert on Apple? Surely it would have been approved regardless of the PR campaign, which means that it was much ado about nothing.
http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2010/11/06/opera_feted_for_apple_iphone_play/#c_907262
ChirpieThursday, November 11, 2010 6:36:28 AM
Originally posted by rafaelluik:

Ok take a look at this guys, I don't know how to answer:

There's not much to say, knowing Apple's habit of rejecting Apps without justification. By creating a PR thing around it, Opera ensured that they wouldn't be silently rejected like so many others.
Cutting SpoonFriday, November 12, 2010 2:48:48 AM
Most companies don't publicly demonstrate a product - repeatedly - before submitting it to Apple's marketplace. They also do not advertise that the product has been officially submitted. Most companies keep submitting their app until it passes, then begin to advertise that it is available.

Opera's goal was to prevent the app ever being denied - on any grounds whatsoever - and to make the world anticipate its release. Setting a new record for downloads WHEN it was approved, shows the level of interest garnered.
Rafael LuikFriday, November 12, 2010 5:52:21 PM
Originally posted by Chirpie:

Opera ensured that they wouldn't be silently rejected like so many others.
Ahh! Right.