iPhonies: Fake Customers Line Up for Poland's iPhone Debut

They are not iPhone enthusiasts. They just play them when paid by marketers.

That's the case in Poland, at least, where wireless carrier Telekomunickacja Polska (TP) has reportedly confirmed it paid actors to stand in line in order to create buzz and interest in Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 3G mobile handset, which launched there on Friday.

The actors filed in line at some 20 retailers around Poland as part of a marketing campaign launched by TP, which is owned by France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) and operates under the Orange brand.

Marketing Gimmick

The iPhone went on sale in Poland at midnight and, according to a report from the Agence France-Presse (AFP), lines began forming in front of Orange stores earlier in the evening. As people passed by, some of those in the line offered to sell their place in the queue for as much as 300 zlotys (US$135).

The goal, according to Wojciech Jabczynski, a spokesperson for TP, was to get the attention of people on the street and tell them about the iPhone as they passed.

"iPhone has received different feedback from consumers in different markets. The kind of response it has in different economies around the world are related to the marketing strategies used to generate interest in the phone," said Zippy Aima, an analyst at ABI Research.

It would have been worse had no one shown up, Aima said.

"It was a good move. It is better to have people who can attract people, greet them and talk to them about what the iPhone is and the cool features of the product to at least grab some attention," she told MacNewsWorld.

Queuing Up Bad Memories

While the release of the iPhone 3G brought crowds of actual, real-life consumers to Apple Stores in the U.S., economic conditions and general lack of knowledge about Apple products have reportedly led to a less-than-enthusiastic turnout for the device other markets.

"It's just a marketing initiative. The market in America is so different. The need to do that here is unnecessary. But there, they were aware that not a whole lot of people were going to show up. When it comes to marketing, it depends on what segment of the market you're dealing with. Every country has a different setup altogether. It may not have been the best strategy, but I would not call it silly," Aima pointed out.

The marketing gimmick is reminiscent of a time when, under Soviet occupation, Polish citizens stood in long queues to get basic household goods.

"I can see that there would be some cultural sensitivity about having lines for a former Eastern Block country," Bill Hughes, an In-Stat analyst, told MacNewsWorld. "I could also see that having attractive people in line is just slightly more disingenuous than having models using a product in an advertising campaign."