Korg family "The KORG MIDI system" 2-page ad, Keyboard 1984

 Korg "The KORG MIDI system" two-page colour advertisement including the Poly 800 and Poly-61M synthesizers, EX 800 expander module, RK 100 Remote MIDI keyboard, KMS 30 MIDI synchronizer, the 4 Track sequencer and Music Scoring software from the inside front cover and page 2 of the October 1984 issue of  Keyboard Magazine.

I didn't post this ad because it appeared on the inside front cover of Keyboard magazine from October 1984 through January 1985 before Korg replaced it with their DW-6000 ad in the February 1985 issue.

Nope.

I didn't post this ad because of the awesomeness that is this Korg MIDI system that includes the Poly 800 (I own the version with the reversed coloured keys!) - or the EX 800 that is so awesome that it takes up waaaaay to much space in a rack!

Nope.

I didn't post this because of the awesomeness that is the KMS 30 synchronizer (I own two! One for the studio and one that I just bought to sync machines for live gigs!)

Nope.

I didn't post this because of the reference to the DDM-110 and DDM-220 drum machines that only sync to DIN-sync in that lovely little "system diagram".

Nope.

I posted this for one reason, and one reason only. I'm still fixating on KORG's announcement of the ARP Odyssey!!!!!

If you live under a rock or haven't read my last post or two, maybe you didn't you hear... Korg is resurrecting the ARP Odyssey.

Didn't see that coming - and anyone not intimately involved with the project who said they did see it coming - well - they just didn't. Punch them in the neck for lying. Say it's from me.

As far as I'm concerned, that news blew everybody and their favorite synthesizer news outlet out of the water. And, interestingly, it was one of the first times ever that synth news hit me through *Facebook* before any of my other usual news sources.

Sure, possible take-away: I'm on Facebook too much.  :)

But seriously, when the original press release appeared on Korg's Web site on the morning of February 17, the news spread faster than a zombie apocalypse. Some of my favorite sites that eventually covered the news included:

MATRIXSYNTH
SOS Magazine
Attack Magazine
CreateDigitalMusic.com
Synthtopia
Fact Magazine
MusicRadar
KVR audio
Even Engadget!

And the list goes on and on.

As a marketing and communications "professional" (or "hack" as some [many] of my colleagues might call me), I'm intrigued when news spreads that quickly. I get a serious kick out of watching marketing and social media teams jump into action to get their message out there.  Especially when its such interesting, out-of-the-box, unexpected news such as this.

I can image Korg's marketing peeps huddling together for weeks on end prep'ing their strategic communications plan. Hovering over the corporate and communications objectives. Tweaking their key messages and tactics for hours with a fine-toothed comb.

You got to be ready when the media and general synthesizer public comes calling...

Or... um... maybe not... 

Now I thought I recalled getting the news in my Facebook news feed directly from Korg, but when I went back to check, I couldn't find a single post about the topic on either Korg US or Korg Canada's Facebook pages.  Looking at the Twitter feeds for Korg USA, Korg UK, and Korg Canada, they all seem eerily silent about this big news as well. Not even a simple link back to the news release.

Huh? Is it just me?  I question my findings basically due to my combination of lazy and not-that-good-at-searching-social-media. So, check it out for yourself.

It kinda makes sense though. The new Odyssey isn't coming out until September 2014 at the earliest (unless, of course, Korg surprises us *again*, and drops it in the middle of the summer. And, *that* wouldn't surprise me).

Point is - there isn't a lot more information to push out there yet.

In other words, the product isn't imminent.  

But leaks could happen.

Heck, after the whole Roland TB-3/TR-8 thang, I'm betting that synthesizer hardware leaks are almost as lucrative as Apple iPhone leaks.

So, as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to Korg's reissue of the the ARP Odyssey, it wasn't a matter of "if" the news would leak, but "when". Maybe they just wanted to beat the rumor mill?

And the best way to do that is to get the news release out there and then let the synth community do the heavy lifting. If you've noticed, most, if not all of those articles, link directly back to the original Korg news release. Not to prototype videos. Not to teaser articles from Korg. That dang Korg news release. There isn't much else available officially from Korg.

But Korg has plenty of time to get the package ready - the machine isn't due out for another six month.

And I'll be waiting with my wallet open.

And drooling.

And watching their communications strategy. :)