Marketing Apple: Secrets of the World's Best Marketing Machine

Magical Device, the iPad

I'll have much more to say on this shortly but I need to get two things off my chest first:

1. Apple isn't trying to decide if a niche exists between smartphones and laptops.  They are trying to replace netbooks (and eventually laptops) and get people to carry the cloud with them.  If you think through the logical progression of the Web, all the data we care about will exist online.  The iPad is the device to access it.  Very different mode than a laptop.  This is the device from the future we've seen on Star Trek.  You can buy it today (well in 59 days.)

2. "Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price."  Something about this sentence seemed un-Applelike.  As someone who struggles to come up with the "syrupy goodness" of my value props (spoken about in my free eBook) this phrase seemed too forced and wordy.  It doesn't even say what it does.  "Touch the Web"  or "Your life to go." would have been more Apple-like to me.  I just don't follow this one...

More soon.

P.S. thank you Dane for the correct spelling of niche ;)

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Secrets of the Apple Tablet

Okay, now this is getting way too fun.  Far be it for me to resist from the rampant rumor mongering, but here is what I think is coming later this month:

I think Apple is going to surprise everyone.  While most people think this will be a big iPhone and run apps from the App Store (it will) I think its true intent is to remake the print, tv, and publishing business the same way that iTunes remade the music industry.

• I forsee a beautiful, HD video screen that will let you view all your music, television, movies, magazines, books and DVDs wherever you go. 

• You'll be able to subscribe to beautiful full color magazines via iTunes at 1/4 the price of buying them off the newstands and get exclusive content and video (ads too!) to enhance the reading experience.  (You'll see entire websites rewritten for the device as well.) 

• I think Apple will strike a deal with Amazon to enable digital books to be streamed to the device via a built-in color Kindle app. 

• I think we'll see Apple work with Netflix (or go directly to the studios themselves) to stream movies to the device and of course they already have iTunes to handle your music and television subscriptions. 

Your documents and iPhone/iPod Touch apps will travel with you too - making the device a multipurpose workhorse that will seem to many like something from the future.  And you'll want to own one.  Because it will cost $699.  And you'll subscribe to a lot more stuff every month - buying apps and content wirelessly.  And all of it will be available to view on your AppleTV when you get home since it will now live in Apple's new $1B cloud service.

Finally, the name.

I won't cover the obvious choices spoken elsewhere like iGuide, iScreen, iPad or iSlate (although iSlate would match the iPod branding in that it can be generic).  I think Apple could have cut some deal with the Etch-a-Sketch folks (Ohio Arts) to call it "MagicScreen" (Magic Mouse is already in the house) and they also have the Touch and Air franchises to combine "AirTouch"  Also a possibility relating their own name and their app store to create something like "iTapp"  And let's not forget, Tapplet or Applescreen isn't that far fetched...

Time will tell.  Oh yeah, Time will publish their magazines for it too.

Apple is Marketer of the Decade (Adweek)

Any surprise?  Read this story for more details on the company and the man.

Just a quick recap for those playing at home:

Apple limped into 2000 after barely surviving extinction at the hands of poor management all through the 90s.  But Steve's return and the iMac (1998) saved the company and paved the way for all future product launches that helped fix the company.  In a nutshell, great marketing coupled with great design saved Apple.

Now just count what Steve has done in a decade:

• Turned Pixar (and countless characters) into a loved, respected family brand. 
• Sold Pixar to Disney (one of his heros) and became largest single Disney shareholder
• Introduced iPod, revolutionized carrying all your music with you
• Introduced iTunes, figured out how to make money with music, now largest online store
• Introduced iPhone, changed the definition of smart phones
• Introduced mobile Apps, changed how software gets distributed

So Steve changed music, movies, phones, software and computers.  Apple now touches all our lives.  Apple was once a backwater player in computers and now has the world at it's fingertips. 

Can't wait for 2010 and a renewal of books, radio, television, magazines, advertising and mobile devices.  Happy new year everyone!

Product placement, iTunes and American Idol

Did you see American Idol last night? I was watching with my sons and I couldn't believe the 5 minute "commercial" for iTunes, iPods and iPhones that Apple pulled off about 10 minutes into the show.

If you saw it, please post your comments here. Is this borderline pandering? Or is this just super-good marketing that is making me (and other marketers) jealous of how far Apple can go to spread its gospel.