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

iPhone Fever? (or iBola Virus is spreading!)

Remember when having a fever was a bad thing?  Today, though, its all about how quickly someone can get pictures of their new iPhone 3G on Engadget or do a fast unboxing to share their enthusiasm or excitement with the world. 

One of my "5 Secrets" is this: Empower Early Adopters.  Apple used to do this by providing stickers in their product boxes (they still do!) and so their most loyal evangelists would slap them on the side of everything they own (they still do!).  Some even tattoo themselves with the Apple logo (they still do!)  What is amazing to me is how Apple benefits even more from our web 2.0 world where in an instant a fan can post a photo, image, or link to something they are truly excited about.  That then generates even more interest and excitement as it widens dramatically Apple's reach and appeal.  This "second ring" of enthusiasm draws in less technically savvy people who purchase - not on speeds and feeds - but on being part of something bigger and more relevant.  Many people who now own an iPhone didn't "need" an iPhone.  They wanted to be part of the iPhone community.  Same lesson learned from the iPod phenomenon.

Any marketer can learn from the amazing story that is unfolding around Apple.  Empower your early adopters and they will help you change the world.

UPDATE: Witness in real time what happens when you mess up - your early adopters can turn on you.  Today is NOT a good day for Apple - iPhone activations AND upgrades to 2.0 are bricking people's phones (mine included)  Let's see how Apple's spin control spins up.

UPDATE: 5:20 PM.  My iphone finally started working.  But don't get me started about MobileMe...

Apple and loving customers

This is a great post today from Inside CRM discussing how Apple has built an ongoing relationship with its customers. One thing easy to overlook, and a key but relatively hidden fact of Apple's ongoing and dramatic resurgence, is how well they relate to their customers and vice versa.

Case in point. For years Apple has been trying to sell Macs alongside PCs at Best Buys and CompUSAs (RIP) These efforts have largely failed because they were indirectly reaching their customers. The salesperson had to learn about selling both Macs and PCs and were often motivated by spiffs to move non-Apple products. Consequently, the sales rep could not demonstrate the same level of enthusiasm for Apple's products as Apple could.

It wasn't until Apple really focused on its online properties that direct sales to consumers took off. After learning how to present a clear, consistent message they opened their own stores and essentially copied this museum-like experience into a hands-on retail presence. Hiring their own sales ambassadors and controlling the entire shopping experience has really paid off, and Apple Stores are now a model that other consumer goods manufacturers are just beginning to copy. Add their mastery of word of mouth and traditional marketing, a keen focus on surprising and delighting customers, and you have Apple-style success.

The bottom line: Apple doesn't just reach its customers. Apple embraces them. And their loving customers hug right back.

Apple earnings secret

Okay, so a lot of people have been asking me for more Apple "secrets." Seems like the 5 in my free ebook (there are actually a lot more hidden in the 8 pages) isn't enough for some readers. So I'm going to dedicate the entire month of May to Apple secrets of all kinds. Stay tuned.

Since today is Apple's earnings day (to be announced after the market closes) I thought I'd share a secret from way back before Steve returned to see if it is still valid. The secret is this: if Apple had underperformed it would announce its earnings on a Friday (to let the market cool down over the weekend.) If it had overperformed, it would announce on a Thursday (to allow the market to run up the stock price.) So what does announcing on a Wednesday tell us?

As with all my "secrets" these are merely observations from working and living at Apple for nearly a decade. I have no insider knowledge of Apple's forthcoming earnings. I haven't purchased Apple shares in over 8 years. As always, consult your broker before jumping.

UPDATE 4:45 PM: So Apple announced earnings that EXCEEDED the Street's expectations today. Looks like this secret is still a good one...

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.

Another Apple uPod

I spoke before about Apple's tendency to under promise and over deliver, or "uPod" regarding its business outlook.  Well I had just had an experience with an overlooked, but amazingly powerful feature that, to the best of my knowledge, Apple has never hyped or even marketed at all.

That feature is the "Migration Assistant."  Here was my dilemma.  I was having lots of issues with my personal MacBook Pro and it was slowing down my productivity big time.   So my company ordered me a new one last week and it was delivered this Monday.  But I've been so busy I could not find the time to switch over, so I stuck with my unreliable MacBook simply because it had all my stuff in it.

During one of my frequent reboots I remembered the Migration Assistant.  (I've never used it before because I'm one of those old-school techies who likes to build his hard drive one install at a time)  Basically, all I had to do was reboot my old Mac into Firewire disk mode (try that MacBook Air!) and connect a Firewire cable to my new Mac.  A few clicks (and a few hours) later, and my new MacBook was a carbon copy of my old one.

I was amazed!  Every file, document, email, iPhoto, iTune, even the arrangement of icons on my dock and my desktop was preserved.  It is the most amazing feeling to pick up a brand new computer and hit the ground running with everything where it should be in just a few hours.  Such a feat usually takes about a week.

Clearly this isn't the coolest feature around, but perhaps the most practical when trying to get people to buy a new Mac.  I think Apple should invest in a PC vs Mac commercial where Justin speaks to this feature since there are lots of people like me who stick with their old computers for fear of the hard work of migrating.  Have you ever used the Migration Assistant?

2/8/08 Update: AppleInsider describes the challenge for MacBook Air and Migration Assistant, as does MacNN.

There's something in the air

In case you missed it, Apple has already put up a banner in the Moscone Center in San Francisco that says "2008: There is something in the air." Typically Apple puts up those signs in private, keeping large black cloths over the signs until Steve is done with his keynote speech.

Now for some reason we have these photos from Ars Technica a full 3 days before the event. Is this a rare mistake, or an intentional leak to drum up publicity - like I'm doing now - from the blogosphere? In any event, what do you think it means? Here is my suggestion to get the chat going:

Wireless monitors & computers: We're due for a refresh of the Cinema displays. Couple that with a computer device that has a small LCD panel when traveling but that can hook up with larger wireless Cinema displays (or any HDMI equipped TV) and you've got a revolution in the making. (Steve's note: I've long wondered why computer makers insist on cramming an entire computer, monitor and keyboard into a laptop...it's like cramming a hot water heater into every sink. All you need is a fast, multitasking computer at home and a bunch of wireless monitors/tablets to access it.)

Other thoughts?

Multi-touch Marketing

So this was the year of the iPhone. The first consumer device with a new type of user interface, dubbed "Multi-touch" by Apple. Soon the keyboard on the desk with the computer screen at a 90 degree angle and poor ergonomics will go away and we'll all be interacting with computer screens IN our desk. Quick, someone buy stock in Windex...finger smudges are now a fact of life. But that scenario will take a while to fully play out...

However I think an even more important invention slipped by almost unnoticed. I call it "Multi-Touch Marketing." Instead of using multiple fingers to drive a computer device, multi-touch marketing uses multiple points of influence to drive you to make a purchase decision.

Consider my own case. I had no intention of purchasing an iPhone at launch. Yes, I heard, read, even felt the hype...but I'm a sophisticated user, unmoved by such things. All of Apple's carefully crafted messages, its traditional billboard and TV marketing, even the hype of free publicity the iPhone got did little to sway me. But it made an impression. It made me feel like I may be missing out on something. In short, all these various sources of input touched me over and over. But it took three very different "touches" to get me to purchase my iPhone.

It started with this innocuous press release, brilliantly executed by Apple a few weeks before the iPhone launch. Touch 1: the iPhone was "upgraded" with "optical-quality glass for superior scratch resistance and clarity" Touch 2: PCWorld grabbed a new iPhone and "tested" it by intentionally trying to scratch the screen. It survived. Touch 3: A real user tried real hard to scratch their screen and documented the results on YouTube. They failed.

All three of these inputs touched me in a way none of the publicity before it did. You see, I'm a nut when it comes to keeping my technology products looking new. I still haven't taken the plastic wrap off my Gen4 video iPod. So it was only when I read, heard, and watched the iPhone resist screen-scratching that I knew it was for me. I purchased my iPhone the next day. And, like a good early adopter, I spent the last 3 months showcasing and demoing my iPhone for others all over the world. I was seduced by and then became part of Apple's marketing machine without thinking about it.

Multi-touch marketing: multiple sources of input that - taken together - can influence anyone.

P.S. You can scratch the iPhone if you try hard enough...or destroy it all together as fans of "Will it Blend" already know.

Are iPod touch and iPhone similarities a marketing ploy?

Sorry about the long title, but it occured to me today that the form factor of the iPod touch and the iPhone are nearly identical for one reason: to make it appear as if the iPhone is gaining marketshare.

In a nutshell, Apple's white iPod headphone strategy (as I discuss in my free eBook) has long embraced the power of users selling Apple's stuff for them. Everytime you see a person wearing those distinctive white headphones (or anytime you wear them) you are experiencing a powerful form of free viral marketing for Apple. This is word of mouth done on a silent level: what I call WOS - or Word of Silence. Anyone who witnesses this has an instinctive reaction to figure out what they are missing. And therein lies the power - people want to be part of the club. And how many times have you seen white headphones today? I bet the answer is A Lot.

Now Apple could have given the iPod touch a very different form factor, as they have done with every other iPod. But they made it nearly indistinguishable at first glance from the iPhone so people would begin to feel that the iPhone was getting more popular. Popularity drives demand and demand results in sales.

Have you seen an iPhone today? Can you tell the difference between it and the iPod touch?

iPhone Martial Law

After doing some stock analysis after yesterday's post I found this gem from TheStreet.com.  The analysis ends with what I've been saying here for weeks - Apple isn't doing themselves or anyone else any favors with their strategy.  And I agree that their strategy of a locked phone platform is doomed to failure. 

The same power Apple wields better than anyone - getting its users to spread the gospel - is now working against it in the case of Apple vs the iPhone users (aka "Hackers") who want to merely do what they want on their non-subsidized phones.  Let them.

Apple, here's a freebie: Support the team of folks using Installer.app by adding it to your next 1.1.2 patch and hosting the community sources yourself.  Then you can control what ends up on the iPhone, maybe help make some money and become a good citizen of the iUniverse you created.  It's all within your power too.  Be your best.

Steve

A Complete Turnaround?

One of the things I hint at in my ebook is that Apple nearly went out of business in the mid 90s.  A combination of bad management, no vision and severly underpowered yet overpriced computers almost killed Apple under the Windows 95-is-good-enough juggernaut.

Flash forward a dozen years and Apple is no longer a bit player with 4% marketshare and no voice.  Suddenly they are the leader in digital music, movies and mobile devices.  In short, Apple didn't just drop the name computer from their title, they ceased being a computer company focused an a tiny user base.  And with that change they may have lost the secret advantage that kept them alive during the lean years: user loyalty.

You see, when you are a small player you need the power of millions of voices singing your song to allow your chorus to rise above the  noise.  Apple users have always gladly added their voice.  We sometimes called them zealots.

But when you are a market leader you start to attend to other things first, like protecting your platform from "hackers" to keep it safe for the masses. But these same loyal users use their same techniques to advance the product so it will appeal to more people.  And while Apple has gladly accepted this help in the past (the laserprinter, PageMaker, CodeWarrier, Kerberos, and VisiCalc to name a few have all helped Apple in their various dark days) with the iPhone they currently are saying "no thanks."

We've used these pages to discuss this before but the question remains...is Apple the same company many of us helped rescue?