Apple ... checkmate

Apple shock and awe is totally different. It is like waking up one morning and suddenly everything has changed. It is like Marty McFly waking up back in the future to find his mother happy, his father a successful novelist, and Biff waxing the family car. One day you turn around and Apple is everywhere doing things that amaze and delight you.

 

The iMac appeared on the cover of the March 27, 2000 Time Magazine with Steven King peering out of the screen. The story inside was on video editing using FireWire. It had also been a two-page story in Time on December 20, 1999. An iMac connected to a camcorder was the climax of the Oprah Show on January 20, 2000. FireWire was on the cover of MacWorld. On the cover of the Dell Computer product guide. In-flight magazines were talking about FireWire. USA Today and every major daily were carrying stories on video editing using FireWire. Suddenly, Apple was on the front page of everything and FireWire was on page two. The Steve Jobs keynote speeches were lead stories around the world with CNN doing live updates from the convention center on their blog. Apple sales were growing 3X the rate of the PC market. Where could they go from there?

After Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power, Apple computers took a hard right turn. Gone were the wild candy colors. October 2001, the iPod was released with a new, classic, white look. A look that would be replicated in the iMac G4, released in January 2002. The new look was classy but still cool. Going forward, Apple computers took on a look of sophistication befitting a premium priced computer and more importantly, a look that would look right in a corporate environment. Now, the multi-year plan had reached the intended goal.

 

With the new Apple cool look, corporate sales started coming in. Keep in mind; home computer sales are only 30% of total PC sales. Apple had gone from near death to global trend setter in just a few years. They captured the attention of the computer industry with a bold new Mac (the iMac). They generated momentum in the home computer market. They showed everyone that they were here to stay. No more worries about Apple going out of business. Then they kept the momentum going with the iPod which introduced a sophisticated new look.

Financial analysts became virtual marketers for Apple, Inc. which increased corporate interest in Apple. Everyone had shares of AAPL in their portfolio. Apple then started promoting their computers as being better computers, not just fun computers. While a growing number of home computer users where starting to become Apple enthusiasts, corporations started hearing about the lack of problems with iMacs (no viruses, fewer crashes, better operating system). When employees started asking if they could use an Apple at work, a big thaw was underway in corporate America and more and more Apple's started showing up at work.

Ten years ago, the corporate status symbol was the tiny Sony Vaio 505GX notebook computer. Today, the corporate status symbol as a MacBook. The big target, from the introduction of the Bondi iMac, was to get Apple out of the niche market and into the big pond. The small fish in the small pond was now a big fish in a big pond.

 

Well played, Mr. Jobs.

James Snider is the Business Development Director for Accelerant Marketing Alliance, LLC == Marketing,  Communications and Design. Corporate Marketing Department ... one hour at a time. www.linkedIn.com/in/jamessnider

Shock and Awe...the "Chipzilla" Way

This second generation iMac contained FireWire and iMovie for video editing. We were already familiar with Apple’s marketing prowess with the “1984” commercial which still ranks as the best Super Bowl Ad of all time; but what Apple was about to do was well beyond anything we were expecting. Apple was reinventing marketing the way they reinvented the computer. This was “shock and awe.”

Before we cover the Apple version of shock and awe, let’s talk about the different version sometimes employed by an industry giant we will simply call "Chipzilla". 

Chipzilla incorporates a more traditional “overwhelming force” version of marketing. This is similar to the military version (Iraq War) of "shock and awe". Chipzilla is a huge company and enormously influential with their customers. No one wants to irritate them. 

They also have the unique distinction of focusing their resources on a very limited number of technologies. Once Chipzilla decides to promote a technology, they do so with single-minded determination and no mixed loyalties. Every other company in the industry has mixed loyalties. Sony uses both USB and FireWire in their computers, as does Apple. Texas Instruments sells USB, FireWire, DVI, and HDMI products, as does Molex. These companies will not take a bold stand in support of one technology or another. They are concerned about alienating customers if they are too aggressive in marketing a single technology.

Chipzilla, however, will put their considerable muscle behind one technology and nothing else. Their worldwide marketing/sales team goes into every major customer frequently, carrying the Chipzilla message. I have never visited a customer without them informing me that Chipzilla was in a few days earlier telling them something considerably different than what I was telling them.

Despite widespread skepticism about the rosy projections coming from Chipzilla, no one is willing to challenge them. They are simply too strong. Everyone needs access to Chipzilla's vast resources.

Apple, on the other hand, working from a weak position, was able to use raw marketing talent to overwhelm the competition.

In dealing with Chipzilla or Apple, the result is the same; Shock and Awe. It is like taking a stand against a hurricane. They are both wonders to behold.

 

James Snider is the Business Development Director for Accelerant Marketing Alliance, LLC == Marketing, Communications and Design. Corporate Marketing Department ... one hour at a time.  
AccelerantMktg.com

"Shock and Awe" the Apple Way

Henry Ford once said, "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again; this time more intelligently."  

Jobs and Apple had learned some hard lessons with products like the Apple III and the Lisa. During Job's absence from Apple, he'd certainly matured and took into account the things he should have done differently. Now, he had a chance to begin again more intelligently.  

Apple had hit the market with a shocking new device which dominated the electronics headlines…. but they had more. They just needed to wait a little longer before they rolled out the next secret weapon. The Bondi Blue iMac had more than enough market sizzle to generate attention for the remainder of the year. New fruit colors came out in January 1999 which spawned a new look in everything from clock radios to electric grills. Apple was still getting front-page coverage and still changing markets beyond the computer. 

Then, in late 1999 (October 2, 1999) it was time to hit the market again with a refreshed iMac. This time, it needed more than new colors to regain press headlines. This was a true second generation iMac and one designed to attract the traditional Apple user, not just the PC neophyte. Apple’s mainstay had been the professional graphic artist, photographer, and videographer.  

The new iMac followed step two in “The Apple Way” perfectly: “find that one thing you do better and make that one thing matter.” Apple was going in for the kill and the weapon of choice was FireWire.

With FireWire, Apple made it easier to download video from a professional or prosumer (low-end professional, high-end consumer) camcorder into a computer. With iMovie shipping on the computers, it was possible for consumers to edit home movies with title slides, music, transitions between scenes, voice over and other professional touches. With Final Cut and a high-end Mac, professionals were creating digital  movies much more easily than in the past. 

CNN told the 1394 Trade Association that it was saving a million dollars a year by going digital. In the past, CNN had to ship cases of equipment to locations where news was unfolding. Huge cameras and video editing equipment were required to capture and process the analog video. With the advent of digital and the addition of FireWire to professional cameras and high-end notebook computers, all the equipment needed to record and edit a story was contained in the carry-on bags of the camera crew.  

Now Apple had a story that everyone was interested in hearing. No longer did they need to rely on paid advertising to get their message in front of the consumer. In what became the most effective use of PR in the history of electronics, Apple started feeding their story to media outlets and the media outlets were eager to publish it. Time Magazine, USA Today, Oprah and many others became the marketing arm of Apple. This started in late 1999 and continues to this day. That is shock and awe as we have never seen it.


James Snider is the Business Development Director for Accelerant Marketing Alliance, LLC == Marketing, Communications and Design
Corporate Marketing Department ... one hour at a time.
AccelerantMktg.com

iMac part two

In 1998, Apple had to overcome a huge barrier. As stated earlier, the people "in the know" were counting Apple to be as good as dead. It was risky to buy an Apple. Apple might not be around in a year or two. Apple was not going to succeed in selling to the computer savvy buyer. Apple had to target a computer buyer who did not know that Apple was a risky purchase. Apple had to go to the first time computer buyer; the home computer buyer. Not since the early days of Apple had they targeted the first time home computer buyer. This was a bold step backwards for a company that prided itself in being better than everyone else. 

To reach this new market, Apple had to identify the reason why a person would finally breakdown and buy a computer? The answer was, "To get on the Internet." The "information super highway," as it was sometimes called, was getting a lot of attention and people were motivated to get a computer simply so they could get on the Internet.

Next question to answer was, "What is the first time buyer worried about?" The answer, "Computers are hard to use." Now Apple had the hook they needed to get this market segment. Apple ads stressed ease-of-use, “Three steps to the Internet”. They had the message, but was that going to be enough to entice buyers to buy an Apple instead of some brand that their tech smart friend recommended?

An average CEO would have played to "not lose" and would have developed another beige box. However, that is what got Apple into trouble in the inter-Jobs period of Sculley, Spindler, and Amelio; playing to "not lose". That was not Jobs' style because that was not going to generate any sizzle. Sizzle is Jobs' most effective weapon. He had to leap frog the competition. Small steps were not going to be adequate to save Apple.

Apple launched a Jetson’s futuristic, fun computer that got the kids pulling Mom and Dad over to the Apple display in the store. Apple put ads on TV with Rolling Stones music and computers tumbling and spinning. These computers were not acting like computers. Computers do not tumble and spin. These were fun electronics; fun and playful. Apple was not selling computers. They were selling fun. The Jetson's were part of the shared American childhood and these Jetson's looking computers were friendly, inviting, non-intimidating fun.

The commercials were so entertaining that people watched them over an over. When customers went to the store, they did not see a strange looking computer that looked nothing like all the other computers in the store. The different look of the iMac could have easily made customers shy away. What the customer saw, however, was that cool computer they saw on TV. Apple overcame the commercial fatigue and got their message into the minds of the consumer. This was fun. Joe Average was buying an Apple and entering the Apple cult.

For most companies, this would have been stellar success, far beyond expectations, but for Steve Jobs, this was just the beginning. The first step in a much larger plan.

With the release of the iMac, Apple revolutionized the PC industry with a new look and attitude. However, the iMac also delivered a second game changer. They removed all peripheral ports except for USB. No other computer maker dared to be that bold. However, Apple was targeting the first time computer buyer who had no peripherals. USB was the easiest way to connect peripherals. 

Apple accomplished in one product release what Intel could not. Apple started the USB revolution. After three years of effort and the vast worldwide resources of Intel, USB was an unused port on 90% of the computers on store shelves. There were no peripherals to connect to the USB port. Intel makes chips for computers. They have total influence over PC makers. They have no influence over peripheral makers.  USB was a flop and Intel was about to pull the plug on it.

Apple works closely with a limited number of peripheral makers. They make computers....the thing that drives the sales of peripherals. Apple influences their peripheral makers. Now there were USB peripherals entering the market and they were selling well. More peripherals followed. USB was saved.

But what about the people who already owned peripherals? There were virtually no USB peripherals in the market until Apple launched the Bondi Blue iMac. This new Apple computer was going to place a hardship on current Apple users as they would have to replace all their peripherals with ones that had USB ports on them. As it turned out, Apple loyalist were willing to accept a lot of inconvenience in order to move up to the next cool thing coming out of One Infinite Loop. Apple's bold move even attracted them.

The Bondi Blue iMac was only the first step in a series that would turn the world upside down. The next step would come in a matter of months and it involved FireWire.

James Snider is the Business Development Director for Accelerant Marketing Alliance, LLC == Marketing,  Communications and Design. 
Corporate Marketing Department ... one hour at a time. 
AccelerantMktg.com