Wednesday, January 27, 2010

What's in a Name?

The iPad. Unless you were in a coma, you probably heard about the launch of Apple's new tablet. A larger version of the iPhone, at 0.5 inches thick, 1.5 pounds, $499 (base model) + a $29.99 unlimited data plan, it's pretty impressive. You can read all about the reveal and product specs over on Engadget, who covered it live.

There's an interesting subplot going on here, though. The hype around the event was palpable - even the Wall Street Journal noted "Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it." Indeed, everyone was speculating about the name of the new netbook from Apple - from the iTablet to iSlate. When it was revealed, it looked like nothing more than an oversize iPhone, but as the presentation went on, the functionality became more apparent.

Without a doubt, the tech community - which always gets in a tizzy whenever Apple releases a new product (or if Steve Jobs sneezes) - was so prolific in its buzz that it locked up Twitter for a bit. There's really something to be said about the power of the geeky masses, as words related to the presentation (including Amazon's Kindle, which was mentioned in Job's announcement) accounted for 8 of the 10 trending topics on Twitter at one point.

You've got to wonder about the naming decision on this product. It's certainly in line with the "iP" naming convention of the other two wildly successful product lines, the iPod and iPhone. So from a brand extension, it makes sense. But my first inclination was that "iPad" was too close to "iPod." Surely iTablet or iSlate would have worked from a descriptive standpoint. It led me to wonder if there was something more going on here...

Look carefully at the trending topics for a clue - in addition to phrases like Apple, iBooks, Steve Jobs, Kindle, iPhone, iWork and iSlate, there was as single outlier: iTampon. Check that again - iPad doesn't even show up on the trending topics!

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet."

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Did Apple anticipate such a viral phenomenon that they intentionally named the product as they did? Or were they completely naive about the implications? Either way, it's lighting up the web as we speak. And it didn't take long for someone to photoshop it, either:

What do you think? Marketing savvy, stunt or stupidity?

UPDATE: @brennanMKE sent me this video - an old iPad commercial:

Photo credits: Engadget, @Katmanalac

Labels: Apple, trends, Twitter

Posted by Scott Monty at 3:34 PM

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Saturday, October 10, 2009

Why Apple & Google Win - and Your Company Doesn't

It's all about usability.

googleproduct

Common sense dictates that the easier something is to accomplish, the more readily it will be passed along. What information do you ask your customers to submit? And of that, which is really necessary? Less is more.

Courtesy of Stuff That Happens.

Posted via web from The Full Monty

Labels: Apple, customer relations, enterprise, Google

Posted by Scott Monty at 10:03 PM

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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Social Media Takeaways #3

This is a busy week - coming off of the great Boston Web Community dinner, courtesy of EMC, where I got to see some of my favorite new media folks (Jeremiah Owyang, Chris Brogan, Laura Fitton, John Wall, Sarah Wurrey, Steve Garfield, Dan Schawbel, Peter Kim, Yianni Garcia, Julia Roy) and meet new ones (Jeff Glasson, Christine Perkett, Amanda Gravel). In addition, I'm gearing up for PodCamp Boston 2, where I'll be speaking.

But that doesn't mean there wasn't still a bit of time for a few Social Media Takeaways:

My Apple Is a Lemon
No, this isn't David Armano's way of trying to score some free bling for his blog (like some other people we know). It turns out this is David's 2nd Macbook Pro that's given him inexplicable trouble, so he decided to write about it.

SMT: Uh-oh. Apple should be concerned. First they fired 800 employees for taking a $100 voucher on their free iPhones, now they've got a prominent blogger who's pissed off. I hope they're listening. But I like what Matt Dickman had to say on twitter: @Armano: I bet Dell responds before Apple does ;-)

Quick, Fire That Customer
It's not a good week to be a customer. Seth Godin and the Ad-Vocate both opine that the customer is not always right and call for certain customers to be fired. I like Seth's rejoinder to the phrase "the customer's always right": when they're wrong, they're not your customer any more.

SMT: Listen up. Get to know your customers well, through whatever space they inhabit. Find out what they're saying about you and join the conversation if you can. But realize when you'll never convert them and know when to let go.

Fa¢ebook
At this point, Facebook is steering clear of Google and instead opting for the cold hard cash from our friends at Micro$oft - a cool $278 million, to be exact. This amount, a 1.6% stake in Facebook, entitles the software behemoth to be the exclusive U.S. and international advertiser with the social network through 2011.

SMT: A $15 billion valuation for Facebook? What-ever. If the ad revenue can continue to stream in - and with Facebook's ability to target different demographics, it's an attractive site for advertisers - then perhaps it's not totaly off-base. But with today's fickle youth, I wonder if Facebook isn't going to be old school before 2008 is out. The only hope is continuing to get the more mature generations involved. And I wouldn't rule out additional funding for Facebook from other sources...

Labels: Apple, customer relations, David Armano, facebook, social media, social media takeaways

Posted by Scott Monty at 5:13 AM

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Saturday, September 08, 2007

Five Marketing Secrets from Apple

Steve Chazin, a marketing executive with Apple, recently launched a blog called MarketingApple with the able assistance of David Meerman Scott, who himself is the author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR and a long-time member of the social media sphere.

In addition to his blog, Steve has written an ebook - styled in the cool and classic Apple look & feel that we've all come to expect - in which he outlines the five marketing secrets that have catapulted Apple to success. Well, they're not so much secrets as astute observations based on everything that Apple has done right.

Each one deserves to be read through in its entirety, but the summary is as follows:

Don't Sell Products. People buy what other people have
Never Be the First to Market. Make something good better
Empower Early Adopters. Help your customers help you
Make Your Message Memorable. Boil your idea down to its syrupy goodness
Go One Step Further. Surprise and delight your customers

While Steve is no longer with Apple, he's using this blog/ebook approach to clearly demonstrate his knowledge of marketing; but with it comes a tacit demonstration that he also understands and embraces social media. He's using social media to prove social media. That is, he's having people help him with his own marketing efforts.

Labels: Apple, Marketing, social media

Posted by Scott Monty at 12:15 AM

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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Second Generation iPhone Is Here

While the iPhone has been hyped by the digerati and blogosphere, recently the actual sales numbers didn't quite live up to expectations. Only 146,000 phones were activated on June 29 & 30.

Of course, this may have had more to do with crappy customer service from AT&T - excuse me, at&t - but it reflects on Apple's poor choice of carrier. But the bottom line is, fewer phones were online than expected.

Why? I think it may have something to do with the tech-savvy folks who are waiting for the second generation of iPhones. They're waiting to see if there are any bugs to be worked out, if Apple adds Flash support, a speedier network, a better battery, etc. Can't say that I blame them. I know a former member of the executive team at Apple and he said the same thing. It's helpful having an inside line on goings-on at Apple.

So, you might be wondering just what the 2nd generation iPhone will be like? I have the answer below...

David Letterman iPhone Nano
Uploaded by PeteRock

Labels: 2.0, Apple, customer relations, iPhone

Posted by Scott Monty at 1:58 AM

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Friday, July 13, 2007

iPhone, Meet Total Blender

Of the videos I've seen this week, our friends over at BlendTec are the winners, hands down.

This week, the CEO (as usual) takes his position next to the blender and whips out his brand new iPhone. He quickly tosses it in the blender, selects "Smoothie," and...

I've been following the Will It Blend? videos for quite some time and they're always entertaining. But beyond the awareness/entertainment factor, every marketer wants to know: how does this translate into sales? According to BlendTec, they've seen a huge spike in sales.

Charlene Li sums up the success factors rather well in a post on her blog, citing authenticity, humor, originality and a connection to the value of the product. I don't know about you, but if I were to go blender shopping before seeing these videos, I'd normally have no clue as to what I'd buy. I'd probably pick some mid-range model and hope for the best.

But now if you say "blender," I automatically picture one of these videos in my mind and picture how the product performs. While I might not be in the market for a $400 blender, it's top of mind when I'm considering a purchase. And that's what any good marketer wants.

The relative low cost of using a social network like YouTube for a marketing campaign is certainly attractive in these days of tight marketing budgets. But as Charlene pointed out, there are a number of reasons this one works. But there is one that I think she missed: aligning your brand with another well-known (and in this case well-loved) brand.

In just two days, the iPhone edition of "Will It Blend?" has garnered over 650,000 views. The front-runner for all 55 videos submitted over the last year is...drum roll, please...an iPod! Nearly 4 million views of the world's foremost mp3 player versus the world's most powerful blender. But what makes the destruction of Jobsian technology so much more interesting than say, hockey pucks or oysters?

People who know and use Apple products are typically enamored with the beauty of the design and how well the software and hardware are integrated. The popularity of these particular videos is, I think, due to something as basic as morbid curiosity - the same emotion that causes NASCAR fans to secretly wish for a crash and a car fire. Plus, the sheer hype of the iPhone over the last few weeks undoubtedly drove this. Perhaps a little phone envy plays into it as well?

Bottom line: sometimes, instead of the typical features & benefits approach that 90% of marketers use, a little creativity and thought can go a long way. When you connect to your audience's emotions and give them a way to share their enthusiasm through social networks, your brand will benefit.

Labels: Apple, brand, Charlene Li, Friday Fun, social media, Video

Posted by Scott Monty at 2:17 AM

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Apple Offers Free Consultations

Talk about customer service! Apple is now offering the chance to get personalized 60-minute consultation sessions in their stores.

Head over to the Apple Store site and select your state and store location. A concierge page will come up and you can fill out your name, email address and mobile phone number so Apple can schedule a time with you.

Consultants will be on hand to help you with all aspects of your Apple life, from creating podcasts to operating your Mac, and fine-tuning your iPod.

If this doesn't help to expand - and solidify - Apple's customer base, I don't know what will.

Labels: Apple, CRM, Marketing

Posted by Scott Monty at 10:17 PM

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