Showing posts with label Apple / iPhone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple / iPhone. Show all posts

24.10.09

Verizon decides it's time to make fun of the iPhone on two fronts


With Apple still selling iPhones like there's no tomorrow -- it sold 7.4 million of them in the last quarter -- it's not exactly tme to kick the company in the teeth while it's down on its luck. So what's up with the two campaigns out right now from Verizon that make fun of the iPhone specifically, and iCulture in general?

The first is the campaign below for Verizon's new Motorola 'Droid phone; in the nanosecond that the campaign's been out, it's at least managed to gain some notoriety, even though all of those references to "iDon't" makes it sound, well, like a dumbphone unless you're paying attention. The references to iDon't are actually about the iPhone. More than 700,000 YouTube views later, here's the spot, which has led some to speculate that the endless poking of fun at 
the iPhone may kill any possibility of Verizon becoming an iPhone carrier too. (Damn!)

Popout


The second attacks the iPhone in a more obtuse way. In this one, a voiceover intones over and over that, "There's a map for that" instead of the iPhone-esque, 
"There's an app for that." The maps in question are really ones showing that Verizon's 3G coverage across the U.S. is much stronger than AT&T's — AT&T, of course, being the sole carrier for the aforementioned iPhone, which kind of lives for 3G.



12.8.09

HOW Apple did it?

How to Innovate Like Apple

Apple makes it look easy. From the sleek design of its personal computers to the clever intuitiveness of its software to the ubiquity of the iPod to the genius of the iPhone, Apple consistently redefines each market it enters by creating brilliant gadgets that put the competition to shame. What’s the secret? Apple has built its management system so that it’s optimized to create distinctive products. That’s good news for would-be emulators, because it means Apple’s method for innovation can be understood as a specific set of management practices and organizational structures that — in theory, at least — anyone can use. This Crash Course outlines the techniques Apple uses to make the magic happen.

Clear Your Mind

GOAL: UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TAKES TO CREATE TRULY REMARKABLE PRODUCTS.

The word “zen” is often applied to both Apple’s products and the company’s highly focused CEO, Steve Jobs. And while the compliment usually refers to the beauty of the company’s minimalist products, enlightenment is more than skin-deep. “In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains or the sofa,” Jobs has said of his product philosophy. “But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design.” Design is a “fundamental soul,” Jobs says, that expresses itself through an end result — the product.

What is Apple’s fundamental soul? The company’s motto, “Think Different,” provides a hint. Apple maintains an introspective, self-contained operating style that is capable of confounding competitors and shaking up entire industries. For example, Nokia, once considered the undisputed leader in mobile phones, never anticipated that a single product from a computer maker might throw its ascendancy into question.

Internally, Apple barely acknowledges competition. It’s the company’s ability to think differently about itself that keeps Apple at the head of the pack. Current and past employees tell stories about products that have undergone costly overhauls just to improve one simple detail. Other products are canceled entirely because they don’t fit in or don’t perform up to par.

Apple’s culture has codified a habit that is good for any company to have but is especially valuable for firms that make physical things: Stop, step back from your product, and take a closer look. Without worrying about how much work you’ve already put into it, is it really as good as it could be? Apple asks that question constantly.

Build Your Fortress

GOAL: CREATE THE INFRASTRUCTURE YOU NEED TO INNOVATE.

From the outside, Apple’s offices look like those of just about any large modern American corporation. Having outgrown its headquarters campus at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, Calif., Apple now has employees in other buildings scattered across the town and around the world. Size and sprawl are formidable challenges that most companies manage gracelessly, either by splintering into disorganized, undisciplined communities or by locking employees into tight, stifling bureaucracies. Apple tends toward the latter, but it does so in a unique way that generally (but not always) plays to its advantage.

At its worst, Apple’s culture resembles the closed paranoia of North Korea. For example, one Apple source who agreed to be interviewed anonymously for this story backed out at the last minute. Why? He feared that his employer would examine his phone bill and find him out. Another spoke on background but mentioned the possibility of a lawsuit if he were quoted by name. These are common fears within Apple, and they really do keep the company’s employees quiet. The obsession with secrecy is a double-edged sword, however: It gives Apple a vital element of surprise in the marketplace, but the never-ending game of internal spy vs. spy is draining for rank-and-file employees. Indeed, the corporate culture came under scrutiny recently after an employee of a foreign supplier — reportedly under suspicion for leaking the prototype of a new iPhone — committed suicide in Shenzhen, China.

Beyond the secrecy, which affects everyone, Apple’s approach is hardly one-size-fits-all. Rank-and-file employees are often given clear-cut directives and close supervision. Proven talent gets a freer hand, regardless of job title.

Checklist

MANAGING DIFFERENT

Over time, Apple has built a seasoned management team that’s optimized to support bold new product initiatives (and recover from the occasional flop). Here are a few of the techniques Apple’s management uses to make the magic happen.

1. Ignore fads. Apple has held off building a cheap miniature laptop to respond to the “netbook” fad, because these devices don’t offer good margins. Instead it released the ultrathin, ultra-expensive Air, a product more in line with its own style.

2. Don’t back down from fights you can win. Apple is a tough partner and a ruthless enemy. In 2007, Apple pulled NBC’s television programs from the iTunes Store after the network tried to double the prices consumers pay to download shows. NBC backed down within days, and ever since, giant media conglomerates have been hesitant to face off with Apple over pricing.

3. Flatten sprawling hierarchies. Companies with extended chains of authority tend to plod when it’s time to act. Most of the decisions at Apple come from Jobs and his immediate deputies.

4. Pay less attention to market research and competitors. Most firms develop their products through a combination of touchy-feely consumer focus groups and efforts to imitate successful products from other companies. Apple does neither, and the iPod and iPhone are clear proof of that.

Cultivate Your Elite

GOAL: EMPOWER YOUR MOST VALUABLE EMPLOYEES TO DO AMAZING WORK.

In truly despotic societies, both art and science suffer terribly. Apple, on the other hand, reliably churns out the industrial equivalents of da Vinci paintings and Hokusai woodcuts. This has little to do with how the company treats employees in general. Rather, it stems from the meticulous care and feeding provided to a specific group: the creatives. Apple’s segmented, stratified organizational structure — which coddles its most valuable, productive employees — is one of the company’s most formidable assets.

One former Apple consultant tells of an eye-opening introduction to Apple’s first-class treatment of its creatives. The consultant visited Apple’s Industrial Design Group, the team that gives Apple products their distinctive, glossy look. Tucked away within Apple’s main campus, the IDG is a world unto itself. It’s also sealed behind unmarked, restricted-access doors. Within the IDG, employees operate free from outside distractions and interference. “It didn’t feel like working at Apple,” our source remembers. “It felt like working at a small design firm.” Some companies are famous for perks — Google, for example, with its free massages and gourmet lunches. Apple focuses on atmosphere, nurturing its best designers behind opaque glass in a hidden sanctuary with music playing in the background.

Despite their favored status, Apple’s creatives still have no more insight into the company’s overall operations than an Army private has into the Pentagon. At Apple, new products are often seen in their complete form by only a small group of top executives. This, too, works as a strength for Apple: Instead of a sprawling bureaucracy that new products have to be pushed through, Apple’s top echelon is a small, tightly knit group that has a hand in almost every important decision the company makes.

Case Study

NURTURING INNOVATION AT CISCO

Other firms have also found success by separating innovation from business as usual. Here’s what David Hsieh, vice president of marketing at Cisco, has to say about his company’s Emerging Technologies Group:

“Big companies have a tendency to eat their own children. They get afraid of disrupting their own revenue stream with a new unit, or someone has a great idea and an executive sponsors it, but the moment the sponsor comes under pressure, they ditch all the little initiatives to focus on their core business. The advantage of a new unit is to insulate it from people who say, ‘We can’t do it that way because we’ve done it a different way for years.’ You want to enable a group of people to think more broadly and creatively without outside pressures. Cisco’s Emerging Technologies Group has been in operation for three years, and it’s created a number of businesses. The early ones are all growing successfully, even in a bad economy.”

Don’t Rush, Don’t Dawdle

GOAL: PREVENT SHORT-TERM, CYCLICAL, OR COMPETITIVE PRESSURES FROM OVERWHELMING AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY.

It’s often said that people in particular cultures live life at their own unique paces. Americans are seen as hard-driving and somewhat shortsighted — a side effect of a business culture that takes its cues from the stock market’s emphasis on quarterly results.

Apple is different because Apple dances to a rhythm of its own making. Although its rising stock has become a vital part of many portfolios, Apple cancels, releases, and updates products at its own speed, seemingly irrespective of market conditions or competitive pressure. Apple doesn’t telegraph its moves, either: The iPod and iPhone, iconic products both, each began as rumors that Apple seemed determined to quash.

Plan B

STAYING COOL WHEN THE HEAT IS ON

Your stock price is down, your customers are angry, and investors are banging on your door. Sure, acting like Apple seems like a good idea — until your board starts craving blood. How do you maintain a focus on innovation when you don’t have a few successful quarters to back you up?

For a vivid demonstration of how to publicly recover from your errors (in style, no less), check out the video of Steve Jobs’ 1997 Macworld addressand an associated BNET feature, How to Present Like Steve Jobs.

Clone Your Own Steve Jobs

GOAL: IF YOU PUT A TYRANNICAL PERFECTIONIST IN CHARGE, INSTITUTIONALIZE HIS THINKING.

New adherents to the cult of Steve Jobs may be surprised to hear this: The most iconic Apple laptop, the original PowerBook, was released in 1991, after Jobs had been absent for six years. The smug hipsters who line today’s cafes with rows of identical MacBooks are merely updated versions of their counterparts from the early ’90s. Yet Jobs was in no way responsible for this enduring innovation.

So does that mean Steve Jobs is irrelevant? Or is Jobs — and his maniacal focus on building insanely great products — a necessary ingredient of Apple’s success?

Historians have long grappled with a similar question: How critical are those rare, world-changing “great leaders” whose efforts seem irreplaceable? Most historians now believe that great leaders are made by their circumstances and that their great deeds actually reflect the participation of thousands, or even millions, of people. In the case of Apple, there would be no Mac, no iPod, and no iPhone without the efforts of thousands of engineers and vast numbers of consumers who were looking for products that better served their needs.

That said, Jobs cuts an impressive figure, and if he was “made” by his circumstances, that process took many years. Remember that the first edition of Steve Jobs — the young inventor who, at 21, created Apple Computer — was not the visionary we know today. Instead, after nine years at Apple’s helm, the young Steve Jobs was ousted because of his aggressive, take-no-prisoners personality, which created a poisonous, unproductive atmosphere when it pervaded the company.

Today’s Steve Jobs seems to have learned how to focus that aggressive, take-no-prisoners personality more shrewdly, and to great effect. While he’s still an essential part of Apple’s success, the company has also institutionalized many of Jobs’ values to such an extent that Apple is now far less dependent on him. Tim Cook, for example, worked well as acting CEO during the first half of this year, when Jobs was on sick leave. But questions remain. So long as the overwhelming personality of Jobs is present, can anyone really grow into that position? Only when Jobs steps back from his role permanently will we really be able to determine how well Apple has learned the lessons he has taught.

Four Principles of Apple’s Successes (and Failures)


As the story goes, when Steve Jobs looked around Apple in 2002, he saw a profusion of gadgets: cell phones, PDAs, and MP3 players (including Apple’s blockbuster, the iPod). In a flash of brilliance, he asked himself a world-changing question: What if all those functions could be combined in just one device? The answer to that insightful question led to Apple’s next hit: the Rokr cell phone.

Whoops, scratch that. The Rokr was a commercial flop, and Apple’s short-lived partnership to develop an MP3 cell phone with Motorola is now an embarrassing footnote. In no small part, the iPhone exists today because the Rokr threw the shortcomings of the mobile phone industry into sharp relief. Smelling the industry’s stagnation, Jobs began planning the iPhone, even as the Rokr drew withering criticism.

The above anecdote highlights one important thing to remember about Apple: Its aura of infallibility is pure bunkum. The other thing to remember is that Apple learns from its mistakes. In fact, mistakes are vital to its creative process. But what are the rules that govern this process? Here are four of the most important principles.

Principle One: Don’t Follow Your Customers; Lead Them

Apple’s design process differs from that of most other companies. Traditional design research relies heavily on focus groups and customer feedback about existing products. Apple tends to place less emphasis on evidence than on intuition, under the theory that consumers can’t tell you they want a product or function if they can’t yet envision it. Instead, they need to be shown a superior alternative. Apple sees itself as being in business to create those revolutionary alternatives.

Principle Two: Temper Engineering With Art

Most companies that try to operate like Apple fail. Often that’s because of who they tap to spearhead the creative process. High-tech devices are built by engineers — and often designed by them, too. Unfortunately, engineers tend to design products that they would want to use, which explains why a typical device is jam-packed with a hopelessly confusing array of features. Apple has succeeded by making sure its top decision makers all subscribe to the same minimalist philosophy. The result is that the most-used features of its devices — like the iPod’s famous scroll wheel — feel entirely natural.

Principle Three: Focus on the Few to Sell to the Many

Instead of trying to satisfy every fringe taste or market niche — other companies that make laptops, for instance, often sell dozens of models at any given time — Apple focuses on just a few products in each category. With time and money on its side, Apple strives to make each item in its relatively small stable as perfect as possible. Over time, that helps differentiate the products and build customer loyalty.

Principle Four: Be Your Own Toughest Critic

The final ingredient to Apple’s success is an intangible energy and interest in doing well. And if the company ever lets that vitality go, it’s game over. (That’s what almost happened during the 1990s, before Jobs returned to provide a vital kick start.) Ultimately, Apple succeeds because it not only beats its competitors but also strives each year to beat itself. As management guru Peter Drucker noted long ago, “Your being the one who makes your products, process, or service obsolete is the only way to prevent your competitor from doing so.” In the process of trying to outdo itself, Apple often leaves its competition in the dust.


Insanely Great Marketing

Apple is famous for its products, but shrewd marketing has been an essential component of the company’s success. Former Apple CEO John Sculley was not being entirely cynical with his famous observation that Apple was, first and foremost, a marketing company. While it’s fair to say that Apple’s engineers are the company’s foundation, it’s clear that without Apple’s marketing and public relations teams, its mythic aura would long since have vanished. Here’s how the company does it.

1. A Clear Sense of the Customer

Apple has positioned itself as the tech provider for the creative class, so it often injects a dose of avant-garde savvy into its advertising. The iPod’s boldly colored ads, for example, could have doubled as art school projects (or acid trips). Other spots simply articulate and emphasize the investment Apple has put into its design “language” — the engineering and styling that make its products so instantly recognizable. In almost every instance, Apple strives to appeal to anyone who lives (or aspires to live) a more creative life, and the results flatter both Apple’s products and the people who use them.

2. No False Modesty

Apple is not afraid to market its devices as game changers that are far better than the alternatives. Nobody would ever call Apple shy or self-effacing. That does wonders to reinforce Apple’s brand, but it has a risky downside: Apple’s barely concealed undercurrent of arrogance makes its fans feel like part of a special group, but it also repels some potential customers.

3. Standout Advertising

Whether you prefer a Mac or Windows PC, an iPhone or a Blackberry, there’s no denying that Apple has become one of the world’s most recognized brands, and Apple’s advertising and marketing efforts have done much to make that happen. Apple’s traditional advertising campaigns have been managed by the same ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day, since 1997. Ambitious, nonconformist, and witty, Apple’s campaigns do more than just feature products: They also take explicit potshots at key competitors. The “I’m a Mac” ad campaign, for example, which contrasts a cool hipster (representing Apple) with an uptight office drone (representing Microsoft) was typically effective. Of course, the depiction of Microsoft as a bumbling, Dilbertesque suit recalls the powerful message of a much earlier ad campaign: the famous “1984” spot that Apple ran in 1983 to mark the launch of the original Macintosh, which characterized IBM as the agent of dystopian corporate conformity.

4. Not-Too-Public Public Relations

Apple’s PR department, which maintains contacts with traditional journalists, bloggers, television shows, and just about anyone who covers the company regularly, has never fit the stereotype of fawning, eager-to-please flacks. “The genius of Apple’s PR is the way the company uses secrecy and misdirection to generate buzz around its product announcements,” says Nick Ciarelli, the creator ofThink Secret, a now-defunct Apple blog that aroused the company’s ire. The launch of an Apple product resembles nothing so much as a military assault: months of impenetrable secrecy and denial, misdirection campaigns, waves of rumors, and finally a massive barrage of publicity as the veil comes off. “It’s a strategy that infuriates partners, big corporate buyers, and the press, but it allows public speculation to build to a fever pitch,” Ciarelli says.

It’s also fair to say, however, that secrecy and misdirection can be carried too far. Apple’s PR attempted to pass off Jobs’ recent serious illness, which ended in a liver transplant, as a “common bug,” a whopper that helped provoke shareholder lawsuits against the company.


13.5.09

Reebok:::Your Reebok

BRAND: Reebok 
BRAND OWNER: Adidas Reebok 
CATEGORY :Accessories/ Clothing/ Footwear 
REGION :Global 
DATE :Mar 2009 - Dec 2008

Reebok was looking for an exciting way of engaging consumers with the brand.  Customisation had been a popular part of reebok.com for over two years and it wanted to take this a step further into the mobile space. Reebok has created an iPhone application, Your Reebok, that allows consumers to fully customize, and have the option to buy, a pair of Reebok shoes. People who download the application from the iTunes App Store can customize three shoe models: The Freestyle, The Classic Leather and The Ventilator. The designer can change up to 23 areas of the shoe, with a choice of 19 colours, four material options and adding personalized text. The designs can be shared with friends via email link or the whole world from the application – with the design being geo-tagged and added to the Your Reebok global community map. From the map all the other shared designs can be viewed and either bought or used as a canvas for customisation.

 





2.5.09

Macintosh Production Introduction Plan

2. Marketing Strategy
2.A Strategic Overview
The primary worldwide marketing goal is simple and straightforward: establish Macintosh as the third industry standard product in the marketplace. The first two standard products are the Apple II(e) and the IBM-PC. This goal will not happen instantaneously. However, the marketing story must be in place at introduction.
Macintosh cannot and will not be "all things to all people" -- especially at time of introduction. Yet the dynamics of the industry warrant an extremely aggressive marketing program from the outset. It is our premise that we will only get to introduce this product once. We have an extraordinary product. We must surround that product with excellent service, support, applications software. In addition, it is of crucial importance that we communicate a believable and achievable marketing plan to our sales force and the public at time of introduction. Part of this plan will be real at introduction while a significant portion will occur in the following 3-9 months. As a "marketing driven" company we must focus on the entire album and not just a snapshot of introduction day.
Failing to establish Macintosh as the third standard product could significantly decelerate Apple's growth curve. IBM has taken away major pieces of our large office, medium office and small business segment sales. National Account penetration is a long term prospect. Without a successful introduction, the first-term trend appears irreversible given IBM's success in repositioning the IIe as a home/education product. Moving the PCS product line back into the mainstream business segment at this time appears to be an unreasonable proposition. Apple's attempt to create a two horse Apple/IBM race will fail if we are relegated to a <>
2.B Product Positioning
Positioning is a concept that informs consumers about the relative qualities a product may have in contrast to its competition. It is based on another concept: that consumers apply hierarchical values to products. It is always dynamic and changing, and is most successful when proactive rather than reactive.
.......................................................................................................................
Macintosh is an advanced personal productivity tool for knowledge workers. .......................................................................................................................
ADVANCED - Lisa Technology, our key competitive advantage, sets a new price/value standard. This is extremely important. We define Lisa Technology as its user interface software: pull down menus, windows, desktop metaphor, bitmapped graphics, integrated applications, and mouse all driven by a 32 bit 68000. The benefits of this technology are the reduction in learning time, the consistent user interface across applications, and the sharing of data across applications. Our competitive analysis states that neither IBM, nor anyone else, will be able to replicate Mac for 6-12 months. We strongly support the POSD claim that Lisa Technology represents the future direction in personal computing, for naive users as well as "experts".
PERSONAL - The product is designed to optimize personal performance at a desk environment. The product is 30% the size and weight of the PC. It can easily be transported from one work location to another. The typical knowledge worker spends 29% of his/her time in generic thought work" (from Booz-Allen). This statistic represents the analysis, problem solving, memo writing part of a knowledge worker's day. In many situations Macintosh will replace the pencil and paper method of generic thought work. The typical customer will use the product 1-3 hours/day. The product has not been optimized to "run a company" as in the large scale computation and manipulation of payrolls, inventories, or data bases. However, the product excels at local information processing including acting as a terminal to remote data bases. Apple's message will be that, 'Macintosh fits. On your desk and in your life."
PRODUCTIVITY TOOL - Like the Apple IIe and the IBM-PC, the product will increase the productivity of the knowledge worker at the desk. Standard generic productivity tools including word processing, spreadsheet, business graphics, data base/file management, communications and project scheduling will be available from third party developers. With new software written specifically for Macintosh coming from Lotus Development (1-2-3), Microsoft (MultiPlan, MultiChart, MultiWord, MultiFile), Software Publishing Corporation (PFS Series) and others, we will have an outstanding selection of powerful proven productivity tools. In addition, our Apple published applications, MacWrite, MacPaint and MacTerminal are excellent products. The competitive advantage of Macintosh over the PC or the IIe is the unique combination of brand name integrated productivity software with Lisa Technology. In this context we often speak of the product as a desk appliance. An appliance is defined as a "means to an end". The first desk appliance for knowledge workers was the telephone. Current generation personal computers with their 20-40 hour learning time cannot be called appliances. Appliances deliver great utility, are easy to learn and master, increase productivity, take up less space and are priced for personal (as opposed to shared) use. Macintosh, as a second generation desk appliance, offers unparalleled performance and value as a productivity tool.
KNOWLEDGE WORKERS - The knowledge worker has been carefully defined by Booz-Allen by POSD, and by many office automation consultants, and is demographically addressed in Section 2C of this PIP. Knowledge workers are professionally trained individuals who are paid to process information and ideas into plans, reports, analyses, memos, and budgets. They generally sit at desks. They generally do the same generic problem solving work irrespective of age, industry, company size, or geographic location. Some have limited computer experience -- perhaps an introductory programming class in college -- but most are computer naive. Their use of a personal computer will not be of the intense eight-hours-per-day-on-the-keyboard variety. Rather they bounce from one activity to another, from meeting to phone call, from memo to budgets, from mail to meeting. Like the telephone, their personal computer must be extremely powerful yet extremely easy to use. In general, their psychographic profile correlates very closely with SRI's Values And Lifestyles Study (VALS) group known as "achievers". Excluded from our definition of the knowledge worker are CEO's and secretaries/clerks. This target knowledge worker group maps directly into our corporate positioning Strategy with the tag line, "Soon there will be two kinds of people: those who use computers and those who use Apples."
Macintosh is an advanced personal productivity tool for knowledge workers. The product is not a "home computer" nor a K-12 "education computer" nor a large-scale fully networked office automation machine. The next two sections describe in detail the physical location of our target customer and the channels required to reach the customer.
2.C Target Markets
Knowledge workers use productivity applications in all of Apple's traditional market segments: business, education and home. In order of priority, Macintosh is horizontally targeted at knowledge workers in the following U.S. markets:
1. Medium Business (Sales > $5 million and <>

hey make up the largest group of knowledge workers and potential Macintosh users:
Knowledge Workers Potential Macintosh Users
Large Business 11.4 million 5.2 million
Medium Business 15.6 million 8.6 million
Small Business 9.6 million 5.1 million
TOTAL 36.6 million 18.9 million
Potential Macintosh users, for example, include financial analysts, sales managers, accountants, insurance and real estate agents, stockbrokers, social scientists, lawyers, personnel managers, administrators, planners, and exclude, for example, all secretaries, typists, clerical workers, retail sales workers.
Personal productivity users in the three segments of the business market share certain needs because of their common applications, and have some different needs because of the size and nature of their businesses. Below we have ranked the needs of the three business segments:



The college marketplace provides another large pool of knowledge workers. There are 3,300 colleges and universities in the United States with approximately 11 million students. Besides needing productivity and educational software and being very price sensitive, this segment insists on state of the art technology. Macintosh's consistent user interface and mouse-based technology is a big plus here. Apple has traditionally been strong in the education market. Through the Macintosh-initiated University Consortium Program, we expect that Macintosh will be the centerpiece of long-term agreements with universities wishing to use the entire Apple line of products.
We expect a large number of Macintosh's to enter the home/home-business market because of the price/value relationship and strength of Apple's retail distribution channel. Based an results from the 1981 Census, Apple II Owners' Survey and Apple's Wave II Brand Share Study, we estimate the market for high-end home systems (> $500) is approximately 25.8 million households. This market wants literacy/education/entertainment software, productivity software, reliability, price/value, ease of use and expendability. It is certain that Macintosh will be an extremely attractive product in this segment. However, we will not attempt to position the product in any way as a "home" computer.
The scientific/industrial matrix is composed of 2 million engineers, scientists and technicians. Personal computers are used in this segment for general desktop purposes (48%), data acquisition and control (40%), and computer aided graphics and drafting (12%). Macintosh will focus its marketing efforts on the productivity applications of the 48% of engineers and scientists requiring a general desktop computer. These professionals need development languages such as FORTRAN, Pascal and C, general purpose formula solvers (TK!Solver) and statistical programs, standard communication interfaces (RS-232, RS-422, IEEE-488) and mass storage in the 5 - 1 0 Mb range.
The following pie chart breaks out Macintosh's anticipated US sales for calendar year 1984 by market segment:
Based on Industry unit sales volume projected by the Apple Markets model and on Apple unit sales volume projected in FY 1984 Business Plan, Macintosh and the other Apple products will fit into the various market segments as follows:
3. Product Line Strategy
3.A STRATEGIC OVERVIEW
The design goal for the Macintosh product is to develop a low cost, powerful personal computer with Lisa Technology. All basic requirements will be built into the product thus eliminating the need for costly internal hardware slots. The value of the machine is delivered via "software slots"; that is, application software developed under the influence of our open architecture development environment and our 64K Lisa Technology ROM.
The product development Strategy for Macintosh is twofold:
*Provide the core set of hardware, peripherals, and system software at an extraordinary price/value;
*Stimulate leading third-party developers to rewrite their best applications for Macintosh, as well as write new applications, taking advantage of the Macintosh user interface and graphics capabilities.
This is accomplished by establishing a large installed base of Macintoshes and by providing a rich development environment and good marketing programs that increase the attractiveness of developing products for Macintosh.
The objectives of the Macintosh data communications Strategy are to:
*Provide users access to information stored in mainframe databases in a low cost, effective way;
*Meet the buying objections of large corporate customers for useful communications with IBM mainframe computers.
The Strategy is to develop a simple terminal emulation package for VT-100, VT-52, and TTY to be available at or soon after launch, and to combine this software with existing Apple hardware products to enable 3270 communications (see product dictionary for detailed description). We are continuing to work with the POSD data communications group to pursue more optimal and cost-effective datacomm solutions for all Apple CPUs.
The objectives of our mass storage and networking strategies are to:
*Provide mass storage products to meet the needs of Macintosh customers;
*Provide flexible network and server solutions in a market environment where no clear standards exist;
*Meet the buying objectives of large corporate customers "requiring" networks.
These strategies are under development and will be discussed as soon as the products have been approved.
Details on specific products and their availability are in the sections that follow.
Team
The team scribe is Barbara Koalkin with assistance from everyone in Macintosh, especially Bob Belleville, Director of Engineering.
To tavel furter.. visit

21.3.09

Apple / iPhone: OS 3.0, featuring cut, copy and paste

Apple announced an update to the iPhone operating system at one of its love feasts in Cupertino today. The update will be available this summer as a free upgrade for the iPhone 3G, and for $9.95 for the iPod touch.
Top of the wish list was fulfilled with Cut/Copy and Paste, finally streamlining the OS with a feature that's been in Windows and Macintosh since their beginnings. The system will work by double-tapping or dragging across text, selecting cut, copy or paste in the bubble above it, and then using a similar routine to paste it into another place, or across applications.
What else is new in the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0?


Search: Last year Apple added search for contacts, and now there will be the ability to search your email, calendars, iTunes, and notes. Also added will be Spotlight, letting you search across the iPhone for a keyword.

MMS: the widely adopted Multimedia Messaging System will now work on the iPhone, letting you attach photos or audio clips to text messages for instant, you-are-there fun. You can also forward and delete messages.

Stereo Bluetooth: Inexplicably missing on the iPhone, now you'll be able to listen to stereo music over Bluetooth. Still missing: wireless synching via Bluetooth. The bad news? This stereo Bluetooth goodness and MMS won't work on iPhone 1.0.

Landscape typing in Apple Apps: Now you can turn your iPhone on its side and type with a larger touchscreen keyboards, a feature that was available in some situations but not in email. Finally.
Voice Memo: Record yourself a voice message, play it back easily.
Modified Google Maps application: now lets developers use Google Maps in their apps. But the big news is this will allow "turn-by-turn" applications, bringing GPS navigation to the iPhone. However, because of licensing issues, developers will be required to provide the maps.
Multiplayer connectivity: The iPhone will automagically discover other iPhones running the same app, and you can play games with them. Welcome to the social.
Accessories communication: Apps will be allowed to communicate with external accessories, such as a blood pressure cuff, FM tuner, or equalization for a docked speaker.
Push Notification: While Apple promised one-way background functionality ("push notification") last year but never delivered, Apple's SVP of iPhone software Scott Forstall says he means it this time.
No Background Processing: Apple tried running background processes on the iPhone, but the battery life was reduced by 80%, and there was a significat performance hit. That's why they're going with push notification, a one-way process that lets you know when you've received a message but requires you to open the application to respond.
New Apps: ESPN showed a streaming video application that also takes advantage of the iPhone's push capability, notifying users of sports scores. Electronic Arts demonstrated its The Sims 3 game, flaunting the iPhone's clean playback and animation capabilities. And, you can buy stuff within apps.
What's Missing: Still no support for Flash video and applications in Safari. No tethering, the ability to use the iPhone's 3G connection to get online with your laptop. Even though Apple says it's "supporting tethering on the client side," its providers aren't playing ball just yet. No video recording.

17.3.09

Just Noticeable Difference

Just Noticeable Difference (jnd) is a scientific term that describes the minimal amount of change in a stimulus it takes to be perceived. For example, how much louder does a sound have to get or how much heavier does an object have to be for you to notice the difference? But it may also be a good way to thinkabout the dynamic between audiences and brands. Psychologists have suggested that as much as 95 percent of human behavior is controlled by the unconscious mind; we are creatures of habit that learn quickly to tune out what we don’t need. So, in a sea of marketing sameness, audiences tend to ignore the familiar and pay attention only to what they notice as different. Just being wildly different for the sake of standing out, however, can sometimes be confusing for audiences. Often it’s a brand’s Just Noticeable Differences that audiences connect with most.

In today’s hyper-competitive world, standing out can often seem daunting. It’s important for brands to recognize the value of its Just Noticeable Differences when aiming to change audience perceptions. It’s a delicate balance between these improvements not getting noticed at all and being conspicuously uncharacteristic of the brand. The featured cases illustrate how minor change can challenge the status quo, increase recognition and successfully evolve and differentiate the brand.

iPod Headphones
The ultimate example of Just Noticeable Difference might be the iPod’s white headphones. Using white headphones to launch Apple’s mp3 player wasn’t merely disruptive for a category with commonly black headphones, it was also ownable as the iPod’s signature color. Further, the distinctive color publicly identified the consumer’s brand preference – a fact previously hidden in the consumer’s pocket–creating a tribe-like community and encouraging a wider audience to join the digital music revolution.





Target RX Packaging
Target revamped the conventional amber prescription bottle and replaced it with clear containers. The new pill bottles, dubbed ClearRX, were paired with six color-coded rings to help family members identify their drugs. These minor changes successfully marry function with intelligent design making it noticeably more user-friendly and safer (nearly 60 percent of prescription drugs are taken improperly as result of unclear labeling). Target’s prescription drug sales increased 14 percent in the first year after ClearRX’s launch.



BP “Beyond Petroleum”
To shake off its image of a traditional oil company and as part of its effort to be perceived as an energy provider committed to the environment and solar power, BP decided to move away from its inter-state shield to a Helios symbol in form of a green and yellow sunflower. Syncing the launch of the new logo with introducing a new corporate slogan “Beyond Petroleum” provided not only a meaningful definition of the company name but proved to be the Just Noticeable Difference for audiences to perceive BP as a company with bigger ideas for the future.

7 Skills for a Post-Pandemic Marketer

The impact of Covid-19 has had a significant impact across the board with the marketing and advertising industry in 2020, but there is hope...