“What is more troubling than the businesses who want to sell a ton of merchandise during the holiday quarter are the businesses who seemingly to want to cater to the consumer but completely ignore a major segment of their business during the busy season. The culprit here is, of course, Apple Computer,” Chris Seibold writes for Apple Matters. “Apple, predictably, will advertise the batteries out the new iPod and possibly the iPod nano… Which is great, in the last quarter the iPod accounted for 33% of Apple’s income. The iPod is obviously a popular product and hence it should be advertised. Still Apple is giving short shrift, at least from a marketing perspective, to the new iMac. It is important to remember that Macintosh computers still account for 43% of Apple’s sales, the largest percentage of Apple’s revenue.(Is Apple a computer company that happens to sell iPods, or an iPod company that sells a high priced iPod add-on computer? The line between the two grows more blurred daily).”
Seibold writes, “Windows users, in general, are unaware of the goodness that is Macintosh… Apple has an eminently marketable product in the new iMac. Therefore they should take a tip from the other corporations dotting the business landscape and advertise the thing. Please.”
Full article here.
[UPDATE: October 28, 2005: 4:40pm ET: Corrected “eminently” in Seibold’s article.]
But, if Apple advertised the Mac, people might buy more Macs! People might actually understand that their insipid Word documents will work fine on a Mac. People might figure out that, yes, Virginia, “Macs have the Internet” and can do email. People might even get a glimpse of GarageBand or Dashboard or Front Row or something equally cool. They might see something that’s refined and elegant inside and out instead of dull and mediocre through and through. Can’t have that sort of stuff, now can we? Seibold must’ve lost his mind. Yeah, yeah, we know: iPods sell Macs.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
More would switch from Windows to Mac if Apple advertised more effectively – September 04, 2005
Forrester analysts: Apple should advertise Mac OS X Tiger on television and in movie theaters – April 29, 2005
Mac fans line up for new operating system as passberby asks ‘what is a tiger?’ – April 29, 2005
Apple posts QuickTime movies of Mac OS X Tiger features in action – April 13, 2005
Why doesn’t Apple advertise Mac OS X on TV? – April 12, 2005
Why doesn’t Apple show its patented Mac OS X ‘Genie Effect’ in TV ads? – October 07, 2004
Top Ten things Apple needs to show the world about Macintosh – July 30, 2003
See also my comment about the fear of microsoft article a few days ago.
That is what I have ALWAYS wanted to know. And when they do advertise something usually people have no idea who made it, or anything about the product they are advertising.
They’ve never advertised the G5 iMac on TV. Or the Mac mini for that matter. I don’t get it.
Actually though, I think they should stay away from focusing on the hardware and advertise OS X. Microsoft has a TV campaign going on now for XP that’s awful, but at least they’ve got the right idea.
I’ve got a Mac, most people who visit this site do also. I don’t need anyone to advertise to me.
I agree they need more advertising, but I think they should wait until the Intel switch is in full swing and they have a viable alternative (including integrated spreadsheet) waiting in the wings to replace Office when MS pulls the plug.
I really agree with those who’ve said the Apple might have a clever strategy to move to Intel to get users to buy a box that can be dual booted to Win or OS X. Once they have that option, they can market that too and when people compare OS X with the piece of junk that Vista will turn out to be they tide will start to swing more rapidly.
I love the gratuitous crack about “insipid” Word documents.
i dont, im a poor high school senior who cant afford a mac yet, anyone wanna donate to the buy stephen an iMac fund?
apple needs to reach out to people. that is part of the reason they opened the retail stores…people go in to pick up an ipod, and see an iMac!
MDN magic word: began, as in “Apple began to advertise, and finally took over the electronics world”
I think they should pick a region of the US and advertise OS X there. Make sure the stores there have plenty of stock and advertise – get a whole bunch of people to start looking. Because it will be a small enough area, people will start to look into it together. People would say: “Hey, I saw that ad for the Mac, what is that about.” Then, they might start talking about computers and in a group, that would be more tempting to walk into the Apple store and try it out. It’s always easier in a group. Then, as more people get them, it will grow. I’m not saying that they should market everywhere at once, too much growth can be a bad thing, but just start pockets of it and manage the growth that way.
It was one year ago today that I made the “switch,” and bought a G5 iMac. So that’s been 365 days without spyware, adware, viruses, or the blue screen of death.
And I am NEVER going back!
Why Apple doesn’t advertise the iMac or the Mini is beyond me. Of course if they did could they keep up with demand?
Once the Intel switch starts then you will see a lot of OS X and Mac advertising. Apple will start really stepping up mass-marketing of those products as they have with the iPod.
One of the problems Apple has had is getting enough supply of chips from IBM and Moto. Even if 5 times the amount of people wanted an iMac they probably could get one. At this point, advertizing won’t help. Apple are probably selling all the Macs they can make without advertizing.
If they are assured of a plentiful supply of chips from Intel, then they can ramp up production in advance of increased demand as a result of new product and an advertizing blitz.
The ads will probably be quite simple. Something along the lines of:
Fast, cheap, safe (no viruses), stable (no crashes), cool (OS X and design), software (iLife etc). And did I mention COOL.
With the hype that iPod has generated, all Apple will need is a stylish case (which they already have done) and loads of screenshots.
But, and the big but is – will Intel come up with the goods on time and in volume. I still have my doubts.
I don’t expect to see the big advertising campaign until the first intel iMac and iBook. I can only imagine how Apple will push that single change. Current Mac users may not like the intel switch. I don’t mind at all.
Point is, you don’t need to advertise a Mac to a Mac user – they are going to go to Apple.com anyway. However, when you can give a windows user that familiar “intel inside” feeling – the switch won’t feel like such a risk. It’s not.
Reading tea leaves: we might see an Apple office product to ease the switch as well?
Wait until the new intel line-up for an aggressive ad campaign.
Palmer
Refreshing as I usally do right before I post – looks like The Puppet Master beat me to “my” take.
Actually, Apple does have many print advertisements for Macs and OS X, but not television ads. In fact, the last TV ad for a Mac that I remember was the “there is no third step” ads for the original iMacs.
FINALLY, SOMEONE SAID IT!!!!!!!!
STEVE, FOR GOD’S SAKE WOULD YOU ADVERTISE THE MAC????
ESPECIALLY AT THIS RIGHT TIME OF APPLE POPULARITY AND THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW IMAC!!!!!
Anyone know Tauk tours? For many years they made it big as a word of mouth travel company– catering to high-end (usually older) people who wanted to have a travel experience, but not the hassle. They have grown very, very large. many companies do this, but most of us lead lives that never cross their paths.
Apple is either a large comapny failing to make it bigger (from lack of advertising), or a small comapny making it huge (because people DO pass the message on).
For me, the interesting thing is whether word of mouth can take over an industry…?
You guys don’t get it. These days advertising has nothing or little to do with actual products. Large publicity firms such as he one Apple has had for years (TBWA/Chiat/Day) don’t sell products, they sell “experience” or some other crap like this. Just look at car ads, they show you what a great feeling it is to drive this car rather than the car specs. It’s the same with soap, shampoo ot any other products. Under Steve jobs, Apple has a long history of ad campaing having nothing to do with hardware (remember the Think Different ad : Here’s for the cazy one, the misfits…). These ads are cool, aren’t they Steve ?
That’s too bad because people who don’t use Macs still believe all the myths about Macs not being compatible with Windows, costing more, having no software, etc. Apple’s ads may be cool but I don’t think that a lot of people desperately in need for a good compting experience are willing to throw everything they know (i.e. Wintel) and try something new just because “these ads are so freaking cool !”
We Macs users take a lot of things for granted while 95% of computer users still believe that owning a Mac is being isolated from the world. Unless Apple starts telling potential buyers the truth cool ads will just be that: cool ads.
Hopefully some people going in Apple Stores to buy an iPod will take a look at the iMac G5 or the Mac mini and see that they are not just hype products and, yes, you can send an email to a Windows user with a Macintosh.
Apple doesnt need to advertise. They need to manufacture more hardware to keep up with current demand.
Indeed, why?
when SJ first took the CEO position at apple in 97 he said something along the lines of: ‘We’ve been spending 100 million a year on advertising and not getting results. We’re going to keep spending 100 mill a year and do it right’ who knew he meant not at all=right?
MW table. As in Apple please put some mac advertising on the table
“Once the Intel switch starts then you will see a lot of OS X and Mac advertising. Apple will start really stepping up mass-marketing of those products as they have with the iPod.”
It’s about time somebody said it!
Apple is just entering the Intel-switch curve. Now is NOT the time to make a major pitch to the other side. Want to turn off PC users? Make them give up their current software investment, only to come back in a year or two & say they could’ve kept their old apps anyway. The last thing Apple needs is new switchers thinking they got screwed.
Current Mac users & the Halo Effect will carry things well enough until the Intel transition has stabilized a little. Then Apple can open the flood gates.
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I don’t think Apple has the infrastructure to meet demand. It has nothing to do with fearing MS or anything similar. I believe they’re waiting to make the transition to Intel to begin the marketing campaign. Why market a product that’s only going to be phased out in a couple of years. The Pro market is another thing and I think Apple will continue to provided support and maybe a few new products. But for the most part PPC is dead to Apple. I think the coming year will prove to be a very successful and reveling year.
Give me 24 hours as CEO. That all I need.
Q; Why in Jobs’ name doesn’t Apple advertise the Macintosh?
A: Stealth.
Apple is making really good money while perfecting an operating system that has a stable history and no blatantly inherent design deficiencies. Purchasing NeXT was a long-term investment for Apple.*
OS X was first adopted by the alpha geeks. Then teens and tweens. college kids and creative pros. Now it’s sneaking into server rooms. Next will be living rooms.
Apple will continue widening the functionality, security and reliability gaps between OS X and Windows. But Apple will let mediocre thought continue with ideas like “Apple has great marketing, but Macs are not real computers” and much of the other FUD aimed at those that do not think for themselves. Although mediocre thought is slow, it is dangerous when threatened. Apple is wise to shrink it to it’s core before waking it up.
And by the time mediocre thought and MS’s major stake-holders notice what’s going on, it will be too late. The gap will be too wide. Then you can show the fools what they’ve been missing.
*It may be more accurate to say “getting Apple to purchase NeXT was a long-term strategic move for Steve.”
It must be awful to be an Apple marketing exec. Best product in the world, but every time you sneak out a new product (how cheap is a Jobs RDF stage show in PR terms), you have huge difficulty in meeting demand. Stock control is pretty impeccable: the best evidence of a coming hardware upgrade is a drying up of the channel.
I suspect that the real worst fear in Infinite Loop is of effectively tapping that latent demand which all we Mac fans (and they as well) believe to be there. They don’t advertise because they know couldn’t meet demand if it were to double or triple, rather merely go up by about 50% as it did last year.
TomCS
“That’s too bad because people who don’t use Macs still believe all the myths about Macs not being compatible with Windows”
Thats what the Switch ads were for, and despite all the endless drivel about them not being successful, they really were. I know, trust me.
Just because they didn’t double marketshare overnight doesn’t mean that they were ineffective. Slowly, people are starting to see through the myths. The ones who can’t shouldn’t be using a Mac anyway.
Apple is the iPod company. Computers are a legacy product.
Apple has one of the strongest marketing dept. of any company out there. And if they choose not to advertise the Mac, then there must be a reason. Although I do see OS X ads in magazines. Perhaps they reason why they don’t have tv ads for Mac is because they’re ineffective. Getting a PC user to switch is no 30 sec feat. The best way to get them to switch is by educating them. So would all my fellow mac user STOP COMPLAINING AND START PREACHING!!!
Apple sells, what, about 4-5 million computers a year. Its US market share is growing, but still less than 5%. In the rest of the world, it’s lower.
The bulk of those sales are to current Apple users. No bang for your advertising buck there. The purpose of an ad campaign should be to attact new users. Everyone no doubt agrees on that one.
Any advertising campaign would be specific to a particular market or culture. In other words, US ads won’t play well in Asia.
Suppose 100 million bucks in TV ads in the US brings in another half-million new (i.e. current Windows-users) customers. $200 for each new customer is pretty steep.
Meanwhile, the iPod is getting the Apple brand into the hands of millions of Windows users, and this happens profitably. It’s better than free marketing–its marketing that the customers actually pay Apple for.
If just 5% of Windows iPod users buy an Apple computer, market share steadily increases, as is happening now. 5% intending to purchase is hands down better than any results a TV campaign could bring.
Add to that the way which Apple is creating buzz–in Time magazine cover stories, with stage-managed announcements, with media and computer-industry buzz (even PC World is endorsing its products now–whoda thunkit?) and you can see that Apple has carefully, relentlessly, played its marketing cards, they’ve just used innovative new methods of doing it.
Innovative…of course, how did we miss it? Paying big bucks for traditional TV spots seems so…yesterday. And it has such poor ROI. Don’t we all think traditional TV is dying anyway?
Someday, I want to own a company so clever it gets its huge marketing for free. But I’ll have to wait until the stock price dips a bit, $55 is too high for me right now.
MW = results, as in, duh!
When vista comes out the gap will be much smaller between mac os and windows (still huge though
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” /> ) but people will probably be happy with windows for another 5-10 years. Apple blew it by not advertising mac os x when the gap was at its largest, really stupid!
What really confuses me is that Apple even went so far as to MAKE ads advertising OS X… and then never ran them!
http://www.esm.psu.edu/Faculty/Gray/movies.html
That site has some limited bandwidth issues, but the videos are titled:
“Touching”, “Junk Mail”, “Find yourself”, and “Xpress yourself”. They are for Jaguar, and half decent, but apparently never released.
Perhaps they were found to be not good enough quality? Or someone pulled the plug at the last minute?
Regardless, it would be nice to see some new Apple ads of the quality of the older ones. Whatever happened to ads like the “Think Different” ad?
MDN MW: “Group”, as in Apple has a chance to bring in a whole new group of people!
Advertising takes many forms beyond straight TV ads (such as the iPod ads). Public TV viewers must have certainly noticed that Apple was the corporate underwriter for the Bob Dylan two-part Martin Scorsese film, “No Way Home.”
Ever notice how often Powerbooks appear onscreen in the hippest TV shows? Maybe Larry David’s TV wife in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” uses a Powerbook because it’s in the script — or it could be a strategic “product placement.” Same for the uber-trendy HBO series “Entourage.” You can tell which agency employee has the most juice by the type of Mac on their desk.
While not purely advertising, the Apple Stores in malls and campus bookstores across America are giving millions of folks a good dose of the brand image along with some up-close & personal interaction with the people and products of Apple. And the website, with all the special areas for Pro, education, etc. is excellent.
I don’t think the Prius has ever been advertised on TV — Toyota ran print ads in Wired for years — yet the car has generated tremendous media buzz and consumer demand. I have a hunch that Apple also has a savvy marketing plan in place for G5s that includes “earned media,” product placement, catalog co-op advertising and the like.
I thought the only reason that the Macs aren’t selling like Microsoft does is because Microsoft sells a low system that students can buy just for word proccessing and going online. The eMac would be a great student computer, but it doesn’t have the impressively awful flat screen that comes with a Microsoft computer.
If Mac wanted all the normal house computer people to use their system they need to change the eMac and make it more appealing.
~Caleb strikes again!
I think the ipod is the best advertising for the mac possible, but advertising is very tricky business and I won’t even try to second guess or offer advice to Steve Jobs. I suggest you relax and do the same.
they get free advertising like this every day. Even Fox news wrote a recent article about the video iPod…
I see Apple on TV all the time:
* as the corporate underwriter of Martin Scorcese’s Public TV film about Bob Dylan, “No Direction Home.”
* in the homes and office of characters in HBO’s top series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Entourage.”
* on the news whenever Steve Jobs appears
Product placement, earned media, name ID association with excellence in music — combined with the high tech/high touch Apple Stores and catalog co-op ads. Sounds like a marketing plan to me….
Remember, the Prius isn’t advertised on TV either, yet the media buzz, popularity and consumer demand is intense. For some products, it takes a softer touch.
From Apple’s own website on their .Mac page…
“How revolutionary is an idea if you don’t tell others?”
They don’t advertise any computers,(last one I saw was the iMac FP) only iPods. Then when they do they ONLY and I mean ONLY sell to the “liberal loft crowd” and “gang banger city kids” Never to John midwest. “F” the cool kiddy gang crap and do a 30 – 60 sec high class showpiece showing quick close-ups of program workings to entice EVERYONE. The liberal loft crowd ads insults my intelligence and I am a dumb ass. So there. That’s how bad I think their marketing is.
We really shouldn’t question Apple’s advertising methods. Any company that can lose 90% of its market share, since it was neck and neck with the ibm pc platform in the late 80’s, while producing superior products, doesn’t need anyone’s help.
Apple doesn’t advertise on TV because you can’t sell a Mac to the TV crowd. They see a $250 Dell with higher clockspeed, and they’re going to become experts in computers and tell their friends that Macs suck.
Once the Mac mini hits 2.0+ GHz, get ready for the media deluge.
Er, by “imminently” did he mean “eminently”?
there are three elements of advertising: find your target market, aim, fire. if most of the lack of advertising angst comes from the lack of tv advertising, then the people who are complaining are watching the wrong programs. you say you have a mac and want to see more mac advertising on what you are watching? if the chiat folks are doing there job, you mac owners shouldn’t see mac ads. it must be working.
agree totally that advertising is about building brand. apple has enhanced and broadened its brand with ipod advertising in print, espn and mtv. advertising is supposed to be hypnotic. youwillbuyamacyouwillbuyamac. not the over the top crap you usually see. get the nonmac folks getting the brand message with the ipod then lead them by the nose from there.
i see apple’s advertising as more on than off target. this approach is the only way since they lost the battle for the desktop. the strategy is to put the desktop in your rear view mirror and win the war. building brand with macs at this time is folly. i’m guessing they are trying to define the mac as something other than a desktop device or will be renaming it the johnpaulgeorgeringo media appliance (with a click wheel remote of course).
MW: Problem. if Apple advertised the Mac, people might buy more Macs and MDN might have to reinvent itself.
I think we’ll see ads later in 2006, when Jobs is ready. He’ll get more bang for the bucks then. Stay the course, Stevie.
Microsoft quarterly profit rises 24% to US$3.14 Billion!!! And that’s just software!!!
Tra-la-la, La-la, La-la…
Mac fanboys, keep the flame… as you slowly drift off to irrelevance…
(33% of sales due to iPods – definitely an iPod manufacturer that happens to sell expensive computers)
Evinrude outboard motors made an infomercial about 1-2 years ago that made me want to go out and buy one. Granted it was 15+ mins long. The ad agency that did that hit it out of the park.( I even e-mail some Apple executives that I found their e-mail. I really needed Steve’s email address) I can bet you no NY liberal loft crowd agency worked on that one. I still want to buy a $12,000 outboard today because of that commercial and I don’t even own a boat. Demonstrations on how their product worked , tested it against a Yamaha outboard right beside it on a twin motored hull. Close ups, high quality camera work and clean and clear information on why they think they have the best motor. Good writing, lighting and camera work and most of all, YOU SAW IT RUNNING AND PERFORMING!!! The loft crowd and city kid gang bangers already know how cool and good iPods are. Show Joe Average the other 75 % of the market that thinks an Apple is a fruit or is just a glorified Apple II
Mac Jack
Why yes, I did mean eminently. Thanks for the catch.
1) Historically, Apple has had a difficult time with having adequate inventory. Even now plenty of Macs are being sold. If suddenly and additional 3% of the market demanded Macs, I’m not sure Apple could supply them.
2) They don’t need to. The computers are selling.
3) Why? This is not some competition between Apple and Microsoft. The battle over OSs was fought years ago and Apple lost. However, Apple is still making money and is still around to inovate and create cool computers. We don’t need to have 50% of the sales.
Yep, you are right Mark. The China computer maker who makes Apple’s computer would have to build a couple new factories to keep up to the demand if Apple would start to sell 3-4 % more computers
Dude… We the zealots are the advertising… everytime we tell someone about how Macs are better, it’s like we’re selling Quarter cutting knives or space station tupperware…
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Oh yeah… we’re free also…
Mac marketshare compared to PC’s was never greater than 20%, if that. When sjobs came back from NeXT, wasn’t it 7%?
Hey Evil…
Shouldn’t you go and use an iRiver?
Oh, shut the hell up. The minute Apple enjoys success from television commercials, the Mac Faithful will cry, “Apple’s gone commercial.”
yeah yeah, I’m really rich. And, my quarterly profit rises 24% to US$3.14 Billion!!! And that’s just software!!!
But I’m ugly, I have a small pecker, nobody likes me, and my products make everything suck.
Steve gets up every morning and states, “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges—(I mean)–advertising.”
Steve gets up every morning and states, “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges—(I mean)–advertising.”
For Balmer–substitute “Towels”.
“The last thing Apple needs is new switchers thinking they got screwed.”
But they’re used to that already, aren’t they?
C’mon Apple! Advertise the Mac Already! Just enough to dispell all the myths would be great.
they have a commanding lead in the MP3 player space. Dominating! X-mas is still an important quarter and it’s important to maintain market share. Apple finally has a market in control.
No amount of advertising of the Macs or OS X will gain them large percentage gains in the desktop/laptop space. They are already gaining their double digit growth from the halo effect from the iPod. People are already flocking to the Apple Stores. Any retailer would die to have that much traffic and mind share. It’ll all come down to merchandising and sales staff to generate the Mac sales after the easy iPod sale. A million people in the Apple store is more effective advertising than the few million who might see your ad during an episode of CSI.
Resistance is futile… you will be assimilated…
Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha….
Not only television, but magazines. My wife subscribes to some family magazines like Parenting and others like it. Open up the cover and what do I usually see? An ad from Microsoft. But no ad at all for OS X or the iLife apps. These are exactly the type of magazines that Apple should be advertising in.
Stores are the advertising. The ad budget props up the stores.
MDN is advertising for Apple.
Wonder why Apple never advertises on MDN???? MDN has to resort to using the lowly affiliate program just like you and me. Hmmmmmmm….
Oh, that´s right, I forgot – Apple owns MDN – it is part of the Apple Marketing dept.
Apple sells computers?
Where can I see one? Do they come in Black too? Do they also have click wheels? Love that click wheel.
Chris:
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Could the iMac G5 be characterized as imminently eminent?
Aren’t the Apple Stores a form of advertising?
Yet, I agree about more TV ads. OS X Tiger seems like one of the best kept secrets in the world and that’s a real shame.
So we think Apple should advertise its computers eh…
I think Apple’s lack of marketing savvy, specifically with its computers, will be a mystery, on the level of Roswell and UFOs, for a long time to come. The fact that it sprang out of the marketing starting gates with iPod and has relentlessly consumed the consumer market for portable music players only makes the mystery that much deeper.
And the few ad campaigns that have been launched in past years for it’s computer lines have been mystifyingly stupid. I think back on the intoduction of the PPC line where the person in a fire proof suit comes out and demonstrates how the Mac smokes or burns the Windoze machine. And who can forget the deeply philisophical 1984 commercial – An excellent start with zippo follow-up.
Apple needs, and has always needed, a good ongoing campaign that educates (without condescending) the public about the Mac: Why is it a good business machine (and it really is an excellent business machine); Why is it a good graphics machine; Why is it a good machine for the home and general computing needs? “Think Different” wasn’t horrible, but where is it now? No where, a flash in the pan. (UNLIKE Apple computers which are neither a flash-in-the-pan, nor No-where.)
The question that has become most interesting to me is, is Apple hardware or software? Till now I’ve always believed it was both, now I’m not so sure. Maybe Apple should start thinking of a way to advertise its OS with an advertising campaign that has practical meaning and less philisophical mumbo jumbo, and that has longevity, (like the OS itself).
PC users, do us a favor. Stay with your PeeCees. No need for losers hanging around here. Could not care less you like Windows: Sadomaso is not new.
…And close the door when you leave.
Advertising won’t happen until the Intels are inside.
The change over the next few years may be unpleasant and why put new mac consumers through that.
No, no, no. I fully agree with Apple’s strategy. Save advertising bucks, continue to innovate and make good profit with a stable and sustainable level of growth and product innovation and development. Don’t market what you can’t make enough of, don’t expand manufacturing in a volatile industry where a down-turn forces huge losses (take a lesson from other companies and industries).
Don’t grow so large you become number one and begin sacrificing quality and innovation for mass market appeal.
I like Apple best when they are lean and mean. Not fat, full, and slow. I like my elitism. I like it that my computer is unique. I like being able to offer something new, better, and DIFFERENT to my friends and family. And I don’t mind paying a little extra for it. Deep down, many of you feel the same way.
If Apple Computer becomes too successful, they’ll crash and burn again, or they’ll become the next Microsoft, and we’ll all wish for a new ‘David’ (as in David and Goliath).
I’m a little… late to this party, but the reason Apple doesn’t heavily advertise the Mac is because they are unable to fullfill the demand they would cause by doing it.
The iPod of course is a different story and when the Intel switch comes there won’t be any resistance to the flood.
It also takes time to build up to fill a large demand for products, Apple is building stores and taking steps to handle more sales as well.
Apple is growing and that’s good.
Please don’t advertise. (too much)
MW= they, as in ‘they’ don’t need no stinking advertising
An attempt to sum…
OSX: Yes, Apple does thru print ads and product placements. No, they don’t use television ads which would be everywhere in many folks best case scenario.
Target Market: 95% of computer users is their ultimate target market — hard to miss that. Which segment of that 95% is easiest to convince first?…there are many TV shows which can come close to whatever segment they choose.
Capacity: It would be a good problem to have if they had supply contraints due to the advertising actually turning into rapidly increasing mkt share.
iPod ads: That’s their best ad $ value as they sell more iPods *and* Macs thru this advertising and the Apple Store concept. Excellent execution.
Potential OSX ad: They have already done more than enough to position themselves as cool and cutting edge. Within the 95% are many segments of folks who worry about how OSX will or *won’t* work….
1) Simply show email being received in Mail/OSX, opening the attachemnt in Word, pasting some numbers into Excel and then end with some cool iLife apps.
2) Or just show Office and OSX on the same screen for 30 seconds sending files back and forth. You get my point
Will they?: Highly likely…when the Intel swich begins. Laptop ads are a good place to start as there are many tv shows that can zoom in on the 18-34 mkt. A
Are they missing a valuable opportunity pre-Vista: Hard to argue that they are as the hardware sales are rapidly increasing year-over-year.
Final Thorn: If MS pulls the Office plug, there has to be an plan B in place. However, I think that’s the least of their worries as MS won’t, from a financial and legal standpoint.
MDW: Want – We all want to be Apple marketers.
“PC users, do us a favor. Stay with your PeeCees. No need for losers hanging around here. Could not care less you like Windows: Sadomaso is not new.
…And close the door when you leave.”
Sorry, but I can’t resist coming to this site – the entertainment value of the fanboy delusions being posted in this echo chamber is absolutely priceless… they really make my day.
Why don’t you ask the site owner to just ban my sig? But of course he won’t – I generate hits and add to his bank account. Too bad for you, puppy.
I can’t beieve how elitist some of you sound. Like your little club will be ruined if more people find out about the Mac. Stop being so goddamn smug! “Oh well, I’ve got a Mac and nobody had to advetise t to me” etc etc – well good for you! It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to have a fantastci product and continue to keep people in the dark about it – I just don’t get it!
I have a vague recollection of Jeff Goldblum advertising the old iBooks at some point…
…and in England we also see Macs on TV as the News Reader’s computer and on MI5 spy programme spooks.
Last one, I promise!! Evil_MS_User, I bet you have never even tried a Mac, as you seem to be so terribly misinformed about the superior OS. Perhaps you simply enjoy a challenge – namely, trying to get Windows to ACTUALLY WORK, and keep it free of viruses, spyware, registry errors…. *Yawn*
Sometimes I do wish more people knew about the benefits of using a Mac in what they already do with their computers- which frankly, in the majority of folks, ain’t much. Surfing, burning, ripping, typing- nothing beats a Mac in simply perfomring even those basic duties with minimal hassle.
Then once they get to know how they can take the Mac to more advanced levels- well, those myths (as oft referenced in previous resposes) would dissipate.
Then again, there’s a part of me that feels like someone “in the know”- that I’ve stumbled onto an impressive piece of industrial-grade equipment that just works, long before it’s milked for all its worth based upon the name alone.
I’m relatively new to the Mac scene- and I’m blown away. I too was pretty foolish and blind- if I’d known before… well, I know now.