By SteveJack
Steve Jobs is a genius.
Yes, I know that fact is not news, but one aspect of his genius – marketing – is certainly on full display this week.
Jobs played the media (and a portion of his customer base) like a Stradivarius.
Jobs knows that the iPod lineup is so hot that they will sell themselves. Therefore he figured that he could afford to overshadow them with some long-planned iPhone moves designed to generate loads of free publicity from the mainstream media.
First, he lowered the price – as was always the plan – but, lowered it so drastically as to create an uproar among those who had purchased the iPhone at the original launch prices.
Then he waited for a bit to let the pressure cooker build up steam – he even stoked it a bit by claiming “that’s just the way things work in tech.” That Jobs created doubt in the minds of many that he didn’t anticipate the angst the price cut would cause is part of his genius. Then he released the steam with a $100 gift card – also long-planned – that will end up generating even more sales for the company. “Presto! $49 iPod nanos for everyone!”
Today, we see the fruits of yesterday’s “apology” everywhere from The Today Show to the cable news outlets to local drive-time radio shows and all over the ‘Net. More free publicity for a company whose CEO seems to be able to generate it whenever and wherever he damn well pleases.
This has been a fun week, it’s just beautiful to watch a genius in action. Even without the $100 Apple Store credit it was well worth the price of admission.
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
Amen brother!
you are a fanboy
How was the $100 credit “long-planned” if as Jobs said, “details are still being worked out?”
Sure, you can rationalize it all as Jobs’ master plan, but that doesn’t make it so. Yes, it all worked out in the end, but only because the Apple faithful complained loudly, not because Jobs planned it all to work out this way.
Exactly.
Anyone who didn’t know about the iPhone price cut before the $100 announcement sure knows about it now.
Let’s see… that should cover everybody.
~M
Hmmm… I’m not convinced that each of these steps were pre- planned…
Especially the $100 credit.. I do think that was a reaction to the situation and not a pre-planned marketing move.
I couldn’t disagree more.
Oh, I think Steve Jobs is a genius, but in spite of Wednesday’s iPhone price reduction fiasco.
Steve miscalculated big time – it turns many early iPhone purchasers were seriously pissed off. I don’t think the goodwill generated by the $100 credit still leaves Apple in the negative in this whole event.
Steve introduced some pretty incredible things on Wednesday and they all got overshadowed. The media and the public would have been talking about all of the great new iPods, the iTunes Wi-Fi music store, ringtones for the iphone, but instead everyone was talking how Apple screwed their customers.
How is that smart??
Who care if it was planned?
Even better it wasn’t as it demonstrates his flexibility and attention to details with his mac base.
coolness.
100% correct. And Bush has a secret plan to turn the Iraq fiasco into a similar PR coup….
“you are a fanboy”
Is he biased because he likes Apple or does he like Apple because he is biased?
I agree that most of this was planned already. But your argument is flawed. If the marketing were good marketing then we would have cheers, rather than jeers. Given the oustanding announcements, the stock price has dropped 14 dollars. That’s not good marketing, it’s bad buzz obviously.
But you are correct that the next effect will be a great increase in sales. But we can’t classify this as a genius move. But he may have had no other option for handling this better, given the rapid rollout, iPhone upgrades, holiday season, aggressive attack on the mobile market, and European rollout.
But relax, Apple people, Steve Jobs is the smartest of them all.
Dead wrong. The iPhone price cut was a serious marketing blunder, from overshadowing the new iPods’ media coverage to pissing off a lot of recent iPone buyers (though not me). The $100 store credit, however, was a brilliant save. The probability that this was all planned is…zero.
Menwhile, Apple stock continues to tank.
I’m going to guess that the investors have a better name for him than “genius”.
Apple just has to move a lot of iPhones before Rev 2 in January MacWorld
They underestimated themselves, based the iPhone upon the same demand curve as the iPod.
The only problem is the iPod opened basically a new market because of legit music downloads.
Everyone who wants a cell phone already has one, and locked into a contract to boot. So the demand curve is much slower.
People are waiting until their contracts expire with present phone and then will buy the latest iPhone.
Most other just need a slim, cheap, low monthly cost phone that just makes phone calls, nothing else.
Why else would Apple put out a iPod Touch? Because they are not making significant headway in the cell phone market.
There is a lot of unsold iPhone inventory right now, Apple may be considering getting out of the market come January.
He and Madonna should get together, since she is the queen
Plan? No. He got tired of hearing you people whine like a bunch of sissies. BOO HOO BOO HOO.
Anyone who doesn’t think this was all completely planned has lost their mind.
Shurely no one is really that naive.
you are a fool
MDN WORD “MUST”
You MUST have forgotten your meds
I think Apple SERIOUSLY underestimated the cell phone market.
This dramatic price reduction and $100 kickback shows they are NOT selling iPhones as well as expected.
Also the FACT that AT&T;and CISCO is working VERY CLOSELY WITH THE NSA/CIA to monitor the internet and cell phones doesn’t relate well to selling iPhones.
The recent RASH OF EXPLOITS ON THE IPHONE goes to show it’s not a secure device.
Apple realized their mistake entering this market and now is making the iPod Touch and will be phasing the iPhone out. Trying to dump all the excess inventory before January.
Depending how sales go until January depends if we see a iPhone 2 or not.
I suspect not “We gave it a good try”
Oh come on, SteveJack. I don’t for one moment believe that Jobs expected the uproar over the price cut. The $100 store credit was damage control. Expertly executed damage control, but damage control nonetheless.
“And Bush has a secret plan to turn the Iraq fiasco into a similar PR coup….”
But he pronounces it “koop” and then giggles to himself.
We’re really enjoying watching our mildly retarded, alcholic fratboy with easy access to weapons of mass destruction (real ones) and our wallets.
), it will be enshrined as the foundation of the GWB Presidential Children’s Library and Mental Retardation Facility.
When he finally finishes reading (and coloring) The Pet Goat (
“I’m going to try to see if I can remember as much to make it sound like I’m smart on the subject.” –George W. Bush, answering a question about a possible flu pandemic, Cleveland, July 10, 2007
“More than two decades later, it is hard to imagine the Revolutionary War coming out any other way.” –George W. Bush, Martinsburg, W. Va., July 4, 2007
Sorry, Stevo, I have to disagree as well. You’re giving Jobs just a bit too much credit. Unless Apple has a crystal ball, there’s no way they could forsee precisely how everything would play out.
I also feel that the iPhone price drop and subsequent negative reaction took away tons of coverage that should have been there for the new pods, ringtones, wi-fi store, etc.
P.S. I do agree that Jobs is a genius however!!
Iraq is a success already.
The oil price is up, that negatively affects the rest of the world more than the West.
A consequence of the increased oil price is more support for the dollar.
Iraq’s oil is now not available to the West’s competitors, China and India to name two. It is safely locked up underground for when the West decides it needs it.
Profits for the companies involved, primarily oil and military supply, comfortably exceed the costs to the US and UK taxpayers.
Big business has taken taxpayers money and turned it in to cash in their executives and shareholders bank accounts.
How is that not a success?
To compare ‘playing’ the media to a Stradivarius is an insult to Stradivarius. The media is more like a garbage can band.
So the iPhone is meeting sales targets and outselling all other smart phones, but Apple is getting out of the market?
C’mon, the future of computing is mobile and wireless. You telling me Apple doesn’t want to dominate that and take back its rightful crown from Microsoft?
@Socrates
Time to drink your cicuta now…