“Buy a Mac computer at your nearest Apple Store and receive a free 8GB iPod Touch! Just bring the acceptance letter, and you get to participate in one of the better ‘Back to School’ campaigns in recent memory,” Kaminsky reports. “My ‘Call-to-Action’ is to recall what this past Tuesday’s guest, Evercore’s Michael Price, said about Apple: The more hardware they get in people’s hands, the more apps they will buy.”
Kaminsky reports, “What a genius marketing move. Apple is essentially giving away the razor to sell the more expensive razor blades.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Great theory, except that’s it’s wrong. Apple makes the vast bulk of their profits on hardware, not iOS apps, which are free or low-priced on average (and Apple only gets 30%, the developers get 70% of the revenue). Most of Apple’s profits are rolled back into iTunes Store operating costs. The “Back to School” campaign (which is nothing new, by the way) is a way to sell more Macs (which don’t (yet) run iOS apps, by the way) to students and teachers by dangling a free iPod touch. It’s not “essentially giving away the razor to sell the more expensive razor blades.” Apple’s “Back to School” promos have usually been genius marketing moves, but not for the reason Kaminshy cites.
It sells more Macs, it blunts the claim that Macs are overpriced, and it gets young adults onto the iPhone OS platform.
But it has NOTHING to do with a razors and blades analogy. MDN’s take is spot on.
More like the ‘Chicken & the Egg’ theory. NOT!
yes – this is definitely nothing new… In fact in the past – you could get this deal and not even have to show going to college… I got a 30GB iPod that way.
The real genius in this marketing – is you entice young (soon to be college educated) people with a high want item (iPod) and get them to become a loyal customer/user of Mac computers. That is the real genius.
You’re right,this has been going on every year for decades. Although not as well publicized, college students (and teachers or school staff persons) also gets a rebate for a printer costing up to $100.
My theory is that they do this promo to not only to sell more macs to the incoming college students (which when they graduate will want a Mac on the job site), but to also reduce inventory of their EOL iPod touches. Notice that they always do this promo in the back to school period, and right after that is the Christmas buying season, when the roll out newer models.
It does addict kids to apps and iOS, though. Which smartphone will those kids want when they grow up?
But it is not good for chairs.
Actually, I was surprised how many fellow students I met who bought macbooks but didn’t really like them that much, and didn’t plan on staying with mac long-term.
It’s the network effects created by having more iOS devices out there. The more devices there are, the more enticing it is developers. The more apps, the more people want to own iOS devices. It’s a never-ending cycle, with everyone (Apple, developers, users) as beneficiaries.
I bet that if I vomited on a piece of paper, scanned it, OCRd it and submitted it to 10 tech news sites, 8 of them would give me a contributor’s gig.
@ @o18837
Actually, I’m never surprised at the number of retarded trolls who use “anecdotal” evidence like your laugh basket to try and flame Apple.
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2007/10/05/18871/
Back under your bridge. Or maybe cite something, somewhere that backs your statement?
@ @o18837
They planned on migrating to Dell netbooks. Right. Sure.
Can’t seem to get the Freshman Mac market share any more. Why? 3 years ago, it was about 27%. Last year, a freshman told me it was greater than 75% Mac. So, what is this years? Will anyone report it? Will any of the analysts take their head out of the sand and look? (You can’t hide. We still see your butts.) This tsunami is a silent unreported crushing wave that exists! Like it or not. (I like it a lot.)
It’s giving away the iPod to get more Mac users in Business Management. More Mac users in the Board Room.
It’s working.
Actually, I always thought the free iPod Touch program was all about clearing excess inventory in advance of new stat-of-art iPods that are introduced each fall AND using it to drive new Mac purchases. Whatever the driving force is, it’s a smart sales program.
No, it’s all about getting people to buy their first Mac. I mean seriously does anyone know of a person who switched from a Mac to Winblows?
@ @o18837
hahahahahahah…you know I never have met a single one that haven’t said…I should have done this earlier. I didn’t know they sold Macs in the Ozarks back country.
Yes it’s more about clearing out last year’s model iPods before bringing out the new ones about Labor Day. Apple has done this several years in a row. Also helps clear out end-of-life iMacs with the new models also coming out soon – we looked hard at this promotion before letting it pass and getting a new 21.5 iMac instead.
“Kaminsky reports, “What a genius marketing move. Apple is essentially giving away the razor to sell the more expensive razor blades.” “
You can tell that it’s almost August, when TechTard journalist phone in their articles while on vacation. The analogy above is beyond lazy and stooopid.
It is more like selling an expensive razor with the promise of cheap blades in virtually unlimited styles.
My experience is that the student already has the iPod and the Touch goes to the parents who are thereby introduced to the Apple experience and once introduced are going on to buy iPhones and iMacs for themselves.
As others have said, same back to school strategy that Apple’s been doing year after year.
But the implications of now offering the iPod Touch as zmarc points out is to get students hooked on iTMS and iOS apps. This is a gateway technology which can lead to additional sales of other iOS based products.
@o18837
Actually, I have located one of those students.
@theMacAdvocate, Ringo, Buster: My advice is to chill out. You are living up to the stereotyped chariacature of a rabid Mac user. o18837 never claimed he or she had authoritative proof that most people are unhappy with macbooks. Only their own personal observation, which may or may not be valid in the big scheme of things. Obviously you guys have your own personal observations.
You all sound like you have sand in your hooha’s. Try not being so bitter and defensive for a change.
This is more of a bear hug strategy.
How many people have spent even $50 on iPhone/iPad/touch apps? I’d say a good number.
Those folks are not likely to walk away from the platform because they’re invested. Just like Windows users who have their productivity software investment and used it as an excuse to to switch to Mac: that’s a real cost, and part of any switching expense.
So the iPhone/iOS ecosystem locks folks in. The promotion overcomes this objection at the early stage of a young consumer’s life. And has the potential to lock them in for decades to come.
I bought my first Mac in 1985, along with an external disk drive and an Imagewriter.
I’m on my 18th Mac now, fourth iPhone, and first iPad. Oh, and a Newton and an iPod. my Newton still works. I show it to young people who don’t remember Apple’s darker days.
@theMacAdvocate
You’re in rare form today. Love it
He’s partly right…
Apple isn’t getting iPod touches in the hands of kids to sell more apps. It’s getting these in the hand of kids to sell more iPhones. Once kids get attached to their iPod touch and iOS games and apps, they’re likely to purchase an iPhone down the road.
It is genius.
‘HyperCardMaven’ sez: “my Newton still works. I show it to young people who don’t remember Apple’s darker days.”
Off topic, but I have to ask “HUH?”
The Newton was certainly created during the Sculley Marketing-As-Management bad old days of Apple. But since when does the Newton itself represent anything dark? It was the first PDA! It was profoundly innovative.
But perhaps your point is that it was large and clunky, monocolor, and had fairly unreliable handwriting recognition. But it clearly was the father of the Palm Pilot, which gradually overcame all these shortcoming several years later.
The Newton was amazing for its time. It was ahead of its time. It was so ahead of its time that technology for it was not quite ready to allow it to be all that it could be. The same can be said for the first lightbulb, the telephone, the lighthouse, the automobile, the LASER, the satellite, the computer…
@Always Right
Thanks. That was great!
@Bill:
“Once kids get attached to their iPod touch and iOS games and apps, they’re likely to purchase an iPhone down the road.”
Agree with that insight 100%. These kids are future iPhone customers.
-hh
Dangling razor blades to sell razors?…
I just heard that Gillette sells a razor for $150.
Now That is overpriced!…
sorry but the columnist sounds like an idiot for all the reasons cited by MDN – who gets these jobs where they can write anything and CNBC publishes it? obnoxious article that is a way, makes Apple look bad, and that’s what the article really has to say – that Apple is luring kids with candy or some other such crappola
i wish i could intern at apple, they are the ultimate case study.
@018837
“Actually, I was surprised how many fellow students I met who bought macbooks but didn’t really like them that much, and didn’t plan on staying with mac long-term.”
That shows just how stuipd they are… But a Mac for 1500$ and get an iPod touch free.
Buy a cheap Dell laptop for 500$ buy an iPod touch for 200$ and be 800$ richer. Of course they still get stuck with windows crap.
PS, how can they not like the Mac. If they run bootcamp and use Windows they can have the same crap (like the fish LOL) that their dad uses. LOL
Just a thought,
en
The “genius move” also clears out remaining stock of the current iPod touch models before the new ones are introduced around September. Very convenient.
> Forgive my obsession with Apple, but in case you needed even more evidence of their kingdom, check out their newest promotion,
If this guy thinks this is Apple’s “newest” promotion, he’s not very knowledgeable about Apple. Or his “obsession” is very recent.
hes wrong. because the MDN and the fanbois says he is.
get a life guys. last time I checked – folks were entitled to their opinion.
Until MDN can write anything credible on it’s own – just stick to posting the news.
Maybe if you close your eyes and Wish real hard you idocy will come true…..
No, your just a TROLL Get a life son..
I love the hater post, just shows how hard some Anti Apple idiots try to turn things around, but even fail to keep on the subject that has been posted by the “OP” and the story line.
Apple is smart! They give away the latest iPods every year so they can sell more macs and get rid of the rest of their iPods in stock so they can come out with a newer version of the iPod touch. If you notice they do it every year then a new iPod comes out!
I’m a 16 year mac use r- first one being a quadra through g5’s now on a 20″ imac with an iphone g4 next to me on which I have pictures from my recent vacation and angry birds which as an app thrills me to no end.
Don’t assume people that disagree are windows “trolls”. Assume they may actually make a vane attempt at getting people to think for themselves as opposed to groupthink. Yes – I know groupthink is safer – ask anyone who listens to Rush Limbaugh what they think about Democrats.
Groupthink is the safe bastion of the uneducated.
Apple says think different. Even when it means amongst your peers.
well, microwaving is dangerous, you could harm yourself, or others around you, so dont do it. it would also probably cause the screen to crack, or some of the exterior to melt. which would be a void of the warranty,
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/parental-control-a-complete-parental-control-software-review-2130892.html
My experience is that the student already has the iPod and the Touch goes to the parents who are thereby introduced to the Apple experience and once introduced are going on to buy iPhones and iMacs for themselves. Thanks a lot.
Why is it that windows/android trolls allways state how many mac products they own before bashing apple?
All I received in 1995 for my “freshman” PowerMac 7500 was a lousy HP Deskwriter 660. I still had to pay for ink cartridges…
MDN althogh that us true, it’s all about the Apps. If you get more Apps into peoples hands they will get even more commuted to the platform.
Activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers. In advanced industrial economies, marketing considerations play a major role in determining corporate policy.square peg web
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