MarketingInsideOut.com

I’ve written about Apple a lot over the last few months, but I’m not an Apple zealot. I am, however, extremely intrigued by the company; it’s history, business model, leadership, brand strength and how it constantly out-innovates itself and morphs to maintain its core loyalists/enthusiasts and draw others to its fold.

In 1976, while the “Steve’s” were working elsewhere (Wozniak at HP and Jobs at Atari) they came together with an idea and the company officially incorporated on April Fool’s Day 1976. Microsoft was one year old. By 1980 when Apple went public (in what was, at the time, the largest offering since Ford Motor in 1956), they had 1,000 employees and the entire personal computer market in the US was only 1 million units.

In 84, Apple made a huge splash with their legendary superbowl ad. And while, over the next five years, they made significant inroads in the education and creative/design market, their share of the overall US market, which was 54 million units, was miniscule by comparison to the PC side. By the time Jobs returned in 1997 (he’d left in 85 to form NeXT) Apple was beleaguered and bleeding red ink. He immediately started the iMac project, killed the clone market (which was a highly controversial decision at that time) and released OS 8 with enough neat features to hook millions of Mac users while at the same time abandoning support for the oldest Macs. In 98 they killed the Newton and birthed the iMac and went from beleaguered to industry darling — turning a profit every quarter.

By 2001 Apple continued to innovate in the computer market gaining share and the undying love of enthusiasts. They also started promoting a special October 23 unveiling as “Not Macintosh”. Hardly anyone had a clue that Apple would introduce a device (the iPod) that would propel them to the top spot in a market where they had no experience whatsoever.

What prompted this post was the fascinating story I read tonight, “The Perfect Thing”, in the current Wired magazine, which recounted the creation of the iPod.

The story is a compelling peak into the process of how they brought together the innovative technology, simplistic interface and elegant design of the iPod.

The story provides a glimpse behind the curtain of a company with a passion for constantly reinventing itself, of fearless and visionary leadership, one willing to take substantial risk and one where teamwork seems to play a major role in success.

It’s been 30 years since they were incorporated. They’ve been down, but never out. They’re not youngsters anymore, yet they maintain a contemporary and relevant position that enables them to connect to even the hippest and skeptical of target audiences.

Frankly when it hit me that iPod was only 5 years old this month I was surprised. It seems like they’ve been around much longer and I’m almost embarrassed to say that in a household of 4 people we have 6 iPods. It IS like Lays Chips, in that at my house we’re not satisfied with just one. And my husband mentioned tonight that he really likes the new iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. At least if I buy that one for him for Christmas I can lessen some of my guilt of conspicuous consumption knowing that $10 of its purchase price goes to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.

My kids say it all the time, and I picked it up from them. I would tell them their rooms were uber trashed and if they didn’t clean them they’d be uber sorry. But the first time I saw the word uber officially used in marketing was about a year ago for a tech piece and my first thought was, “what…did a 14 year old gamer write this?”. I certainly couldn’t see myself using the word in real conversation much less marketing.

Since then, I’ve seen the word uber used several times in marketing materials to convey an extreme…above and beyond the rest. It has appeared on things from technology data sheets to mainstream conferences like this one from the Strategic Research Institute.

Today, heaven forbid, I used the word to express an extreme situation with one of my business partners in a conversation. I’m obviously not a 14 year old gamer…I’m a 40 something year old marketing professional and business owner. He looked at me oddly and said “what the hell does uber mean?” So I had to explain it and in doing so had to say the word several times.

And you know what…… it could just displace ultra as a prefix for products. I can just see it now: Uber Dawn.

It’s a lot more fun to say than ultra.

From the San Jose Mercury News

According to a new nationwide study by Stanford University –

A random survey of 2,500 adults found that between 6 percent and 14 percent of computer users said they neglected work, school, families, food and sleep to use the Internet.

I’m probably one of them.

I dislike spam as much as the next person, but never get too worked up over it. I just ignore or delete. But today I received an email spam that really pissed me off. It didn’t have the typical trademarks of spam and because I know a Mark, I opened and read it. The Mark I know is a prankster, but after a couple lines I knew it was clumsy spam and my blood boiled. In my anger I immediately hit reply and sent my own helpful tip (even though I knew it would go no where since these creeps use forwarders). But it helped to get it off my chest.

From: Mark
Subject: Weight

This is not meant to be an insult or anything but people are talking at work about your weight. I thought you should know. I know it would upset you if you knew but I know some friends here and outside work that have used a program that worked within weeks. I am not pushing anything on you but thought it wouldn’t hurt if you looked at it. I also think I am doing you a favor as it’s always nice when people talk about how much better you look than how much you’ve been putting on. I hope I am not intruding, just trying to help out. My cousin & friend Mike used this and it helped alot. Here is the site I know they got it from direct.

Again, I’m just trying to help out.
Thanks for listening.

-Mark

To: Mark
Subject: Size

Thanks for the weight loss tip. I thought I’d return the favor and give you a heads up. You’re the talk of the water cooler today. Your exploits with you-know-who last weekend made the rounds of the office and word has it she’s calling you limp’n mini. Cindy over in accounting made a couple comments about your rep for quickies and given the laughs she got, I’d assume there was an insult to your stamina in there somewhere. But, don’t let it get you down. Here’s a link to a comparison of ED products and a great site with “enhancement” tips.

Just wanted to help lift your spirits.

-Kim

I’m in the marketing business so I get that touching on our insecurities is a proven marketing method…but listen up you scum-sucking spammers…never, ever come at a “40ish” year old woman with a “I just wanted to help” weight tip — unless you have a death wish. You have no idea the rattlesnake you poke when you do that. As a group we have the pent up anger, network of other pissed off women and persistence to hunt you down like a dog. Just trying to help.

Half of the hotels I’ve been at in the last two weeks have included advertising on their hotel keys.

On the left — one from a recent stay at ElDorado in Santa Fe NM and on the right from a Best Western on I-29 near St. Joesph MO.

I’m thinking of starting a collection.

When I read the current column by New York Times Columnist David Carr’s I could relate. In “Idiosyncratic and Personal, PC Edges TV” he writes, “Computers, which were designed to save time, have become machines that make it disappear and threaten to take traditional models of wasting hours (i.e., television) with them. “

I watch less TV than I use to, I spend more time online than ever before. And I’ve experienced the same thing he writes about in his column as I’m sure have millions of others. One thing leads to another…you spend some time chatting online with family and friends, you follow a few random links, you get drawn in to some wacky video on YouTube, you create your own stupid video to post as a retort… and you end up spending hours online just goofing off.

As Carr points out, “The threat isn’t new media displacing old media as much as personalization. Media has become something people make, forward, link and program. “

Media is becoming more personalized as it becomes more participatory. And it may be more interactive than TV (i.e. your fingers are moving more often) but in many cases it’s still kind of a couch potato mindset thing at work…but in my case it just happens to take place at my computer desk.

Drink three cans of Enviga and you could lose an average of 106 calories.

That’s the benefit claim of Coke’s new product being launched in the Northeast in November and nationally in January.

They say it is green tea’s powerful antioxidant EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) that speeds up metabolism and increases energy use.

So if I drink say…24 a day, I can eat that big piece of German chocolate cake guilt free?

Works for me.

I just read something in MediaPost OnlineSpin (free registration) that floored me.

During her keynote presentation at the Association of National Advertisers’ annual conference, Cammie Dunaway, CMO of Yahoo, asked the audience if they knew what Web 2.0 was. Less than 5% of the hands went up.

How can that be? Especially in light of the fact that the conference was all about reinventing marketing and the speakers went on at length about the need to let go.

Maybe most people don’t know the exact definition as coined by O’Reilly in 2004 but they understand the basic concept…right?

Not news to me, but it was in USA Today on 10/10.

The average 1970s city dweller was exposed to 500 to 2,000 ad messages a day…Now, it’s 3,000 to 5,000.

Companies are under more pressure than ever to deliver rosy quarterly results, and top marketing executives have less time than ever to prove their mettle. The average tenure of a chief marketing officer at a major U.S. company has declined to 23.2 months, according to search firm Spencer Stuart.

It’s no wonder they’ll sign off on increasingly bizarre ideas.

For instance, a recent promotion for the Paramount Pictures film Jackass: Number Two appears on urinal mats when the mat is hit with a stream of “number one.”

Even conservative Procter & Gamble (PG) has loosened up. It put print ads for Crest Night Effects whitening gel inside women’s restroom stalls — at eye level when the user sits down.

“Marketers are saying, ‘We must be more innovative — to zig when others zag,’ ” says Richard Notarianni, executive creative director of media at ad firm Euro RSCG.

“The industry is desperate to find clever ways to reach people, whether or not it has any legitimate value. … When someone says, ‘Let’s put advertising in bathroom stalls,’ another says ‘That’s great. It’s a captive audience.’ “