September 2010 – Shai's Marketing Blog

Hey everybody I’m Shai, a second year commerce student and a “newbee” to the blogging scene. Today on my commute to UBC I was reading the transit newspaper and learned that the new generation of the ipod nano is soon to be released. It got me thinking about the marketing applications of releasing new and updated generations of product with relatively little time between releases. Why do companies do this? Surely the answer is to maximize profits. However, what does this mean from a marketing perspective? It comes back to the example of the Ipod. Apple has already established itself as the forerunner in the digital music business through a series of clever and successful marketing schemes. To date they have released six generations of the ipod nano in the relatively short time that the product has been around. Why do they do this? to create hype, to keep the product up to date, and to create repeat and loyal customers who become entwined in the brand image. For example, I bought a brand new blackberry curve about three years ago when they had just come out with the first model and when blackberry had only started to become a household name. Today I still maintain the same blackberry curve, but no longer is the product considered “hip” or current. In the short time that I have owned the product numerous generations have been released, rendering my blackberry dated. I have had the opportunity to take a look at the latest blackberry curve. My critique: its a great product, but aside from the asthetics (it looks amazing) not too much has changed in terms of features from my own blackberry. Case and point: companies constantly release newer and updated products in order to keep the “buzz” on them. They are driven by the competition. So next time Ipod releases a new Itouch or Iphone dont be a sucker and run out to buy the latest generation. Chances are that not much has changed since your last purchase.