American comedian Jimmy Kimmel does it again! He goes on the streets of Hollywood with an iPad, tricking people into thinking that he was holding the newly launched iPhone 5s and he asked them what they thought about it. Much to my amazement, many of them fell for it, most claiming that it “looks good” and some even saying that it “looks smaller” than the current iPhone (which clearly isn’t the case).
Whether or not this was staged, I think it tells us a lot about the cult-like following that Apple has. People are willing to line up for hours just to get their hands on the latest Apple gadget. What ever Apple comes out with, there will always be a group of ‘yes men’ that will loyally support them. Does effective marketing have anything to do with this?
Apple markets itself as a very ‘cool’ and ‘sleek’ company, judging from its advertisements. The way they carry themselves on a global media platform is impressive and this leaves a long lasting impression on people too, especially impressionable teenagers and young adults who hanker after items that will elevate their social status. Walking around school with a 13-inch MacBook Pro definitely makes you look cooler.
Fluff aside, Apple also markets itself in a way that makes them customer-centered. Apple has a way of understanding customers better than no other company. They are customer-centered and they are able to understand what we want and need. For example, they introduced “FaceTime” to allow people to connect with their loved ones via video-chat anywhere on the planet, anytime of the day.
Their launch of the latest operating system (iOS 7) is also very brilliantly marketed. After watching the press release, I get the feeling that Apple is continually innovating their products to enhance their consumers’ life. They are very clever in the sense that they not only promote the new features of the iOS 7 but they subtly incorporate how consumers’ lives will be enriched with all these new features.
Customers are able to feel the connectedness that a company fosters with them and this in turn, creates customer loyalty, which is important especially in the increasingly competitive smart phone market. This ‘loyalty’ that customers have then translates to the cult-like following that Apple holds the reign on.
Without effective marketing strategies, not matter how great the product is, it wouldn’t sell as well. Similarly, without all these effective strategies employed by Apple, Apple would not be what it is today.