I've heard many rumors regarding Apple and its extreme measures to keep their latest projects classified. One of the recent talks about Apple and what happens inside its campus was the rumor that the company would assign fake projects to its newer employees to see if they're trustworthy. The idea was that a company would actually be willing to spend its resources to interview, hire, and pay its employees just to see if they would leak company projects. While this may sound absurd and has been disproven after a survey of current employees, I don't find it so surprising that people will come up with such extreme conjectures.
Even though in a typical technology company it's the engineers and designers who create all the Macbooks and iPhones, people must realize that marketing has just as much or more part in the production cycle of products. In many cases, the marketing team surveys and analyzes the latest customer demands and trends, and the engineers usually end up working with a certain list of pre-determined specifications in its next design. The idea is to sell the products, and in order to attract customers, Apple has done a great job grabbing everyone's attention, even by "accident" such as leaving an unreleased iPhone in a public area. By shrouding itself in mystery and making the general public question and talk amongst themselves, coming up with ideas like the fake projects, Apple has always been a popular topic of discussion in technology. Frankly, I believe this patent lawsuit may also be helping with its marketing because by claiming that their products are original and worthy of being copied by others, the public will naturally be more interested in what makes them original and noteworthy.
I definitely agree with your point about how important marketing is to the production cycle of products. Patent lawsuits are great ways to increase the hype of products and perpetuate the originality brand image that all of the big tech companies constantly fight for. The litigation are definitely important for protecting product as well as brand.
ReplyDeleteI actually don't think that Apple's patent lawsuits are helping with its marketing. I think that its obsession with litigation about old innovation is being used to cover up the fact that they don't have any recent innovations. They can't come up with anything new, so they sue over their old inventions. Apple is still a top player, but it certainly seems like they're going downhill, and since Jobs' death they really haven't released anything at the same level of innovation.
ReplyDeleteI like your points about Apple being great at creating anticipation. When looking at the general market, it is clear that Apple's stealth-mode approach before publicly launching their products is a secret to their success. When brewing such anticipation in consumer markets, a buzz surrounds Apple's next big product and even the release dates. Overall, I think this is a brilliant strategy that keeps their consumers wanting more and guessing for what's next.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the author here. Apple is the master of the art of marketing. They know they need to be quiet before their public showcase of their new product, but meanwhile cannot be totally "disappeared" from the general media. Agree with what Aviv said, it's just a brilliant strategy that keeps potential buyers' attentions without giving out too much to let its competitors to know what the product exactly is.
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