As most of you probably know, Apple’s iPhone is being released tomorrow to an enormous amount of hype and buzz thanks, in no small part, to their marketing department. Apple’s marketing for the product has been extremely unorthodox, no doubt relying on its rabid loyal user-base — something most brands do not have the luxury of.
Unlike most technological products, instead of releasing detailed product specs., Apple has purposely kept it from the public, adding to the mystique and mystery of the product. Note, though, this is actually somewhat consistent with the commonly-held marketing principle of emphasizing benefits as opposed to features.
Also as unorthodox, Apple has fueled and promoted speculation amongst the blogsphere, as opposed to quashing it with the concrete truth – something more common in something like Hollywood movie marketing rather than, say, PDAs. Doing this not only built buzz, but clearly differentiated the iPhone from the rest of the pack.
Another clear differentiation is that the iPhone is not marketed towards corporate businessmen like other smart phones already on the market. Instead, it’s portrayed as hip and fashionable, something that traditionally appeals more to the young adult crowd. Its ads have focused on colorful media, such as videos, music, and the Internet, as opposed to its organizational capabilities and other programs. In fact, its June release date was probably partially chosen because of its closeness to most schools’ graduations week, thus immediately positioning that iPhone as an ideal graduation present — a pricier gift than your typical Christmas or birthday presents (which come once a year), but at least cheaper than a car.
The strategy of targetting young adults is unorthodox, to say the least, and it’ll be interesting to see if Apple shifts to an older demographic once the initial buzz wears off in a year or so. It’ll also be interesting to see how the exclusivity contract they’ve signed with AT&T works out in the long-run. Unlike iPods, where “repeat” business comes in the form of accessories and songs from iTune, iPhone’s major source of follow-up income is going to be primarily in the phone service. Placing such responsibility in AT&T’s service indicates a lot of trust in the company, especially since Apple (assumingly) does not have much control in their operations. On the other hand, partnerships with AT&T and other such mobile providers also reduces marketing costs and cuts down the wholesale portion of Apple’s supply chain management so, perhaps, the savings and risks even out in the long run.
Apple has always prided themselves in being innovators and their marketing strategies have been no different. However, innovative does not equate to invulnerable and only time will tell how their latest gamble works out.