Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Magical iPhone

Hey, didn't this happen last summer?

Recently, Apple has announced that they are coming out with a new version of the phone according to this NY Times article.

What's the fascination with Apple's iPhone?

iPhone's can do many of the same things that BlackBerry's and other cell phones can do. So, what makes this phone so special? So special that it sold 1.7 million phones in its first three months, and that after being released only a year ago is already coming out with a new version of the phone?

Well, I would have to say that nothing is extra special about the phone. What is extra special is Apple's PR and marketing team.

First, they would not reveal the launch date of the phone until just a few short weeks before the June 29th launch. They did however, release information about the phone, creating hype before consumers even knew the date that they could purchase the coveted item.

Then, they launched a series of fabulous ads that caught people's attention making a point to show the public that the phone had many uses. One commercial depicted a man watching a movie on the phone, and then deciding he was hungry, googling a restaurant, and then calling the restaurant all in a matter of seconds. This message clearly appealed to the American audience who loves to multi-task and finish things as quickly as possible.

Hey, it doesn't impress me, but if the great PR attracts you to the item, a new version of the phone is expected to come out sometime this summer.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Plaudits to the PR people, but it's worth remembering it's nice doing PR for a product that has a massive fan base -- all of whom want the latest, and most flashy of gadgets that get shipped out of Apple HQ. Not easy getting to that stage mind.

HTC and RIM are making bold moves in the market, and Google's android is set to make some ripples so I guess it's a case of 'watch this space' in the longer term.

On a separate note - good work with PRowl. Hope it goes well.

Jessica Lawlor said...

Thanks for your comment and the well wishes for the firm!

You're right- it probably is extremely nice to do PR for someone with an already massive fan base, and probably makes their job a lot easier and probably leaves some room for them to be even more creative.