The launch of a major Apple product – especially the iPhone, brings out a slew of negative articles around the company. The narrative is broadly as under: – Apple has stopped innovating- The magic of Apple has vanished after the demise of Steve Jobs There is a sound economic reason behind this: such articles are great for generating traffic. Positive news about Apple (record sales, profit) only appeals to a niche audience. News of a…
‘Is comparative advertising dead?’ asked an article recently. The thrust of the argument was that: – product differentiation is dead and hence comparative advertising is dead – comparative advertising is driven by pompous marketer’s ego – its impact on the consumer was minimal The article cites examples from the FMCG world and the recent spat between Airtel & Jio in India. In my view, a poorly thought through and executed comparative ad campaign (in this…
There are hundreds of commercial messages vying for consumer attention everyday across traditional and new media. Only a handful are noticed. Here are a few creative ideas which caught my eye, the week ending 19th May, 2017: Play-Doh’s handcrafted print ads, Old Spice’s pre-launch activity for Krakengärd and more. 1. Play-Doh: handcrafted print ads Advertising is a profession which brings diverse talents together o address a business problem or opportunity. Brand strategists, creative craftsmen (and…
It’s that time of the year again. An Apple Event has triggered the by-now familiar social media wars between fans of Apple and Android. Not surprisingly, the jokes, barbs, memes and parody videos about Apple in general and iPhone 7 in particular have also started. Apple fans profess their faith in the brand and put down Android owners given an opportunity. This is not new and perhaps has intensified over the years with the growth…
Another Apple event is over and the headlines are filled with the usual: merits and demerits of the products launched, fan wars taking sides and punditry on whether Apple has lost its mojo. Amidst all this, what goes unnoticed is the near perfect execution of the event itself from a presentation and overall ‘communications’ perspective. Herewith some unsolicited observations: Script out everything Ever since I have followed the Apple Keynotes (from 2007, I guess) I…
At the recently concluded WWDC, Apple executives alluded to how Apple Watch users are addicted to completing the activity rings before the end of the day. watchOS 3 will even a new face showcasing the day’s activity rings. As an Apple Watch user I can vouch for the veracity in the claim that users are motivated to complete these rings. Looked at in isolation, they are just three concentric circles, aren’t the? No big deal.…
Every Apple event follows a set pattern when it comes to media coverage: – First, speculation and rumours about what will be announced with some leaked images if there are hardware announcements expected – post the event, a report card of what was announced. The analysis will rarely be balanced with Apple fan sites going over the top while non-Apple fan sites will trash everything – list of features which were copied from elsewhere will…
The Apple Event held yesterday was low-key (‘underwhelming’ as many called it) with announcements along expected lines. The lack of energy was palpable in the presentation. But it is unfair to expect Apple to reveal a breakthrough product every year and deliver it in a high-energy, goose-flesh inducing presentation. That’s the price Apple is paying for setting the bar high. The iPhone SE was expected to be an India-specific phone with respect to its pricing.…
The moment I finished watching the new film, Our Signature, from Apple my heart sank a little. It has all the nice things in it, the right things, of how Apple makes our lives better. A sweet pleasant film. But will I watch it again? I doubt it. I doubt if many people will. My first thought was “Oh God, they have made a corporate film”. And that thought was nailed by the last frame…
Apple Inc., delivered record results for the Oct-Dec’12 quarter and the stock market responded by pulling the stock down dramatically. Amazon delivered sub-par results for the same period and the stock went up 10%. What gives? Stock markets analysts have their own technical theories but I believe it boils down to a simple thing: high expectations from a brand. Not all brands and brand categories witness this phenomenon. You don’t really expect great things from…