Apple Going Mainstream
Apple Logo (source: Wikipedia)
We probably all remember the times when owning an Apple device was something cool that we were dreaming of with a passion (some still do, and I find myself among this last category since I do not own any Apple device, but I desire a few of them). Well, it seems that being an Apple lover is not so hip anymore, simply because Apple developed so much in the past few years that it became mainstream.
The NextWeb mentioned today a Wired article that offered a few reasons why Apple is not so exquisite anymore simply because you can now find it almost everywhere you go.
Apple is big in Hollywood and this is pretty obvious in the nice product placement in Wall-E. However, this is no big surprise, since Steve Jobs was the CEO of Pixar. Apple is also skipping MacWorld because evangelizing is not needed anymore. Apple’s marketing machine has pretty much achieved its goal turning the brand into a lovemark.
Steve Jobs will no longer be the MC of the Apple keynotes at MacWorld, being substituted by one of his senior VPs (rumors say that this is mainly because of his health, but they also say that MacWorld is no longer so important to require Jobs’ presence either). Because it can, Apple is giving up on FireWire, the cool data transfer technology it invented and pushed onto the market, simply because USB is more ubiquitous, and thus, more mainstream.
Apple has become the laughing stock of the Simpsons, showing us that it’s culture is not so cult anymore, as it caught the attention of the general public. Even Obama uses Apple and has used Apple technology in his US Presidential campaign. Moreover, Wallmart is selling the iPhone in its retail chain, thus bringing the world’s coolest and most exclusive smartphone at the fingertip of the masses.
Sorry Apple user, you’re just a plain boring sheep now (source: thenextweb.com)
Ultimately, since Apple products are so loved, Digg.com has almost every day an Apple story on its top technology headlines page. Some people say that bloggers have even generated more than $400 million worth of free advertising for Apple. What more could you wish if you were Apple? Would you wish to go back to the small group of loyal customers you had 10 years ago?
Fortunately, Romania is still far away from becoming a mainstream Apple culture and thus you are still cool and hip if you own an Apple device. However, this won’t last for too long, since we, as a nation, seem to have the strong tendency to copy the Western world, especially the Americans.
The question for the future is: How would Apple position itself in the mainstream economy? Would cool still be its primary emotional hook on its customers? Would Apple be forced to become more competitive on the functional attributes of its products? How would Apple shepherd its fans if coolness would not be a differentiator anymore? God knows… or maybe Steve Jobs 
.
In: Branding, Strategic Marketing · Tagged with: Apple, lovemark, NextWeb, obama, Wired
on December 29, 2008 at 2:01 pm
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You’re right, they’re mainstream now, but I suspect the coolness factor will still be a key point in their new strategy. In the notebook segment, they’ll probably face Sony, cause the only reason to get a Vaio is that they look so amazingly cool. It’s also said it’s the only one posing a threat when it comes to the display.
I see iPhone as pretty much mainstream in Romania as well. iPods are close by, but when it comes to computers, I think it will take them longer to spread. They will, as you say, because we love to copy
Happy Holidays,
Alina
on December 29, 2008 at 2:42 pm
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Yeah, in my heart I want an iPhone because it is cool, but in my mind I know it doesn’t do all the things I expect a smartphone to do… so I’ll postpone this purchase decision (reason triumphs over emotions, heh). However, the Apple marketing machine worked pretty well (as well as the company strategy), since you can already picture in your mind (and actually purchase from the stores) a digital home branded Apple.
But you are right, you can already see iPhones, iPods and Apple computers all over Romania (large retail chains and even online shops), even though they still address a premium target. Soon, the Apple TV and the Apple big screens will be present in our homes as well and who knows what they will come up with next.
on December 31, 2008 at 8:50 pm
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Because Apple is going mainstream a negative hit in the quality of their products is visible by every release. Apple products lose the only thing that really makes a difference, the quality and innovative functions of their products. I am a long time Apple product user, most of my IT products I own are from Apple and so have been over the past 13 years, but I can say that the products they have released over the past years are total crap, quality wise compared with older Apple products. I just bought a few weeks an iPhone 3G and I don’t understand why I have paid a price for it as for a SmartPhone and all I have got from them is a crippled phone with functionality. There is no basic functionality that other smart phones on the market have. All I have is that maybe in the next release Apple will give us, users a little more and with a simple software update we can get a copy paste functionality, search or the possibility to record a sound for a contact. If they go mainstream they must understand that the competition is huge on the market and I, the user I want to have similar functions on my smart phone as other smart phones have. After that they can innovate and give us the best interface, web browser and other crap like this.
on January 3, 2009 at 12:46 pm
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[...] my last post I was referring to some of the reasons why Apple is not a exclusivist company anymore, but rather a [...]
on January 3, 2009 at 1:08 pm
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Great approach, though I hope you’re not some anti-Apple evangelist.
) You’re mostly right, I have to say, but, don’t forget that “being cool” with an Apple product set up many product design standards, and more, inspired a lot of other IT hardware products & technologies. For example, while being cool with an 300$ iPhone you can think how Nokia and Microsoft are selling obsolete technology at a much higher price, about 600$-800$.
I’m not an Apple fan at all, but I love when a company like Apple has visions and makes them reality, even for a price. And I think that is more important. Designers and architects are pushing technology to the maximum as prices must get lower and products must be more efficient, and we should follow their visions. While being cool at home you can get practical at work.
From the top of the slope,
Cristian