Apple
39 posts
How Apple Succeeded, While Others Failed
When Apple designed their first store, they made sure that over half of it was dedicated to what they called, ‘solutions’. The store wasn’t stacked ceiling to floor with inventory, instead it was a wall-to-wall space of discovery. While most retailers were showing people what they had in stock, Appl
The Real Reason The Microsoft Store Is Empty
Clues about what matters to people and how their emotions drive their choices are all around us and there’s no better time to see evidence of this in action than during the festive season. Slate recently posted two images that tell two very different brand stories. Both photos were taken on what sho
What Customers Believe Is Your Competitive Advantage
Ask any business owner about how they stand apart from the competition and they’ll probably begin with the tangible, the things they can easily explain. “We offer a more competitive interest rate.” “Our products have more features. “We have better distribution.” In 2008 Windows accounted for 84% of
The Elephant In The Marketing Room
“Although many of us may think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, biologically we are feeling creatures that think” —Jill Bolte Taylor I was raised in Dublin, the storytelling capital of the world. There is no place on earth that is more hardwired for story than Ireland, home of Guinness
Emotional Points Of Difference
Singapore’s Changi Airport doesn’t have the most runways (in fact it only has two), but it does have nature trail complete with sunflowers and butterflies. It’s also known as one of the best airports in the world. The tiny bakery in Hastings on Hudson has a rolling pin for a door handle. Even before
3 Questions Every Innovator Needs To Ask
Microsoft is discounting it’s ‘Surface’ tablet just to get traction in the market. Even with all their innovation and marketing firepower Microsoft can’t make people care enough to switch, or belong. Innovation isn’t just about making something that works well, (I’ve never used a Surface, but I’m gu
The Most Powerful Person In The World
During the summer of 1994 while on a lunch break at his new company NeXT, Steve Jobs struck up a conversation with some of his team in the lunch room about power. Here’s what he told them. “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda…
The Fortune Cookie Principle. The Keys To Telling Your Brand Story
I’ve been working to get my new book into your hands for the past nine months, so I’m thrilled to let you know that The Fortune Cookie Principle: The 20 Keys to a Great Brand Story and Why Your Business Needs One is now available on Amazon. The Kindle edition is on sale at the…
Narrow And Deep Vs. The Market Of Everyone
When you were ten years old all any marketer needed to know about you, or the people in your street was that you owned a TV. In a world of limited choices big companies could afford to cast the net wide across the masses. No depth required. This tactic doesn’t work so well now that…
The Real Job Of The Genius
On a recent trip to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store I discovered the real job of the Genius. While you might think that the role of the Genius is to fix things, it’s not. The first job of the Genius is to acknowledge your problem and to change how you feel. Chad told…
Marketing Is All About Values
In 1997 Steve Jobs was unhappy about how much Apple was spending on marketing and about the message the company was communicating. He realised that in an increasingly noisy world the chances for any company to be remembered were diminishing and that Apple needed to get really clear about what it was
Apple’s Not-So-Secret Marketing Secret
Why would anyone buy a 13 inch MacBook Air? Why not buy the Pro? It’s faster, has more memory, it’s actually only 700 grams heavier and .7cm thicker (or 2.4cm ‘thin’ in Applespeak) and it costs exactly the same. Why pay a chunk of cash for less of something? When I asked my Twitter friends…
Being The Most
In the 80’s Starbucks set out to be the most inspiring coffee brand on the planet. When they forgot this in the 90’s and tried becoming the most ubiquitous, they lost their way. If you could be ‘the most’ to people what ‘most’ would you be? Most reliable. Most irresistible. Most ubiquitous. Most lov
The Apple Store, Belonging And Love
What’s the one thing you never find at an Apple Store? That thing you probably found in your hotel room when you checked in. The poorly expressed intention to customers, that guarantees they will never come back. Oh, and it’s most likely laminated and taped up in several places. Ah yes….. a list of
Brands Are Shaped By The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Coffee chic is not merely a creation of Starbucks, no more than flawless design is the singular domain of Apple. What these companies do with a clever brand story, is make it easier for us to buy into the wants that we associate as being part of our story. What we actually believe to be…
Love Is A Marketing Metric
Put your products, service, website, signage, business cards, every touch point to a simple test. Stand in your customer’s shoes and answer one question: what are three things that compel you to say, I love this? ~ Kevin Roberts You can’t go wrong with your brand story and marketing, if you truly
20 Ways To Tell A Better Brand Story
Customers don’t buy your results, they buy the story about the difference those results will make. So have amazing ideas, make great things but remember to tell unforgettable true stories. 1. Name and claim a new category. 2. Clearly articulate what you do, without being boring. 3. Give people a gre
The iPhone Doesn’t Matter To Everyone
“Ideas that spread win.” Seth Godin Seth is one of my heros, he’s probably one of yours too. But I’ve been itching to qualify this quote for some time now. Here’s what I believe. Ideas that matter spread. If you want anything you conceive, launch, or care about to ‘win’ then you’ve got to make…
How Apple Succeeds By ‘Thinking Different’
“We’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. So we have to be really clear about what we want them to know.” Steve Jobs. Lots of people can do what you do as well as you can do it. If that’s not the case and you’re lucky enough…
