Former Apple marketing manager describes company's 'controlled leaks'
As vague "unidentified sources" continue to leak information about Apple's forthcoming tablet device, the company's former marketing manager has revealed supposed secrets on how the Cupertino, Calif., company operates.
John Martellaro provided an analysis for The Mac Observer this week, giving insight into how Monday's leak on the tablet might have been given to The Wall Street Journal. Earlier this week, the paper reported that Apple will unveil its touchscreen tablet this month, and release it for sale in March.
According to Martellaro, the story "had all the earmarks of a controlled leak." As a former senior marketing manager at Apple, he said he was told to leak information in the past.
He said a senior company executive would ask him to release specific information to a trusted person at a major media outlet. Martellaro claims he was asked to "idly mention" the information in a telephone conversation, and to suggest to a reporter that publishing it would be "nice." E-mail correspondence was not allowed.
"The communication is always done in person or on the phone. Never via e-mail," he said. "That's so that if there's ever any dispute about what transpired, there's no paper trail to contradict either party's version of the story. Both sides can maintain plausible deniability and simply claim a misunderstanding. That protects Apple and the publication."
The Journal's top technology commentator, Walt Mossberg, was bypassed, Martellaro alleged, to allow him to remain "above the fray." In addition, the story was leaked late Monday, after the stock market closed, so no one could suggest there was an attempt to manipulate Wall Street.
Martellaro suggested there are a number of reasons Apple could have chosen to leak the information on Monday. They include, in his words:
to light a fire under a recalcitrant partner
to float the idea of the US$1,000 price point and gauge reaction
to panic/confuse a potential competitor about whom Apple had some knowledge
to whet analyst and observer expectations to make sure the right kind and number of people show up at the (presumed) January 26 event. Apple hates empty seats and demands SRO at these events
While Apple sometimes leaks information to its advantage, it also goes to great lengths to control what is publicly said, and when. Apple's tight-lipped nature was profiled last year by the New York Times, which said the company's veil of secrecy began to take shape around the release of the original Macintosh back in 1984.
One employee said that employees working on secret projects at Apple must "pass through a maze of security doors, swiping their badges again and again and finally entering a numeric code to reach their offices." Once inside the top-secret areas, employees are often monitored by surveillance cameras as they work. Those working with the most sensitive projects are allegedly instructed to "cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful."
Last month, one report highlighted Apple's supposed "Worldwide Loyalty Team," which are claimed to be a group of moles that spy on people and report directly to co-founder Steve Jobs and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer. When an employee is suspected of a leak, the source claimed that they are under a "gag order" that involves the confiscation of cell phones and a total blackout of all unmonitored communication.
John Martellaro provided an analysis for The Mac Observer this week, giving insight into how Monday's leak on the tablet might have been given to The Wall Street Journal. Earlier this week, the paper reported that Apple will unveil its touchscreen tablet this month, and release it for sale in March.
According to Martellaro, the story "had all the earmarks of a controlled leak." As a former senior marketing manager at Apple, he said he was told to leak information in the past.
He said a senior company executive would ask him to release specific information to a trusted person at a major media outlet. Martellaro claims he was asked to "idly mention" the information in a telephone conversation, and to suggest to a reporter that publishing it would be "nice." E-mail correspondence was not allowed.
"The communication is always done in person or on the phone. Never via e-mail," he said. "That's so that if there's ever any dispute about what transpired, there's no paper trail to contradict either party's version of the story. Both sides can maintain plausible deniability and simply claim a misunderstanding. That protects Apple and the publication."
The Journal's top technology commentator, Walt Mossberg, was bypassed, Martellaro alleged, to allow him to remain "above the fray." In addition, the story was leaked late Monday, after the stock market closed, so no one could suggest there was an attempt to manipulate Wall Street.
Martellaro suggested there are a number of reasons Apple could have chosen to leak the information on Monday. They include, in his words:
to light a fire under a recalcitrant partner
to float the idea of the US$1,000 price point and gauge reaction
to panic/confuse a potential competitor about whom Apple had some knowledge
to whet analyst and observer expectations to make sure the right kind and number of people show up at the (presumed) January 26 event. Apple hates empty seats and demands SRO at these events
While Apple sometimes leaks information to its advantage, it also goes to great lengths to control what is publicly said, and when. Apple's tight-lipped nature was profiled last year by the New York Times, which said the company's veil of secrecy began to take shape around the release of the original Macintosh back in 1984.
One employee said that employees working on secret projects at Apple must "pass through a maze of security doors, swiping their badges again and again and finally entering a numeric code to reach their offices." Once inside the top-secret areas, employees are often monitored by surveillance cameras as they work. Those working with the most sensitive projects are allegedly instructed to "cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful."
Last month, one report highlighted Apple's supposed "Worldwide Loyalty Team," which are claimed to be a group of moles that spy on people and report directly to co-founder Steve Jobs and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer. When an employee is suspected of a leak, the source claimed that they are under a "gag order" that involves the confiscation of cell phones and a total blackout of all unmonitored communication.
Comments
While Apple sometimes leaks information to its advantage, it also goes to great lengths to control what is publicly said, and when. Apple's tight-lipped nature was profiled last year by the New York Times, which said the company's veil of secrecy began to take shape around the release of the original Macintosh back in 1984.
This comes as no surprise. I am sure the Apple Hype that precedes every new announcement is fuelled to a large degree by the Apple marketing team. The fact that Apple goes to such an extent to guard its new wares makes perfect sense - for one it ups the info stakes considerably, any rumor is now big news, and secondly and definitely most importantly - by controlling the information Apple controls the hype machine. It would be interesting to see some kind of number on the many many millions of dollars worth of free marketing Apple has been handed through endless speculative rumor editorials. I mean, look at us! ;-)
Yeah, but what this guy fails to address is, why Apple is able to do it successfully, and others are not. It's much more than just a yen for secrecy or playing media games.
everyone does it
Palm did it with the Pre, so did Verizon about the Pre and the iPhone. a lot of people holding out on the hope that the iPhone comes to Verizon
This is exactly why I would laugh until tears streamed down my face if there was no tablet. Would be a brilliant move to force the hands of all of the potential e-book reader manufacturers, then once all is known to Apple they simply have to refine their options before their next product release. Ingenious. And to think, Ballmer is about to make a complete fool of himself tonight with his keynote. Oh, boy... I can't wait.
i would love it if there were no tablet...would just make a mockery out of ballmer (even bigger one...) after his big courier announcement...
Question is, can they deliver a product that lives up to all the hype? I'm sure it'll be a quality product, but at this point it sounds more like a content delivery tool. Personally, I'd rather see an Arrandale MacBook Pro with a little more mobile oomph for producing content.
why doesn't AI just copy and paste the ENTIRE source article? I mean, either simply link it or simply copy and paste the whole thing. If AI was a legitimate news outlet, they'd be cited for plagiarism left and right. Stop with the mock "journalism" already!
There is a link on the original article, also a lot of Mac sites work with each other, link back and forth etc.
Don't worry about it, everyone is getting hit traffic.
Am I the only one who doesn't see this as all that secret or all that monumental? As I must reiterate, if you have a vision, you can't compromise. Apple's secrecy or Nazi-like hold on it's products, information, and yes, even employees is necessary for it to produce the products it produces. As soon as you start letting others dictate things, yes even the smallest of things, your vision becomes compromised...
And as an aside, I had to look up 'recalcitrant.' Kudos marketing guy.
If I earned $12/hour emptying trash cans, you bet I'd sell iTablet photos for $100 a pop.
This is exactly why I would laugh until tears streamed down my face if there was no tablet. Would be a brilliant move to force the hands of all of the potential e-book reader manufacturers, then once all is known to Apple they simply have to refine their options before their next product release. Ingenious. And to think, Ballmer is about to make a complete fool of himself tonight with his keynote. Oh, boy... I can't wait.
not that easy
a lot of iphone OS 3.1 was written before 3 came out and the last 2 months were just to finish up a few features. it takes a long time to design a product and code the OS and software. then it takes months to QA it and get it ready for manufacture and get all the regulatory approvals
This is exactly why I would laugh until tears streamed down my face if there was no tablet. Would be a brilliant move to force the hands of all of the potential e-book reader manufacturers, then once all is known to Apple they simply have to refine their options before their next product release. Ingenious. And to think, Ballmer is about to make a complete fool of himself tonight with his keynote. Oh, boy... I can't wait.
It's too late for that now. I think it's all but assumed today that Apple will release a tablet. If not, their stock price will nosedive and that is far more significant than throwing egg on SB's face.