Switcher's campaign fails to inspire.
It has been published in many recent articles that Apple's share of computer users has actually dropped in the last year (and when you're starting at 3%, it's hard to drop any further). This then led to a wide discussion about the "Switchers" ad campaign and how unsuccessful it has been. Sure it may have been parodied by man and may have been a little different, but it really did fail to inspire. I fell in love with Apple back when they were doing their Think Different campaign. I saw a large poster of Jim Henson and Kermit with the simple phrase "Think Different" and the Apple logo. I was hooked. As Americans, we love the underdog, and that campaigned played to that. I'm sorry, but seeing some 13 year old girl drugged up on benadryl who can barely get out a sentence on why she switched, doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the brand she's promoting. Why does Apple insist on using Joe and Jane Nobody to promote their items? Nearly every creative professional on the planet uses Apple, from Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton, to nearly every graphics artist and film maker. How many incredible things are created on a Mac every day? Yet instead of hearing from these incredibly respected professionals on why they use Apple's, we have to watch some girl talk about being able to plug in a digital camera to her Mac. HP's recent +hp campaign is what apple should have been doing. Show the world just how important and powerful their machines are. Inspire their soon to be customers. Show them how great owning a Mac can be. Show them how to Think Different again.
Comments
See switcher Jeremiah Cohick's article for more.
Originally posted by sapi
Think G5.
Yes, the long-awaited G5 is EXACTLY what every soccer mom and granny has been waiting for. The iMac, eMac and iBook just wasn't powerful enough for them. Apple's marketshare will SKYROCKET now...just watch!
Think make-a-damn-marketing-campaign-that-has-a-clue.
Can't be that hard...
Originally posted by pscates
Yes, the long-awaited G5 is EXACTLY what every soccer mom and granny has been waiting for.
What's with you and soccer moms and grannies anyway?
These people make up the bulk of the computer-using public, not hardcore pros. Lure THESE people in and you're doubly successful (both among creative pros AND the consumer crowd).
Originally posted by pscates
I frequently use them as examples of the iGear's target audience. I also use "students", "newbies", "fence sitters", "potential switchers", "hobbyists", etc., depending on the issue at hand.
These people make up the bulk of the computer-using public, not hardcore pros. Lure THESE people in and you're doubly successful (both among creative pros AND the consumer crowd).
Apple lured me in, almost two years ago now. Happy.
Yes, the long-awaited G5 is EXACTLY what every soccer mom and granny has been waiting for.
No, no, no they're waiting for a Dell running XP!!!!!11
Ok, so maybe I should have put a smiley in there at first...
Originally posted by pscates
Think make-a-damn-marketing-campaign-that-has-a-clue.
Can't be that hard...
Yes it can... look at Coca-Cola
I cannot find the link now...but somewhere I read that Apple's share of the consumer market in the US actually increased (a little!) recently...and coupled with their claims that 50% of shoppers at the Apple Stores are 1st time Mac buyers....something must be working!
Apparently Apple's market share has dropped outside the US, and in the corporate and education sectors.
I wander what the figures wouldhave been without the switcher campaign!
Originally posted by Baron von Smiley
I disagree that people want to see the person next door talking about why they paid more for a computer to do mundane things. That's not what makes the computers great. There's an intangible element to the machines that make them better. It's a mixture of software and machinery and aesthetics. People who use them agree. For crying out loud, Mac greatness is probably the only thing that Al Gore and Rush Limbaugh will ever agree on. It's a computer for everyone in every walk of life. The Mac makes people dream of doing something great. It makes life easier. Apple needs to capitalize on that in it's ad campaigns.
All this is well and true, and perhaps in that sense, the Switch campaign failed to "capture the imagination" of people. However, as little as people may want to see their next door neighbor wax on about how easy and practical Macs are, it's an important message they may need to get if you want the soccer moms/grannies to buy. People do mundane things far more often than they do magical things, and the widespread misconception is that the Mac is incapable of doing these mundane things. Apparently, the only program that runs on the Mac is Photoshop.
I think the two most recent commercials they had which I deemed successes (aka, they spoke to me and for some reason made me want to buy a Mac) was an iBook commercial where a guy was using iTunes on an airplane and the second was an old iMovie commerical with a baby laughing and Forever Young being played on the background (which is available at the iTunes Music Store and almost no where else). They showed both the ease of use, the simplicity, and everyday use a Mac has. Plus they all had that extra quality which made people curious about the machine.