Apple's public relations team pushing back in wake of bad press
While Apple in the past has taken a stealth approach to dealing with the media, the company's public relations department has stepped up its efforts in recent weeks in an attempt to counter some negative media reports about the company's performance.
AppleInsider noted last week that Apple had "uncharacteristically" issued a press release heralding the launch of iOS 6.1. Fixes and additions in the software update were relatively minor, and such events do not usually garner a dedicated press release from Apple.
In addition to the more obvious, public changes, the company has also been working behind the scenes, according to The Wall Street Journal. In a report published on Tuesday, the publication noted that Apple's communications staff "recently sent reporters more favorable third-party reports about the company."
Among those reports was a study that predicts Apple will be as accepted in the enterprise by 2014 as Microsoft is today. Apple has reportedly sent reporters a total of five favorable studies since the start of the year, an unusually large number for the company.
While the changes are admittedly not a "big shift" for Apple, a source that spoke with the Journal did characterize them as "a recognition that competition is heating up."
Apple reported its holiday quarter earnings late last month, in which it revealed that its sales are growing at a slower rate than the breakneck pace seen in recent years. Investors quickly panicked and sent the stock plunging.
Negativity about Apple in recent weeks expressed by analysts and seen in media reports has been related to a number of issues. Among them are lower gross margins, a perception that Apple may have lost its "cool" factor to Android-based rivals like Samsung, and declining Mac sales in the same quarter that Microsoft debuted its new Windows 8 operating system.
Still others have dismissed those concerns, and see the likelihood for continued growth in Apple's future. Potential catalysts on the horizon include new iPhones and iPads, potential expansions of the iPhone lineup to both a less expensive model and a larger display, and the longstanding rumors of an Apple television set.
AppleInsider noted last week that Apple had "uncharacteristically" issued a press release heralding the launch of iOS 6.1. Fixes and additions in the software update were relatively minor, and such events do not usually garner a dedicated press release from Apple.
In addition to the more obvious, public changes, the company has also been working behind the scenes, according to The Wall Street Journal. In a report published on Tuesday, the publication noted that Apple's communications staff "recently sent reporters more favorable third-party reports about the company."
Among those reports was a study that predicts Apple will be as accepted in the enterprise by 2014 as Microsoft is today. Apple has reportedly sent reporters a total of five favorable studies since the start of the year, an unusually large number for the company.
While the changes are admittedly not a "big shift" for Apple, a source that spoke with the Journal did characterize them as "a recognition that competition is heating up."
Apple reported its holiday quarter earnings late last month, in which it revealed that its sales are growing at a slower rate than the breakneck pace seen in recent years. Investors quickly panicked and sent the stock plunging.
Negativity about Apple in recent weeks expressed by analysts and seen in media reports has been related to a number of issues. Among them are lower gross margins, a perception that Apple may have lost its "cool" factor to Android-based rivals like Samsung, and declining Mac sales in the same quarter that Microsoft debuted its new Windows 8 operating system.
Still others have dismissed those concerns, and see the likelihood for continued growth in Apple's future. Potential catalysts on the horizon include new iPhones and iPads, potential expansions of the iPhone lineup to both a less expensive model and a larger display, and the longstanding rumors of an Apple television set.
Comments
I mentioned last week that Apple might be getting a little more chatty than in the past. Looks like I'm not the only one thinking that.
Posting things like 3rd reports of product safety reviews etc is about bad press. Early talk of what is happening in the future, with details is about competition. And so on
It's been frustrating watching Apple go through this process but without some true innovation, it's surely going to continue. Jimmy Kimmel landed it perfectly when he published that video showing that Apple had basically rebranded the iPod in a bunch of new sizes. This isn't innovation and eventually Apple will have to pay the piper.
Originally Posted by whoda
Forget press releases. Take a page out of Googles playbook and whenever your competition releases a new product, pay a bunch of bloggers to make up shit about it. "Just got my new S IV but it totally sucks. If I take a picture of the sun with my S IV I keep getting glare." "The new S IV I just got blows, if I throw it against the wall it breaks."
Uh, no. Pretty simple; Apple has always played the game honestly.
Screw anyone else that doesn't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatorguy
I mentioned last week that Apple might be getting a little more chatty than in the past. Looks like I'm not the only one thinking that.
That shift happened a year ago. Cook is more devoted to corporate citizenship.
Quote:
Originally Posted by winstein2010
Apple needed it. Samsung and Google have been known to have an army of commenters on popular blogs to promote the Android "religion" and the Samsung "religion".
So does Apple. In fact, there are more dedicated Apple-friendly blogs.
Originally Posted by stelligent
So does Apple. In fact, there are more dedicated Apple-friendly blogs.
Are there? This seems a lot like counting sales at an Apple Store: sort of an impossible measurement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent
So does Apple. In fact, there are more dedicated Apple-friendly blogs.
Sponsoring or running blogs is one thing, but hiring people to spam public discussions (forums/blog comments/Twitter) is quite another.
It's not about increased competition, but the perception of increased competition.
The WSJ's "story" about the drop in screen orders—from 65 million!—will live in infamy as targeted market manipulation. Obscenities to this rag.
This is correct, and they seem to be coming this year, as Apple's investments in screen technology start to pay off.
But meantime, there has never been in my memory such hostility to a successful American company, and that's going back some. In the 1960s, when Volkswagen and then Toyota et al. started making huge inroads into Detroit's hegemony, there were rather many "Buy American" campaigns in defense. Compare that with what you read on Cnet comments.
To repeat, as Gruber says, what exactly is it about Apple that makes people lose their minds?
Sorry you get beat up. Did I ever do that?
Anyway, the new iMacs show that they are really serious about that part of the Mac lineup. They risked a lot to do those screens and aluminum frames, and a lot of people don't get it, a sure sign that they're ahead of the game. And then there's the retina Macbooks.
The Pro I don't know about, but Tim said . . . etc. And he isn't the sort of guy who would mislead his customers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by winstein2010
to promote the Android "religion" and the Samsung "religion".
Is this is a serious post? If so it is absolutely hilarious!
Quote:
Originally Posted by whoda
Forget press releases. Take a page out of Googles playbook and whenever your competition releases a new product, pay a bunch of bloggers to make up shit about it.
Citation? I've not seen any reputable source claim that. With that said, who do you think are the Google-friendly equivalents of Walt Mossberg, Siegler, David Pogue or Gruber?
Actually the most annoying ones are those fake MSFT fans, the number of +ve comments on Win Phone or Win RT/Surface on the web are totally disproportional to the number of customers they actually have. AAPL and GOOG fans, at least we know people are actually using their products so it's normal to have fans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by auxio
Sponsoring or running blogs is one thing, but hiring people to spam public discussions (forums/blog comments/Twitter) is quite another.
Neither side has to hire spammers.
There are plenty of testosterone fueled young males on the internet, who do this all on their own.
It's been that way since the beginning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flaneur
The WSJ misses the point, of couse. The increased PR is to counter the perverse press, WSJ included.
It's not about increased competition, but the perception of increased competition.
The WSJ's "story" about the drop in screen orders—from 65 million!—will live in infamy as targeted market manipulation. Obscenities to this rag.
The targeted market manipulation was pure capitalism, not actually "negative press" per se.