As someone in the market for a new phone, I’ve been following closely the latest drama with the new iphone. As someone who follows the marketing world, I’ve been following Apple to see who they would handle the alleged reception flaw in the new iPhone.
Apple is in the unique situation of having a seemingly untouchable brand. They’ve managed to find the marketing fairy dust that makes all of their products simultaneously symbols of status and edge (as edgy as a computer can get, anyways).
Although they’ve had a few missteps with their products, the fan boys will inevitably line up at ungodly hours to be the first to get their hands on a shiny new iproduct. Their brand is a result of nothing less than an intense control over every single outward-facing aspect of the company. It’s one of the few major companies I can think of that has little to no company-sponsored social media.
When the controversy over the reception for the iPhone reached a boiling point, it came out that posts on the Apple message boards regarding the issue had been deleted and the company was still sticking with its firm stance that there was no issue. Even during the press conference you really had to read between the lines for any acknowledgement that the complaints about the phone were valid. Through most of its existence, Apple has insisted that the people at the controls are in full control and know what’s best.
This type of steadfast denial is growing rare in a world where thousands of complaints can be quickly compiled into blogs, Twitter feeds and news feeds. Apple has shrouded itself in such secrecy and continues to speak to customers from the top down. As Apple continues to exclude itself from the conversations that are occurring more often from the bottom up, I wonder how long it can keep the goodwill that it has worked so hard to garner.
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