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Apple Advertising & Promo Suggestions (113)
(Jot down the numbers of your 3 favorite suggestions and VOTE! at the end of this page)
(Not necessarily listed in order of
importance)
Apple needs to make their top-of-the-line professional and consumer pro machines in a sleek sophisticated black plastic case, and their entry-level kids Macs in MTV X-generation colors, and promote them each in that same manner. - Entered 7/97. #1 - Vote=1
Apple needs to change their logo somewhat, to reflect the world-wide nature of modern computing. Something new and exciting like a 3-D rainbow apple wrapped around a lightly etched globe. - Entered 7/97. #2 - Vote=1
Apple needs to, like the underdog King David, pick up the rock of free thought, creativity, and individually to battle the monolithic giant. (Like the infamous "1984" epic commercial.) Start a great new image ad campaign, and fire, or build a fire, under your ad agency. - Entered 7/97. #3 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97
Apple needs to exploit every Wintel user's secret fear that some day they will be thrown into a black screen with a blinking C prompt. Also advertise the fact that Mac users never have to rewrite their autoexec.bat or sys.ini files. - Entered 7/97. #4 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98 - It's not the black / blue screen of death, or rewriting files, but it's close - Ed.
Apple needs to buy a popular song for commercial use. - Entered 7/97. #5 - Vote=1
Apple needs to stop being button-down corporate, and try to appeal to the fanatic feeling that still exists for the Mac. Do it like Power Computing's "I'll give up my Mac when they pry it from my stiff, dying fingers" campaign. Support the Mac community, and the Mac community will support you. Hire some X-generation ad and design people. - Entered 7/97. #6 - Vote=1
Apple needs to work very closely now with the Mac magazines to help boost reduced rate advertising and special project articles. If Apple goes belly-up, so do the magazines - We had better all work together and help each other. - Entered 7/97. #7 - Vote=1
Apple needs to change the visual presentation of marketing /advertising to signal that real change is under way. Focus attention (operationally and in marketing terms) on Apple's concrete growth. Boldly and methodically setting the milestones along the path to rebirth, is the only way to evolve the marketing message that so far has focused on undelivered promises. - Entered 7/97. #8 - Vote=1 - sj is hard at work on this one - Entered 3/98
Apple needs to cash in on millennium fever with a futuristic ad campaign that portrays Apple as a return to contemporary simplicity and ease of use - a rejection of complexity. - Entered 7/97. #9 - Vote=1
Apple needs to get Ben & Jerry's to name a flavor after the company (trade for a new PowerMac?) The name might be: Apple Rainbow Silicon Chip. - Entered 7/97. #10 - Vote=1
Apple needs to fight back. You have ten times more creative flair than the Wintelians. Use it! Start a very visible confrontational commercial ad strategy - like Pepsi & Coke. Also use testimonials. - Entered 7/97. #11 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple
needs to adopt slogans
and ads that pack a wallop. How about this:
Big corporations spend thousands of dollars per year to support their Windows
PCs.
Individual users spend thousands of hours staring at their screens, wondering
what went wrong this time.
There must be a better way.
There is.
Macintosh.
[Cite statistics about it being far easier/cheaper to support Macs - I
know they're out there]
- Entered 7/97. #12 - Vote=1
Apple needs to advertise in Prime Time. Do a MS style add - "Where Do you want to go today?" Then show MS splash screens i.e.: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Explorer. Then have the announcer ask, "And how will you get there?" Pull camera back and show the Mac. Do you have any idea how many people are unaware that MS makes products for the Mac? - Entered 7/97. #13 - Vote=2
Apple needs to advertise more in the high circulation magazines if only to keep the symbol alive in people's minds. Remember "See the USA in a Chevrolet." I suggest more aggressive advertising comparing the Apple to the PC on major fronts. Like "Golly, I can do that on a Mac in 10 seconds, you've been struggling for over 30 minutes! I would like to see robust ads showing Mac users jubilantly celebrating their Macs! Don't hide out with a good thing. Word of mouth won't make it anymore. Run ads on TV - I realize this is expensive, but an ad run during prime-time repeated over the course of a month or two DAILY and then changed, and repeated over the next month or two, etc. coinciding with major magazine ads with the SAME SYMBOLIC "eye catcher" would at least put the Mac in people's minds - as it stands now, unless people are reminded, they will eventually forget what the Apple icon means. Put the symbol out there so a lot of people see it and recognize it! Media blitz it - speak up as to where the Mac is strong, like education and publishing, graphics, etc. Now is the time to play up Internet strengths. The Internet is a revolution! Who invented Quicktime? The top 10 graphic design winners in 1996 ALL used MACS! Don't be shy and withdrawn. Don't drop advertising now, increase it. You know us baby boomers are getting old.....it appears to me that Apple is hanging out waiting for people to discover it, to come to it. "After all, it is a better computer, right?, and they know this, and they will come."...... They don't know it! And they will soon forget if you don't keep telling them! As the saying goes: "The Media Is the Message." - Entered 7/97. #14 - Vote=1 sj is hard at work on this one - Entered 3/98
Apple needs to come up with a cool new slogan. For instance; "There are no computer illiterate users, just user illiterate computers - Test drive the NEW user friendly Macintosh, and see what we mean." - Entered 7/97. #15 - Vote=1
Apple needs to: Get A Clue! If Apple wants to be saved it will have to show the "rest of us" that it wants to live; by offering the best value computer on the market. And good ideas don't live on their own merit, they have to be presented in a compelling, persuasive and timely manner. Cut out the lame half hour ad and get back to the snappy half minute ones that remind people what Macs are all about- anything you want them to be... (because WE decide not Wall Street,) instead of offering the latest model as the whizziest thing to hit the block appealing only to techno-nerds. (I'm too modest to include myself in this group), offer it as the machine you want to come home to. Compare the exciting world of a new colorful Mac to the dull, dry, ho-hum, dirty beige computing of Wintel. Make it compelling. Beat Microsoft and Intel at their own game, because no matter how much better the computer is, many people spend most of their time in front of the TV, and if they are not familiar with the Mac, they simply don't know. WE know how much better the Mac is, so tell the rest of the world - with flair - before the final nail is hammered into the coffin. - Entered 7/97. #16 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! At the recent Seybold Conference in New York sj said (17Mar, 1998) that it is the legacy of Apple Computer to be involved with (low-end) consumer products, and that it is bizarre that Apple has not made a real consumer machine for years, and to expect something along these lines in the fall of '98. Entered 3/98. - All right! "Power to the People" and "Computing for the Rest of Us" again! It's about time. Can you hear someone humming; "I'm Back in the Saddle Again"? - GO STEVE! - Ed.
Apple needs to advertise. In the morning young TV viewers should be shown in brief one minute shots how Macs are great for games and multimedia. At noon, viewers should see how Macs help the disabled, and also help home bound parents earn degrees over the Web. Noon commercials should also show the wonders of video conferencing and email. Also show how Macs are widely used business machines. In the evening the whole family should be treated to a Mac that meets everyone's needs: business tools for Mom and Dad, games and video conferencing for the kids, education K-college, ease of set up and ease of use. Tell the whole world how great, fun, easy and affordable the modern PPC is. In a word: ADVERTISE. - Entered 7/97. #17 - Vote=1
Apple needs to replace the PR department. An aggressive campaign showing all the advantages of the new system as well as the speed of the new Macs should be plastered all over the US, if not the world. The unbelievable unbreakable solidity of the Mac servers should fly in every magazine and corporate office. Boasting of the new, solid, unbreakable Rhapsody due early next year, that will be running on Pentium CPUs but kick butt on PPCs should be the talk of the town. The myth of Apple dying should be put to sleep once and for all. On time delivery of the system software is crucial. Creation or adoption of a mother board with speedy buss should come next. - Entered 7/97. #18 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve!, THANKS Apple! (For getting some new ad agency people (Chait/Day) and for the new "Out of This World," "Think Different," and the G3 "Pentium II Snail," and "Toast Intel" ads.)
Apple needs to make an inexpensive PC compatible and/or bundle VirtualPC with EVERY Mac and leave no reason to get a Wintel. And: ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE. Take a lesson from Sony's beta. Having a superior system does not necessarily mean you're going to sell it. - Entered 7/97. #19 - Vote=1
Apple... I agree, in part, with one of the comments on this page regarding placing older Macs in retirement homes. I say why wait! Retirees have more time and many of them have money and are thinking about getting a computer to keep in touch with family, and friends. Apple needs to start advertising in the AARP bulletin, on SeniorNet, etc. Offer a bundle with ClarisWorks, a family tree-type program, AOL, a printer and modem. Many recent retirees, like my mom, volunteer in schools--offer them a chance to purchase a Mac system through the Educator Advantage--call it EDUCATION Advantage? Personally, when I retire I don't see myself wanting to learn how a computer works and how to keep it running...I want to USE it, just like now. (Novel concept--work WITH your computer, not ON it???) THAT is why MY computer is a Macintosh! - Entered 7/97. #20 - Vote=1
Apple needs to ADVERTISE! - the only reason a second rate WIN OS has the lead is because every time you turn on the TV there is another brainwash about the other platform. - Entered 7/97. #21 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve!, THANKS Apple! For the new "Out of This World," "Think Different," and the G3 "Pentium II Snail," and "Toast Intel" ads.)
Apple needs to do more BOLD HARD-HITTING ADVERTISING - THANKS Steve!, THANKS Apple! For the new "Out of This World," "Think Different," and the G3 "Pentium II Snail," and "Toast Intel" ads.) - Entered 3/98. (and maybe with a retro tune) is what Apple needs. When have you seen an Apple ad lately? Plaster the multi-coloured icon everywhere, buses, trains, billboards, telegraph poles, the walking dog, everywhere where the general public can see, not the elite group of Mac users in Mac mags. If it works for Microsoft's inferior crash prone Windows 95, imagine what it can do with Apple.... - Entered 7/97. #22 - Vote=1 THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97
Apple should... I see a variety of suggestions here that range from the absurd to the intelligent. What they all basically say is what we as Macheads already know - that Apple puts out a superior product. The majority of people that Apple-bash have never seriously used a Mac, and those that have used a Mac often convert (I have several friends that were raised on IBM, touched a Mac and never looked back). What Apple needs to do is come up with a clever, intelligent marketing campaign that informs non-Mac users about what they're missing. The press does plenty of Mac-bashing and Apple does nothing to fight back. It's time to either push back or lay down. Apple needs to basically fire its entire marketing department (they've already resigned their ad agency) and start over with the creativity that inspired the famous "1984" commercial. People need to know that Apple is down, but not out for the count by any means. Unhappy Wintel users need to know that there is hope, and its name is Macintosh. - Entered 7/97. #23 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97
Apple has finally woken up and smelled the coffee about advertising. There are routinely multi-page ads in mainstream media, USA Today, Wall Street Journal. There are also these mult-page, multi-color (read: expensive) ads in Macintosh publications like MacWeek and MacWorld. It seems like Apple is preaching to the Choir. The people reading those publications are already Apple supporters. Apple should spend the money they're spending on these ads and put them in PCWeek and PCWorld and those type magazines. - Entered 7/97. #24 - Vote=1
Apple needs to learn how to advertise. All People hear is Windoze, Pentium and MMX. So when the first time consumer goes to the store they say I need MMX. They don't know what it is but they know they "need it." Put some ads about ease of use and the power of the system. Show that PPC kicks the Pentium's butt. Let people know what the Mac can and does do. - Entered 7/97. #25 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple should... I work in the EDA (Electronic Design Automation) world. We had Mac's here for business and admin., but the PC is slowly (quickly) replacing them. There are very little applications out there for electronic and mechanical /architectural CAD for the Mac, and that's but one reason why the Mac market is dissolving. There are no high end EDA solution on the Mac. I hear engineers every day down the hall complaining about the PC/Wintel platform, and how much easier it would be if they were developing on the Mac! I'll bet that within 2 years, there won't be a Mac at this company, where we used to have thousands. (Sad...) Apple has to get into companies like mine and do some major damage control. Also, Apple needs to Advertise ! Get on primetime, get in the magazines, get on radio, get back in the schools, get in the consumer stores and show consumers that there is a better choice than Wintel. I haven't seen an Apple ad in anything except Apple magazines - MacAddict, for example. That's preaching to the Choir! We don't need to be sold on the Mac, the general public does! As I look for older Mac's here to purchase for home use, I hear it every time I ask: "Why are you looking for Mac's? Who would ever want a Macintosh?" -- Blasphemy! - Entered 7/97. #26 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97
Apple
needs to defend itself
in a massive ad campaign. Since Apple's business is the common folk (and
even if it isn't the common folk, they can't get anywhere with the common
folk believing the press!) TV should be a major force in Apple's advertising.
Here are some advertising ideas for Apple, most of which I got from other
companies advertising:
Radical and in-your-face: Take a cue from Mt. Dew. The Mac may not be a
soft drink, but the "extreme" theme seems to get through to young
folks (the young are the future!). How about "Macintosh, Alive and
Kicking Butt!", or maybe a quick rundown of Macintosh myths (I've
heard computer "experts" tell people that Macs can't read DOS
disks!) followed by "NOT!".
Join the Mac family: Saturn has done a great job of advertising their cars.
The cars themselves are really nothing special, however. Imagine what Apple
could do with a computer that IS something special. Even though I know
that Saturn cars are just decent cars, I can't help getting a warm, fuzzy
feeling about them. And Apple doesn't have to suddenly invent a Mac family...
when I meet a fellow Mac user, I feel like I already know them. Saturn
dealers sponsor all sorts of events for Saturn owners, why can't local
Apple dealers do the same? Like Apple day at the zoo?
Celebrity sponsors: Most people can figure out that Batman and Robin used
the Mac for special effects. But why doesn't an ad come out and say it?
How about an ad where some celebrity, movie-maker etc. explicitly endorses
the Mac?
Attack Windows: I know this is extreme and that attack ads can really backfire.
But by attack, I don't mean to directly criticize Microsoft. A few brief
mentions of autoexec.bat, plug-n-play that doesn't work might do it. Or,
try another Windows-attack. How about Windows users as lemmings, carrying
around autoexec.bat files and trudging slowly off a cliff following a sign
that points to tech support? A little bizarre, but Apple could use some
advertising imagination to go with its innovative products.
Infomercials: A few well-placed infomercials about the Mac might help,
especially if each infomercial published a list of local Apple dealers
who are willing to show the customers what Apple can do for THEIR needs.
Make certain that luke-warm Apple dealers (Sears comes to mind) are NOT
mentioned. The ignorance of some Apple salespeople seems to do more harm
than good to Apple.
Print ads that list Macintosh myths and debunk them. Maybe even include
the reason for the myth. Here's one. Myth: Macs are slower than Wintels.
Not true (quote some sources here). Reason: Macs last longer than Wintels,
so there a lot of slower Macs still out there still in use. (Anyone seen
a 286 lately? Running?) Myth: Macs can't read DOS disks. Not true, Macs
can read and format DOS disks with no acrobatics required. Reason: Wintels
can't read Mac disks without third-party software.
The average person believes that Apple is dead, that Macs are slower than
PCs, that Windows 95 is new and original. I am a programmer who started
out Mac, went cross-platform, and am now Windows because all my customers
have phased out Macs. When I suggest a Mac solution to a customer, the
customer laughs as if I'm making a joke. When I tell people that I just
purchased a Power Tower Pro at home, they shake their heads and ask when
I'm replacing it with a Wintel box. I try to describe the Mac to these
people, but I don't seem to get through. Apple has to take part in its
own defense! - Entered
7/97. #27 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve!
THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for
the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports
that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning
"1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that
they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz.
It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's
and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97 -
THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple!
For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell
Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple
should take three major
steps NOW!
1. Improve marketing. How did Mickey$oft become the #1 software vendor
in the world? By making good products? NO--By having the best marketing.
2. Emphasize the superiority of the PowerPC architecture. Release a 400MHz
CPU based Macintosh THIS YEAR before Christmas. Moreover offer only 300MHz
and faster machines and phase the slower ones out NOW. In contrast, the
Pentiscum is 20 year old technology that is approaching its speed barrier.
They may reach 300MHz, but it will run much too hot for laptops.
3. Hire me as a personal consultant to the new CEO.
- Entered 7/97. #28 - Vote=1
Apple
should... When Apple
introduces Rhapsody next year, there is a way to hit a home run. First
off, they should do what others have done. Keep hyping the features of
the new OS prior to it's release. Also, while doing this, spend big dollars
with Motorola to hype the Power PC chip. Intel's ads are fooling people
into thinking the Pentium is the superior chip, we know this is not true.
Numbers mean nothing to people 200Mhz, 300Mhz, 350Mhz, so what? Why should
I spend thousands of dollars to get cutting edge technology only to do
word processing? Why? Because programmers are eating up more and more of
that processing power to exploit their programs. Can we say multimedia?
Movies, sound, animation, and 3D graphics. Most programs including word
processors will have these features in the near future. Without staying
on the cutting edge, you will be left behind even if using a word processor
is the most important thing.
Secondly, when Rhapsody ships for the Wintel boxes, don't sell it, don't
advertise it to try to convert people, just cut millions of CD's and ship
it to all the Wintel owners of the world. We Mac users would love to see
Mr. Gates sweat about Apple's new OS. If I am spending money on Intel hardware
and using Windows 95, I would never consider buying Macs or it's OS regardless
of their price, although I might try it if I had it in my hands. If Apple
sold a Mac for $500 fully loaded blowing away any PC ever made, Windows
users would still never switch. We all know that if Apple covers their
costs of developing Rhapsody, that giving it to Windows users, Apple could
slowly and silently convert them from the inside out. Can you spell A-O-L.
American on-line did this very well over the past few years and nobody
has come close to the market share in their market. Once developers who
shied away from the Mac platform would see a strong reason to develop for
Rhapsody.
Apple's success should be measured not by dollars and cents, but by how
well they stop users from leaving their faithful Macs and switching to
Wintel. Once that goal has been met, they should worry about market share
again. Not by boxes sold, but by OS's sold. Apple is NOT a hardware company.
They are software technology company. The curiosity of the Wintel people
will get the best of them. Once they load this thing called Rhapsody and
see how much better the interface is, there is a strong likelihood that
they might not go back to Windows if their apps continue to function properly.
I strongly suggest to Apple that Apple give away Rhapsody to Windows users
to begin with, after two years they can start to sell upgrades to those
people and Bill Gates will never know what hit him. If nothing else, it
couldn't hurt their publicity.
Finally, if this method is to be implemented, DON'T ask users to call an
800 number to order it, DON'T have users download it, just send it to them.
Let them try it. Let them convert themselves. The world will once again
see how Apple is the leader in the computer OS arena. Remember how the
Green Bay Packers became America's team? They proved it to the rest of
the world! Apple can prove it to the world as well. Now is the time! This
reminds me of what the people that use Macs have been saying for years.
It's the operating system, not the hardware that makes it great!
- Entered 7/97. #29 - Vote=2
Apple needs to... in one word: ADVERTISE!!! - Entered 7/97. #30 - Vote=1 THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple needs to advertise. They have the best computer on the planet, but nobody knows about it. Apple only seems to advertise in Mac-related places. People there don't need to see the ads! We've got the best computers, now let's go for the best ads. - Entered 7/97. #31 - Vote=1 THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple needs to look at why Wintel is so popular --marketing/advertising. If it was all about better hardware, faster CPU's, easier UI, etc., Apple would have 85% market share. Take advantage of the "Emperor's new clothes" syndrome and get the word out. Obviously, 85% of the computer purchasing sheep out there care more about theme songs and company jingles/logos than real power. Well give them what they want! Let's see Apple do some serious GenX style (and younger) advertising. Something like what Sega is doing. It gets your attention, rattles your cage for a few seconds and then screams SEGA at you. It works! I want Apple in my face! NOW! After all, It is us twenty/thirty-somethings that are buying computers now. My dad may own the company but I do the buying. He can't keep up with technology and has no need to--that's what I'm for. So convince me that I need Macintosh and I'll convince him (of course I am convinced).--BillSoft has some cool internet-based adverts. I.e.: "Where do you want to go today?" and they work. They work cuz they're "kewl." I understand what they are saying. My father, on the other hand, has no idea. "Spamming? Flaming? Smileys? What does all that mean anyway?" It means that MicroPuke isn't marketing the 65 y/o CEOs as much as they are marketing me, the 30 y/o guy that suggests to the 65 y/o CEO that we should buy X, Y, or Z as our internet server solution. Apple should do the same. Forget who signs the actual check. Target your "insiders", the ones that actually decide what the company needs. Look at marketing like Matel used to--"If we can win over the kids, they'll do the advertising for us...and keep doing it and keep doing it until mom buys the new Barbie." Well, here we are! Now win - us - over! - Entered 7/97. #32 - Vote=1
Apple
should... There are 4
things that Apple should do to grow the Mac market:
1. Lose the current model naming conventions! Remember names like Macintosh
"Plus," "SE/30," "Classic," "II,"
"Centris," and "Quadra?" These were COOL names! They
made people feel as though their computer was unique over all others because
it had a NAME, not a model number. Who the heck cares if their computer
has a telephone number for a name? (I.e.: 9600/200) The next generation
of Mac's should have names like "Macintosh Millennia 350" (Millennia
for Mac's running at the year 2000 and 350 for the processor speed) or
something like that!
2. Introduce an aggressive sales slogan. Lose the cutesy, touchy-feely
stuff. How about something like: "Macintosh: the world's ONLY "personal"
computer" or "Get a Macintosh or settle for LESS."
3. Provide a migration path for Windows users. I'm not talking about PC
compatibility. Since most Mac apps and Windows apps are on par with one
another, devise a purchase program where PC users can trade in their computers
for a Mac and then have all of their DATA converted to Mac format. (I.e.:
A PC user purchases a new Mac at a discount price, ships his PC to Apple,
Apple techs extract all of the data from the PC hard drive and copy it
onto the new Mac's hard drive and then include the latest version of Mac
Link. Then provide the user with a Mac software bundle comparable to what
the user had on their PC, plus a copy of Virtual PC). This weans the new
Mac user off their Windows dependence and works them slowly into the Mac
with zero-effort.
4. Simplify the System folder!!! I know that OS 8 will have new "blessed"
folders to help organize things more, but lets face it: There are WAY TOO
MANY Control Panels now!!! How about consolidating them? Example: Take
the three Open Transport Control Panels (TCP/IP, PPP, and Modem) and consolidate
them into one OT Control Panel?
- Entered 7/97. #33 - Vote=1
Apple needs to advertise! Advertise! Advertise! On television! Lots of people I have met haven't even heard of Apple, or worse yet thought they had gone out of business. Please let the public know of Apple's superiority! - Entered 7/97. #34 - Vote=1
Apple
should not should on
itself.
1. Advertise with hype and sex, etc. Why? Well, not because I like it but
the method has a proven successful track record. Face it, human's remember
things better if the sensory input is shocking for them! Go study human
psychology if you doubt me.
2. Take into account the very large and aging baby boomers generation that
has no computers. They have money to spend. Target market an inexpensive
and simple unit, ie: a practical non-technical, non-intimidating unit.
A complete 'plug it in and go' product. Consider a tear-jerk family AT&T
type ad that points out how to e-mail and keep in close touch with your
children! (My parent's don't have a computer and it's these exact issues
that impact their decisions). The medical community is focusing energy
for future response to this population - why not Apple?
3. Find the original writers for the "1984" ad and hire them.
They have real talent, they're not just another company.
- THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple!
For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different"
ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and
Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl
ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15
million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural
icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative
leaps.) - Entered 9/97
4. Get together with the Volkswagon company. Find out what their strategies were as the "Bug" lost momentum. Seems like they have survived quite well! - Entered 7/97. #35 - Vote=1
Apple needs to address one of the biggest problems Apple faces: that of identity & mission confusion. Most of the people I talk to about computers use Intel/Windows based machines because everyone else seems to have one and everyone can't be wrong. Apple has to focus their advertising on creating brand image, both on the hardware side and the software side; but most importantly, Apple has to do this in the public's face. It seems to me that Apple's advertising budget is too small and spent in the wrong places. I always see Apple's ads in MacUser, MacWorld, MacEverything. I never see Apple's ads in Time, Newsweek, Life, Sports Illustrated, American Heritage, Money, Fortune, Forbes or any other mainstream magazine. If the Apple name and logo appeared as many times and in as many different places as the Microsoft or Intel marquees, there might be a brand identity that the general public can connect with. Stop preaching to the converted and go for the hearts & minds of the public at large! - Entered 7/97. #36 - Vote=1
Apple should definitely focus on the customer, not the shareholders. Apple needs marketing. When was the last time anybody saw an ad for the built in speech recognition in the MacOS? Or the capability to drive two side-by-side monitors as one big desktop? Or the ability to read/write PC files? Most PC users don't know about these features of the Macintosh. It's time to change that. We need extremely aggressive marketing. Forget the fluffy ads to the home users and the kiddies, it's not going to cut it. You need hard ads, facts, and lots of them. Tell them that Apple has the fastest desktop and portable computers. Tell them how much easier the Mac is to use. Show them the 14,000 titles available for the Mac. And do it very, very often, on television, not just in print. And stop putting the damn ads in MacWeek, MacUser and MacWorld...are you insane? That's preaching to the converted, it's a total waste of time and money. Put your ads in Network Computing, PC Week, PCWorld, etc. Put your ads on TV, in prime time. And do it often, so that people start to see them. And most of all...it's time to start kicking butt. You have the ammo, you just need to USE it. - Entered 7/97. #37 - Vote=1
Apple needs to look for people with real consumer marketing experience. - Entered 7/97. #38 - Vote=1
Apple needs to ADVERTISE!! The last time I saw an Apple U.K. television commercial was at least six months ago, and its substance was, "Oh look, It's in 'Mission Impossible'!". This makes people who don't know, think that Macs are just, cool, expensive toys. Most people have no idea that there is a serious alternative to Win 95. If Apple made some truly aggressive "you can't do this on Windows" style advertising, people would at least take interest. The demand would grow for Macs to be put back into computer stores and market share would have to grow. To sum up, Inform people of the superior alternative to Windows and explain why it is better, Facts and figures etc. (like the fact that most 'P.C.' magazines are published on Macs, Win 95 logo etc.), who cares if it was featured in ID4, ignorance is such that most people probably assume that it was Windows anyway. - Entered 7/97. #39 - Vote=1
Apple
needs to Advertise. Apple's
had too much success with its one-time showing in 1984. Problem is that
the message is important, but more important--especially in Apple's position,
is FREQUENCY. I need to see more often before I "give in (try the
product and hopefully purchase). The message in Apple's adv. needs to be
more like this: Show me the computer, show me the power, show me the speed,
show me the ease of use--don't talk about it, SHOW IT, INTERACT with it!
On-line adv. is comparatively dirt cheap. At least show your presence,
forget about correlating adv. to sales--really forget about it, it will
take much more frequency to see the sales. Apple just sits and waits with
its little adv. and says, "see it just doesn't work" well, that's
due to small frequency. Trust me! -
Entered 7/97. #40 - Vote=1 - THANKS
Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people
and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek
reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind
the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched
the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and
billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein
to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97 -
THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple!
For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell
Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple needs to utilize the many high profile celebrities, musicians, athletes, etc who use and love Apple computers. Apple should enlist their support and their images in Apple ads on TV, radio, theatres, concerts, etc. People look up to many of the same people who use Macintosh computers. A consumer who heard that their favorite "star" used a Mac would be much more likely to go down to their local computer retailer looking for one. Maybe even start a signature line...the Michael Jordan Mac? Sounds corny, but something along those lines properly thought out could really get people excited. Have commercials showing these famous people using their Macs at home and at work - they are the most user friendly computer on the planet. Apple is a GREAT COMPUTER and lots of GREAT PEOPLE already know this, use their clout and sway!!! - Entered 7/97. #41 - Vote=1
Apple needs to; Advertise, Advertise, Advertise! And not those wimpy feel good things they have stuck with up until now. Something that tells people what it can really do. Compare it side by side with a Windows machine. Tell people why Windows 95 looks just about like a Mac, because they want to look like the best. And make it EXCITING! - Entered 7/97. #42 - Vote=1 - - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple needs to... It amazes me how little PC users actually know about, or understand about Apple and their machines. I think that Apple should go to the top Advertising agencies worldwide - the ones that are known for being highly creative, and do attention-grabbing, ballsy, interesting campaigns, and start a world-wide self-promotion and marketing advertising movement. Just think of the ad that helped stir the world and open their eyes to Apple in 1984. - Entered 7/97. #43 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple must start to advertise effectively again. I want to see an Apple sponsored car at the next Nascar Winston Cup race. The only people as loyal as a Macintosh fan is a Nascar fan. What a perfect match! Fast computers and fast cars. It is a natural. It also happens to be the best way to spend an advertising dollar these days. Ask any company that sponsors one. They do not spend their millions there for no reason. I look forward to the day when the Apple car leaves the Microsoft car 10 laps behind at the checkered flag. PowerPC Rules!!!! - Entered 7/97. #44 - Vote=1
Apple needs to... The key to Apple's turnaround is to win NEW customers. The one and only thing that will save Apple is ADVERTISING. Apple has failed miserably over the last 13 years to advertise a product that is clearly superior to the competition. When you walk in to a Circuit City, Sears, or any other retailer, you see one Macintosh on display, and 24 various PCs. Combined with an uneducated salesperson, what do you think people will walk out of the store with? They don't know any better (and neither does the salesperson). Apple is not on their minds when they go shopping for a new computer. People don't know the advantages to owning a Mac. Most of them have never heard of Apple or Macintosh. All they know is they want a computer. Well, Apple, it's up to you. TELL THEM. GET IN THEIR FACES. ADVERTISE! ADVERTISE! ADVERTISE! Put some kick-ass commercials on TV, and in every major newspaper, and magazine. (Not the Mac magazines; we already know, remember?) The time is NOW. If you want the company to grow, JUST DO IT! - Entered 7/97. #45 - Vote=1
Apple: It is about time to show some teeth. I suggest that the evangelists and others propose that job #1 for the incoming CEO is to take on the press. Thank those journalists that are very objective in their reporting. - Entered 7/97. #46 - Vote=1
Apple must regain their image. Now, all you hear is "why buy an Apple, the company is dying." This means finding an ad agency that might not fit the "company image" but is aggressive and willing to put the name Apple where it will be seen by non Apple users. Apple is better and here is why! This might mean letting dealers stock Apple without the million dollar investment. Until consumers ask and insist on Apple, dealers are not going to stock the product. This means putting Apple back in the schools at any cost. Low interest loans, low price rebuilt machines. Free internet software, Free instructional software. What ever it takes! - Entered 7/97. #47 - Vote=1
Apple should advertise. On television. Loudly and as often as possible. - Entered 7/97. #48 - Vote=1
Apple should be advertising to a MUCH greater extent on TV, consumer magazines, etc... Assuring the public that Apple is healthy and still committed to providing consumers with fully featured, reliable and fun to use computers. Bringing new technologies to market, and to making use of Internet and other new technologies. Apple should also make direct comparisons between the Mac OS and Windows 95, pointing out the advantages of the Mac OS. Public perception is that Apples OS is not cutting edge and that the company is dying. Apple must take action to change this perception. Steve Case has done it with AOL! Because of the aggressive advertising Steve Case uses, AOL is still growing, and this is in spite of the fact that their service is at best mediocre. - Entered 7/97. #49 - Vote=1
Apple needs to heavily market itself and it's products. It should also allow clone licensees the opportunity to make powerbook clones. Jump into the licensing thing with both feet, it will save the company. Support gaming companies 100% they represent a huge section of the software industry. - Entered 7/97. #50 - Vote=1 - THANKS MESA members!, THANKS Apple! - For the new Macintosh Entertainment Software Association!
Apple
needs to:
1) focus on ALL customers regardless of borders. It's damn frustrating
to be treated differently by a global company like Apple because I live
(literally) just across the border in Canada.
2) give away Hypercard with every license of MacOS to encourage the hobbiests.
3) get an ad campaign with some chutzpa - like the We're Back series started.
4) put a ton of money in to Claris to make an Excel and Word killer so
they don't have to cow-tow to Microsoft.
- Entered 7/97. #51 - Vote=1
Apple needs some balls-to-the-wall advertising. I want another "1984" commercial. Do you know anyone who doesn't get tingles when they see that? The whole world uses your computers to make advertisements... except you. Whether you like Macs or not, the world waits with baited breath to see what Apple's gonna do next. So when you do something cool (PB3 3400, MacOS 8, Rhapsody, 604e/350Mhz, MessagePad 2000, etc.) TELL THEM ON TV. Ideas: 1. Use Trent Reznor - Nine Inch Nails. He uses almost exclusively Macs to do his music. And his music is fast, hard, and in your face. (kinda like that in-your-face PB 3400). Use it. - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97
2. Tell the world how fast you are.
It doesn't matter that MegaHertz don't equal MegaHertz. That argument is
in your favor anyway! "My computer is easier to use than yours"
is great. But "my computer kicks your computer's butt" works
a little better when talking amongst ignorant co-workers (98% of the computer-using
population). And say it like "Apple makes the fastest personal computer
in the world... hands down." - THANKS
Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial
and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
3. Re-release that award-winning
"1984" commercial when you release Rhapsody. Remind the world
that you were right 14 years ago!
4. Advertise on MTV. Use that Nine Inch Nails thing with a slogan like
"Macintosh. Strap on a pair."
5. Hire me. :)
Apple's Back. - Entered 7/97. #52 - Vote=1
Apple should build on its customers loyalty and enhance this by better service of its own and those who are selling Apple computers. As Mac users we know that Macs are an excellent and intelligent product easy to use besides that it makes fun to use it. Apple should enhance the flair of its products as non-anonymus machines. "Every Mac has a friend" should be the slogan. (Picture: with a kid?) - Entered 7/97. #53 - Vote=1
Apple: I'm constantly reading about how Macs blow away PCs in comparison tests. Why aren't we seeing these stats being shouted from the rooftops in advertising? I'd also like to see similar comparisons of operating systems in Apple's advertising. - Entered 7/97. #54 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple needs to work out a deal with Connectix for Virtual PC to be bundled with the Mac OS so as to guarantee consumers application compatibility with the Wintel platform. Soft windows is also an option, and of course this wouldn't be needed on DOS card models. Additionally, for the education market, which has a large Apple II investment, including the Warp 5 Apple IIGS emulator would be a little and cheap added incentive to stay with Apple. Advertise, advertise, advertise, and not just in Mac markets. How about Computer Shopper, since it is many peoples first magazine when they research for their first or next computer? Keep pushing the speed barrier - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98 - so that the Wintel platform can't even pretend to be keeping up. - Entered 7/97. #55 - Vote=1
Apple needs to advertise! The Evangelistas and Mac-Heads already know that a Mac is the best thing going. Tell the Pentium-plagued public that there is a faster, funner, cooler and loveable alternative to Microsoft. We've got the fastest laptop and desktop computers on the market!!! Let's rub their noses in it! Make them know they NEED a Mac. They do, but they don't know it. - Entered 7/97. #56 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple
needs: Marketing, Marketing,
Marketing! Apple has always found a way to pick the best technologies to
advance its enterprise. I, as a militantly loyal Apple customer, will never
leave Apple because I know as do countless other millions of Mac users
that nothing like the Mac exists to replace what I have - except a new
Mac. The Mac is simply superior from its OS to its core hardware and will
continue as long as Apple retains its commitment to providing such to its
customers.
So how can Apple be saved? Simple. The overwhelming majority of "computer"
users don't use the latest and greatest stuff around. Windows 95 has not
taken off like Micro$oft's vapid PR would have you believe. The most popular
OS on the planet is the inane and inordinately difficult to use Windows
3.1. That means there is an untapped gold mine of PC users out there chugging
along with 286 & 386 hardware that Micro$oft is about to abandon. Apple
needs to tap this gold mine and yank MS's ready made market right out from
under its Alligator leather-clad feet. Micro$oft, as many of you know,
is about to end its support for Windows 3.1 and it is this market, not
the choir, that needs to be preached to. Encourage them to upgrade to a
new Mac by offering special discounts for Win 3.1 users or older Intel
hardware. Create new products designed to fit this home market and not
with overpriced & underpowered Performas but with good stuff at affordable
and competitive prices.
- Entered 7/97. #57 - Vote=1
Apple
needs to:
1. Join forces with Power Computing, Umax, and Motorola, and launch an
AGGRESSIVE print and television ad campaign touting the Mac, AND the Power
PC processor. Call the new combined team "The Mac Consortium",
and shove the Mac OS down John Q. Public's throat.
2. With the help and efforts of sponsors, buy 2 huge Tractor/Trailers,
paint them up with the logos of sponsors and "The Mac Consortium",
and go on tour with all of the latest Mac technology. Get a food sponsor,
and serve lunch. Hit mountain bike events, state fairs, ski and snowboard
events, music events, educational events, city events, etc... This would
reinforce the current customer base, and widen the new customer base. It
would also be a great time, and once again establish the Mac as "everyone's
computer." No one has ever done this. It could be another Mac first.
3. Advertise in Airports and Movie theatres. I see Toshiba ads, and Microsoft
ads, but no Apple.
4. Many movie stars and celebrities use Macs. Why not give an 8600 to Rosie
O'Donnell to use on the set of her show? She should be connected to the
internet, and she could use it as a bit in her show. It would be good for
her ratings, and GREAT for the Mac. Apple could target the housewives and
families that watch her show. As far as other celebrities go, use them
in an ad campaign. You can't fake the kind of influence that celebrities
have on most consumers.
5. Finally, acknowledge that Apple has screwed up with marketing for the
last ten years. Announce it with a grain of salt. Something like "We
fell, we got up... end of story". The Schwinn Bicycle company did
the very same thing a couple of years ago, when THEY were on the brink
of non-existence. They are now VERY financially strong. Mount the "BACK
WITH MAC" campaign or something similar.
6. Oh, and announce a new dress code within Apple. Khaki pants and Apple
logo shirts. Lose the corporate mentality, and adopt a friendly, casual
atmosphere throughout the company, including the staunchy board of directors.
A great company starts with happy employees. Give them kick-ass benefits,
and job security for crying out loud. -
Entered 7/97. #58 - Vote=1
I hope somebody from Apple actually reads these...
(Ditto. - Ed.)
Apple needs to utilize loyal celebrity users, ie: Rosie O'Donnell, Seinfeld and Patrick Stewart in their advertising. Look what it did for Tickle me Elmo. - Entered 7/97. #59 - Vote=1
Apple and Motorola should be running generic PowerPC processor ads on TV to counter all those "Intel Inside" and whoopdy-doo MMX spots. Also, come up with a PowerPC slogan: "We've got the power" or Grab some real power". Use it. - Entered 7/97. #60 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple
needs to hire Patrick
Stewart to be the voice of the "next generation" of Apple. Who
has more universal appeal and authority, than he....... make it so!!!!!!
Apple should put his voice on the TV and have him proclaim Mac the platform
of the future....who would argue with the Captain of the Enterprise!!!!
Besides I am tired of Apple getting kicked around.....Apple follow the
lead and get aggressive in your marketing!!!! What good does it do for
you to release great new products if 95% of the market share is Wintel---they
don't read Mac magazines to see your ads. They watch TV....let them see
your hot new products!!!!!! Long live Apple! Apple also needs to hire Robin
Williams, the comedian, a Macintosh fanatic, and turn him loose for 30
seconds to do whatever he wants to sell Macintosh computers. This idea
is not original with me, but I love it. No one I send this idea to will
EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE that I wrote to them. It would do several things: It would
sell Macs. It would attract enormous attention. It would win a Clio advertising
award. It would be the talk of the whole country.
- Entered 7/97. #61 - Vote=1
(Note: I really like many of our contributed ideas - but
I usually try to stay neutral and not censor or comment - but..... I love
it too! - Ed.)
Apple:
I STRONGLY agree with the guy/gal who said that Apple should give away
Rhapsody v1.0 - even have a mass mailing of it on CDs giving it free to
people everywhere. If IBM had done that with OS2, then Windoze would already
be dead. You give a Wintel guy a chance to run his EXISTING software base
within a superior OS & for free, then you WILL get converts. Once they
start running Rhapsody, then the door is open for buying a Mac.
2nd: A lot of folks have suggested "Run Better Ads" & run
them somewhere other than in just Mac Mags - great ideas - but run what
ads? The Evangelistas are always running stories about how some poor Wintel
slob had a critical job crash on him (the Blue Screen of Death) or otherwise
have it become impossible to accomplish the job on time for the big boss,
or the big conference, or whatever, and then some Mac lover stepped in
& saved the poor slob's butt. There has to be millions of Wintel users
who have suffered similar problems. Identify the most common ones &
run ads showing some FRIENDLY normal-looking joe with a Mac stepping in
- helping out his poor benighted Wintel brethren in their hour of desperation.
It's a perfect time to debunk the myths about Macintosh limitations while
pointing out that it can save a Wintel slob's butt in the crunch. Just
always keep as the primary theme that the Mac guy is a nice friendly joe
(MacMarines to the rescue!) who is willing and ABLE to help out the other
poor slob, while showcasing the Macs strengths & the Wintel boxes problems.
And ALWAYS include the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH in the ad. Make the BLUE SCREEN
OF DEATH a common secondary theme (caused by oh so MANY, MANY different
windoze flaws - showcase those weaknesses & the Mac's strengths!) &
make the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH a laughing stock in the market place. Folks
ALREADY are laughing about the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH - just make it easier
for them to continue laughing about it. Rag on it until The Dark One orders
the Evil Empire to change the color of the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH - (as if
that will fix anything! ;-)
- Entered 7/97. #62 - Vote=3
Apple: I'm a teacher at an international school way out here in Hungary. Still, I try to keep abreast of what is going on half a world away with my favorite platform. A consumer- driven company with a consumer-minded CEO will go far. Don't worry about Apple tech. The new chips that are breaking the 300+ MHz barrier are leaving whatever Intel can come up with in the dust. Rhapsody already takes are of previous OS difficulties. Why doesn't the public know that? Why doesn't the general public know that Windows NT IS NOT SAFE as a secure server, but the MacOS is? Get on the stick boys. It's time to get aggressive. Microsoft's empire is loosing its clothes and is in a last ditch attempt to save its digital rear end. Intel's chips won't get faster anytime soon. It is time to compare and find Windoze and Intel wanting. The truth shall not only make you free, but sell more of your product! - Entered 7/97. #63 - Vote=1
Apple
needs to run catchy ads
like:
"You don't need to run windows to buy a computer.
Get away from the rest and start using the best.
Apple Computers."
- Entered 7/97. #64 - Vote=1
Apple needs to stop the wussy advertising & promotion. The design of the new OS 8 box is yet another example of what they should *not* be doing. - Entered 7/97. #65 - Vote=1
Apple needs to continue and even make a more sincere effort to make it well known that Apple Computers offer special teacher prices and special school prices to schools throughout North America. Not all my colleagues know about this special pricing for teachers and other educators. - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the new "Power of 10" education promotion whereby people who purchase new Macs can designate a school to receive a credit of 10 percent of the purchase price toward new Apple hardware, software, or staff development programs.- Entered 3/98. In keeping with this same strategy, Apple should then offer special prices to teachers on Long Term Disability as an incentive for those of us who are home bound to get better connected with the world around us without leaving our homes or the comforts of our surroundings. My MAC was completely portable into and out of the hospital and in many other situations and times. I also believe Apple should continue to promote their products by donating complete systems to various non-profit organizations around the globe, specifically AIDS organizations where smooth and flawless HTML editing is required and smooth and flawless data base management is necessary to sort and reorganize all the information coming into a site. Apple or someone should provide all users with various factual and anecdotal quotes to use as signatures when sending email. - Entered 7/97. #66 - Vote=1
Apple
needs an aggressive ad
campaign. No more "Mr. Nice Guy", when you make a superior product
YOU HAVE TO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT. Return to the days of the "lemmings"
and "1984" ads! Shock, inform, and surprise the Wintel hoards
with a powerful message.
- Entered 7/97. #67 - Vote=1 - THANKS
Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people
and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek
reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind
the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched
the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and
billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein
to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97. THANKS
Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial
and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
"DOS Computers, manufactured
by millions of companies, are by far the most popular, with about 70 million
machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans, on the other hand, may note
that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans, and that numbers alone
do not denote a higher life form."
- The New York Times, November 26, 1991.
(Note: Ouch! - Can't we all just... get along? - Ed.)
Apple needs to look for people with real consumer marketing experience. - Entered 7/97. #68 - Vote=1 THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! See the Chiat/Day reference above.
Apple needs to sell computers at slightly above cost to college students. They would not make a huge profit, but they will grow the market share and these college students will buy Macs later in life, maybe as a MIS director. Apple needs to advertise on TV with ads that are fact based, not image based. Their image is already destroyed, they need to talk about what specific reasons a person would want to buy a Mac and what sets it apart from Windows machines. Do not think it is because of lack of money that they do not (remember the 1.4 billion in cash sitting around to ride out rough quarters? If they put some of it into advertising there wouldn't be rough quarters). Apple needs to link model names to processor speed and make low end machines truly upgradable. Apple needs to build anticipation for Rhapsody. Apple needs to come up with an easy, non-monopolistic, way of licensing the Mac OS, like Microsoft has done, why reinvent the wheel if it works (even though MS reinvents many of Apple's wheels everyday and calls them their own). Apple needs to require all employees to visit various Mac User Groups so they can know their customers. Apple needs a living Icon. MS has Bill Gates. When people think of computers Bill is the person who jumps into their heads first. Steve Jobs has already lost the chance, they need to show to the world.....Guy Kawasaki! Apple needs to have a customer suggestion box on their web site instead of having one at a dedicated fan's site. Then they need their new "customer focussed" CEO to read it! Apple needs to treat the press better. I have a reporter friend who receives multicolored briefcases, T-shirts, and ActiveX mouse pads from Microsoft, but nothing from Apple. And my friend prefers Apple! I have heard of other situations where Apple thinks the press will follow it like a night in shining armor. Those days are gone. Apple needs to appoint me CEO! Anyone could do it better than they are. - Entered 7/97. #69 - Vote=2
Apple needs a commercial blitz... - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the new "Think Different" and other ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97. Visualize this scene: Steve Jobs (and/or Wozniak) is at home and is watching Apple stock plummet and panics. He loads a box into the car from his garage (where else!!), hops into his car and speeds to Infinite Loop. He charges into the boardroom of an Apple Exec. meeting. He looks around in disbelief. (Make him almost messianic.) Have him stop the meeting and such. He goes over to a pile of paperwork or whatever and tosses it in the trash. He says, "We're getting back to what we do best, making a quality computer for the whole family (or business community - depends on angle of sell). I have been watching and waiting. Now is the time to act. 2000 is coming. We've got to be ready for it. Bring it in." he says to someone off camera through the office door. The door is filled with a group of developers in lab coats and such. They wheel in the box he loaded to his car, and open it, revealing the Anniversary Computer (or newest Mac). (Announcer: Apple computer presents the NeXT Generation in Computing. The all new Apple Computer. See it at your local authorized Apple Dealer." Have Steve stand nearby (Make him look as a proud new father beaming down upon his 1st born) then, have him tell us about it & show it off a bit. Have him tell he boardroom (consumer) all about how quick & powerful it is. How it beats the hell out of everyone else's machine. Toss in a DOS (ugh) card and have him SHOW PEOPLE what it CAN do. People don't realize Mac IS VERY MUCH COMPATIBLE!!!!! Have him switch over & run Windows 95 (I know, licensing problems... ugh - just DO IT - TRUST ME! You'll be able to fight off the lawsuits if you get the market share back - MacroSloth did it to us! Remember, NEVER FORGET! Negotiate a way!) Okay, so he shows off the compatibility of Mac (You know people aren't buying Mac because they fear it is about to die out - show them it lives!) he runs a few quick applications that are very business oriented. Then, he says "Fellas?" and they wheel in another Mac - the original. Have him say, "Lets network." and in 3 seconds, they connect, and its done. "You see?" he says. "We're compatible with ourselves, and the competition. Got the idea?" he asks. "Good. Lets get to work."
The whole idea, Apple, is that
if we want to sell a quality computer, market it. Daily, I am bombarded
by the competition. That hosey infomercial of grandpa getting dames via
the internet was cute, but the only people buy Apple are the Loyalists.
We need to get converts. I became a convert BECAUSE I HAD TO SELL MACS
AT A COMPUTER STORE. Now? Now I would do anything for a new Mac. Even help
you get a commercial blitz going. We can get other blitzes going. After
Jack In The Box blew up HIS boardroom, he didn't sit down and relax, he
went to work. I have more media ideas, work with me! I sold Macs &
non-Macs at that store. I ALWAYS lead the buyer past the other machines
to MACINTOSH. They asked why. I told them. This does more, and will be
a better choice. Am I a liar? No. I discouraged the purchasing of non-Macs.
I am preaching to the choir. Listen up! Streamline the production, 3-5
machines on the market that do it all. Let the user buy ginchy stuff as
add-ons. Performa was a cool idea - bundling Software. Lets go further.
Here is the Mac ready to rock the world. You want extra stuff? Cool. here
it is on the shelf. EDUCATE the salespeople. I go to a store & find
yutzes that walk away from a Mac - they don't KNOW HOW to use one or they
are prejudiced.
Another thing... What the hell were you thinking? Special Order for the
Anniversary Box????? Come on! It is a hit (or can be!) Make it more than
just a collector's item like the 128. I don't want to wake up to a world
without Mac. We need to trim down excess production, produce high end,
medium end and low end user computers, and MARKET THEM! Hell, with the
right marketing team, I could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. Why can't you????
When I did your tech support I got hordes of calls over how a little kid
can get his computer to wake him up. Ginchy. Okay. So streamline to 3-5
Macs on the shelf. R&D needs to get a true protected, multi-tasking,
multi-user OS/Hardware combination that IS STABLE. Let it run a micro-kernal
that can launch the old stuff (69K & PPC code) in a protected memory
under a singles launch - if it crashes, it won't kill off the system, it
simply initializes the protected memory allocated to that job.
Another thing... What happened??? OpenDoc bites. Memory Hog, discontinued,
etc. If we decide to make an industry standard, lets MAKE IT STANDARD!
Not waltz up and away. Geesh!
New OS ideas (or old ideas??? - All mine.) 1. Make an OS that is DOCUMENT
CENTERED. Meaning??? Everyone (developer) creates plug-ins that accentuate
the application. Make the OS invisible, accessible via a control panel
type interface that back-doors the user into the techy-stuff. So... the
user clicks the backdoor button, it opens up to the system folder. There,
they run the installers to add plug-ins & remove plug-ins. When done,
they reboot, and back to work. Work? Oh yeah, here is the interface. Take
a look at Claris Works. See how it has an area called the toolbar? This
is where the plug-ins show up. All happy & well-interfaced. Not some
MacroSloth IckSell/Word Monstrosity that overgrew the screen. No. A gentle
toolbar. All the developers are going to work TOGETHER on this one. So,
lets say Adobe has a plug-in to create filters. Click the filters tool,
and now you have access to filters to adjust the graphic you are working
on. When done, close the box, and get back to text work. Drop a section
of a spread sheet into place with another toolbar click, draw where the
sheet goes, fill it in, do its numbers, etc. Get the idea?? And all of
this is done from a clean desktop. DO NOT OPEN ANY PROGRAMS!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!
Everything is integrated! No programs are left open. No more switching
between 200 different applications - they all come to you. Clean and simple.
Sort it out. How many TYPES of applications are there??? 1. Database. 2.
Spreadsheet 3. Word processing. 4. Communications/internet/e-mail. 5. Graphic
(paint/draw). 6. Utility/repair/maintenance. 7. A/V. 8. Games. 9. Input
device/scanner/etc. So you have 9 buttons on a toolbar, each bringing up
a floating palette that accesses the plugs. Cool. So the user is working
away, can have as many documents open as memory allows, the plugs load
as needed, and unload when don't thus reducing overhead on the system heap.
So, when the user works, it is seamless. S/he can have a document open
to the internet, a document open to the e-mail and a document open to a
video clipping. All in the same place, no different applications, all just
plug-ins running. Put them under the applications pull-down menu location.
There you go, R&D make it happen. Need help, hire me. I am CHEAP!!! Pay me in Apple Stock. I believe in Apple. I am a disabled person. I will telelcommute & not have an office unless you need me to have one. So, my conditions. Let me help you. If you don't want to pay me, or give me stock, then just consult with me: consult with ALL of us. - Entered 7/97. #70 - Vote=1
Apple's main goal now that its restructuring seems firmly in place (credit Gil Amelio) should be to SELL. Let's face it, up to now Apple couldn't market its way out of a paper bag. But if as a company it wants to survive, it has to MARKET, not merely continue to preach it's products to the faithful. Example? Take a look at the July 21 issue of U.S. News and World Report. On page 55 is another doom and gloom, "Apple is going the way of the Betamax" report. But flip back to page 49 and you'll see a two-page ad by IBM (effectively sandwiched between the Mars-Pathfinder feature.) Thumb your way back to page 21 and (surprise, surprise) there's another two-page spread featuring product lies by Microsoft, which by the way, DO sell, regardless of the reality that Windows OS is not equal on all machines and the Windows platform does not "make your life automatically simpler." Only Macintosh can truthfully make that claim. So...Where are all the hard hitting, Windows-breaking, profit-oriented advertisements for Macintosh? I've yet to see even one. Apple's marketing efforts are simply invisible. - Entered 7/97. #71 - Vote=1
Apple should start an intense advertising campaign that has TWO GOALS: Build Consumer and Public confidence, and Product Awareness (it is true that the Apple Brand is very recognized, but it is also true that MANY first time computer buyers are not aware that the Mac is DIFFERENT, and better). This advertising campaign should be everywhere. It should follow the pattern of Nike, Coke, Pepsi, Beer Adds, etc.. (Just do it! Miller Time, Pepsi Generation...). My suggestion for a slogan is this. "Get a real computer, Get a Mac". Or maybe this "Macintosh: Real Power, Real Easy, Real Fun". - Entered 7/97. #72 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97. THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98.
Apple needs for the new Macs with the Arthur chips Apple needs to make a strong, simple statement. The TV commercial opens with Wiley E. Coyote straping on some speed technology - rockets. Then he blasts down the highway. (he is Intel) The voice over says, "Just when you think you've got it all figured out...the strangest things happen." The roadrunner blasts by Wiley like he's standing still. He's left behind, coughing up dust. "Introducing the new Apple Macintosh - with the Arthur chip inside." - Entered 7/97. #73 - Vote=1
Apple needs to create an ad campaign targeting PC users that shows how using Macintosh for specific projects, after being pressured to by WinTel machine users, was successful. Tell the stories about how Mac users had doubts that their work would be acceptable, or that things would go right, and then the client, or the company they interface their equipment with, comments that they're so glad they used the Mac, it's so much better, it so much easier to use or to connect, etc. Don't preach to the choir. PC users don't know these things. They still think their machines are more powerful, more versatile. Show them they're wrong. Tell the (true) stories about how easy it is to upgrade software/hardware on the Mac, and mention the horror stories of doing the upgrade on peecees. Every Mac user working with PC's knows some. Let the public know. - Entered 7/97. #74 - Vote=1
Apple needs to sit back,watch,listen and learn. My idea also has to do with marketing; but how about we take it out of corporate hands and do it ourselves. Mac lovers are religiously fanatical about their computers and so who better to come up with and finance a "blast-em aside" commercial or ad campaign than the faithful. How about a request to all Mac users to submit ad ideas to a clearinghouse person (maybe you?) along with, say, $1 per idea. The best idea would be produced with the proceeds and possibly with the help of savvy production types in the fold. The final product could be given to Apple to use or promoted otherwise. Yes, Apple has sponsored ad contests in the past. But who other than Mac lovers has seen them? We need to get the word out to the ignorant. Maybe a screaming 3400 as a prize for the winning idea would help. And since we love our Mac's so much we wouldn't even ask for it to be donated by Apple, we pay full retail for it from the proceeds. I have three or four ideas I would be willing to write up and send at a buck a piece. If we have 45,000 on the evangelist the math might make it feasible. - Entered 7/97. #75 - Vote=1
Apple is thinking of selling their products through mail order. Unless there is some sort of massive advertising, who will even know Apple is available and the benefits of the Mac OS system? - Entered 7/97. #76 - Vote=1
Apple needs a powerhouse marketing oriented CEO - Apple hopefully has that with interm CEO Steve Jobs, the new ad campaigns, the new on-line Apple store, and the CompUSA Apple stores within a store. who will actively promote the great features that the Mac has. Although difficult to do, Apple needs to create a positive in the media. Macs are faster, they are now inexpensive off the shelf, their Return on Investment (ROI) is much better than Wintel machines, and they are easier to use, BUT the press still paints a gloomy image of Apple and believes that Macs are expensive and Windows95 is as good as any MacOS. If we can turn around the doom and gloom media, we change the world again. I believe in Apple and Mac, I buy the products and I own some Apple stock. PS Remember to get your copy of Mac OS8!!! - Entered 7/97. #77 - Vote=1
Apple needs to take a hint from Bill Gates. How can a guy take an inferior OS and get the entire world to rave about it before it even comes out? PR, man. Marketing. Spend big bucks on an advertising agency; pay a known Mac person, like Rosie O'Donnell or Jerry Seinfeld or Patrick Stewart to do the commercials. The articles I've read about the new Mac OS was all about giving present Mac users a great new product. This is true. But if you don't get the word out to the rest of the people, who will buy your products after we're all dead? - Entered 7/97. #78 - Vote=1
Apple needs to... There are, from time to time, stories posted on the MacWay mailing list which portray how Macintosh computers excel in their work or change people's lives. I believe that those who handle Apple's marketing should regularly read and evaluate these story postings as material for radio and TV ads - as very powerful and personal testimony of what makes Apple so special. - Entered 7/97. #79 - Vote=1
Apple needs to look at some Circuit City and Best Buy ads. There are always Wintel PeeCee systems (CPU + monitor + inkjet printer) at the $1500 price point! These don't have to be killer systems, a 150 to 180 MHz 603e would do nicely here! Systems at this price point fly off the shelves (I know, I used to work at a Best Buy store!) - Entered 7/97. #80 - Vote=1
Apple needs to ADVERTISE!!! And not just in the Mac magazines. That's preaching to the choir! Everybody who watches TV has heard of MMX! Where's the Apple commercial of rocking, multi-colored-jumpsuit-wearing clean room workers with a voiceover saying, "Are these workers celebrating the addition of powerful multimedia capabilities to their microprocessors? No, just the powerful multimedia capabilities that the PowerPC processors in Macintoshes have ALWAYS had!" (Hey, I'm no copywriter, but you get the idea!) - Entered 7/97. #81 - Vote=1
Apple needs marketing/PR & morale: Fight back damnit. Quit letting the media treat you like a piece of dirt. Have a trade-in program for Intel boxes for Macs- that would surely cause a commotion. Don't let the media push you into the grave- fight back. Use vibrant colors in every PR piece you publish, not dull colors. Doing something loud and obnoxious to get you good, positive reviews. Enough with the bad publicity already. Fire everyone in the marketing dept. and board of directors at once and start over. - Entered 7/97. #82 - Vote=1 THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For revamping the board of directors and getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" and other ad campaigns. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97
Apple
needs a: New Ad Concept
(My wife suggests that the new marketing campaign be called the "Johnny
ApplesSeed Program".) (I know that this is a bit early as Rhapsody
hasn't shipped yet, but the same idea can be used for many different pieces
of software which do run today on both platforms.)
Mark stops by Timmy's house to see his latest game acquisition only to
discover Timmy angrily staring at the "Blue Screen of Death".
When Mark asks what's wrong, Timmy snaps that he has been struggling for
the last two hours to get the game CD to install & run properly on
his PC only to keep running smack into the "Blue Screen of Death"
- the game CD just does NOT want to install properly & he just can't
figure out what's wrong. (May be a good time for Timmy to comment that
it ran ok on his neighbor Larry's new Pentium-II with MMX with only an
occasional crash - with Mark asking in a surprised voice, "You mean
you can't even keep the game up long enough to finish playing it?")
Mark suggests taking the CD over to his house & running it on his computer,
but Timmy scoffs that Mark only has a Mac and couldn't possible run his
new PC game CD. Mark declares that he has a PowerMac and Apple's new Rhapsody
OS & can run all the Mac software and most PC software, along with
Java programs & other stuff. So Timmy agrees to give it a try, but
bets it just won't work. Cut to Mark's room where he pops Timmy's PC game
CD into the tray, pushes it in, the game icon pops up on the screen, he
double clicks it & the game is up & running. While Timmy's eyes
bug out, he asks, "And you can run just about any windows software?"
"Yep" answers Mark. Ad ends with Timmy declaring enthusiastically
that the game runs even better on Mark's PowerMac than it did on his neighbor
Larry's Pentium-II!
These ads should focus on common PC problem areas, should show a nice Mac
guy coming to the rescue - able to take care of the problem on his PowerMac
using Apple's latest OS, and should ALWAYS ridicule the "Blue Screen
of Death". -
Entered 7/97. #83 - Vote=2
Apple needs to take more advantage of being the fastest computer platform on the market. Everyone somewhat interested in computers should know it. Idea for a pay-off in advertising: Apple computer....fast..faster..fastest. - Entered 7/97. #84 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98
Apple
needs to... I appreciate
your efforts to "Save Apple." I suggest that Apple make its customers
proud by promoting them as smart people and informed customers (thereby
indirectly promoting its computers). To this end, Apple could adopt an
advertising campaign as follows: Start each ad with the statement: "Macintosh
POWER-USERS" ... Conclude each ad with the challenge: "Be a Macintosh
POWER-USER."
Examples of possible ads:
Macintosh POWER-USERS- Get more done (this ad should list the all those
productivity studies that Mac users have known about for years)- Learn
more (education's installed base...)- Chart the internet (They don't just
access the entire internet, they also create more than their share)- Have
more fun (lots of great apps are Mac first or Mac only, and Virtual PC
allows Macs to play PC only games)- Are intelligently cost-conscious (lifetime-ownership
costs are lower)- Get less dizzy (Windows silly idiosyncrasies drive me
crazy--my mouse too easily slides off the top of menu bars, the window
headers take up too much of my valuable screen real-estate, and on and
on...)- Run all their friends' Windows, DOS, and UNIX programs (with Virtual
PC -- or SoftWindows)- Have the fastest laptop computers (even running
Windows emulation)- Have MMX-Eating desktop computers (and the gap is widening
with Arthur)- Incorporate a more logical human interface into the matrix
of their lives- Are the vanguards of corporate competition (Having one
standard is BAD--unless we all want an incredibly boring computing landscape
in the future.)- Are adept at thinking for themselves- Counter Commonism-
Don't waste time worrying about the Millennium Bug Crisis.
Give this all a thought. -
Entered 7/97. #85 - Vote=1
Apple needs to... Here is an idea for a great new advertising product from Apple: With every Mac you sell today, you include some fairly large Apple stickers to put on doors, printers, desks etc. It is also possible to get from Apple some special ones for car windscreens. Now wouldn't it be great to have a sheet with small Apples, like the size of a dime or even smaller. People will put it on their letters, on badges and diaries etc., etc. I would certainly spread them around helping my Mac evangelistic work (a round-the-clock "job"). I always try to wear my Apple tie, or little enamel pin either on another tie or on the lapels of my suit. Even on a black suit for very special celebrations I will wear it. That puts me in touch with other Mac users or starts a discussion with others. - Entered 7/97. #86 - Vote=1
Apple
needs to start advertising
in corporate rags, especially in those that deal with markets Apple is
supposedly strong in (i.e.: Imaging Magazine). Thumb through any of these
"serious" MIS type magazines and there is not one single Mac
or Apple ad. No wonder the MIS folks don't think of the Mac as being a
possible solution. Apple should partner with companies that do provide
solutions to enterprise-scale imaging and database management problems
and produce fact-based, solutions-based ads that allow corporate-types
the opportunity to choose. One other note: Apple needs to change the composition
of their Board so it at least includes members that either own Apple stock
or a Mac. They gotta have some stake in what happens to the company. Why
not invite a customer rep. as well?
Buy OS8! - Entered
7/97. #87 - Vote=1
Apple's major short coming that I can see is lack of a sales program. You have got to advertise, advertise, advertise, and advertise some more. The add's have got to be hard hitting and take no prisoners. You don't have to mention the other platform, just show what the Mac can do. Have adds that emphasis how it is cost effective. Have two execs talking over coffee, one is lamenting loosing the bid on a big project. The other is talking about how they cut there operating cost by going to an all Macintosh office and were able to bid lower on projects. As they leave the exec with the Mac's puts papers in his brief case showing a contract with the company that the other exec lost out on. Push the fact that Batman movie was made with the Macintosh. Hire the people listed in Apple Masters to do endorsement spots for the Mac. Get the Hollywood types that use Macs to do commercials for you or endorsements. There are plenty of real life examples reported in MacWay digest that could be adopted to great commercials. Apples CEO needs to do some spots on TV just like the Chrysler guy did to assure the world that Chrysler was going to be around for a while and not going broke. Last but most important, you must get commercial's out there that will kill the myth that we can't get software for the Mac. Offer 4 to 5 year warranties on your hardware. Make sure that people understand that they will not have pay for expensive maintenance that you get with PC. Another commercial idea, Show store front after store front of PC repair shops, then ask "Ever wonder why you don't see many Macintosh Repair Shops? Then switch to cameo after cameo of People using Mac's made from 1984 to now that are fully functioning, needed little if any repairs. I still have an original 128k 1984 Mac with no upgrades that I would be glad to allow to be used in the commercial. - Entered 7/97. #88 - Vote=1
Apple:
The biggest impediment to Apple's continuing existence is due to the public's
misinformation, largely due to biased journalism. The only way to counter
this is with advertising...television, print, and billboard, that aggressively
refutes this misinformation. I met some people yesterday for drinks and
when I told them I used a Mac they looked at me as if I confessed to using
stone tools. The first comment was, "I thought Apple was dead."
I know lots of people who would rather own a Mac than a PC, but they are
still shopping for a PC. Why? Betamax. They're terrified that they will
end up with Betamax when everyone else has VHS. This is a downward spiral
and must be halted immediately!
The advertising must refute several myths about Apple and Macintoshes:
1) Apple is not dead. The MacOS has a huge customer base that is very loyal
and will be around for a long time.
2) Macs are not more expensive than PCs. Many of those who want Macs won't
even bother to shop for them because they fear spending a fortune.
3) There is no dearth of Mac software. Any software worth using on a PC
is also available on a Mac.
4) Wintel machines are still a major pain in the butt to use, even with
Win 95. Plug and play does not work, the software is still clunky, and
you will need major support from friends, loved ones, and professionals
to get your PC working. A few real-life anecdotes ("Bob has a PC;
Janet has a Mac...look what happened when Bob tried to install a sound
card" (the gag being that Janet didn't have to!)) would help.
5) Macs are for everyone...it's not a niche market of graphic designers.
It's important that these ads are hip and funny (in Canada we had this
lame "why is the sky blue" (some things are hard, Macs are easy)
campaign). And there should be a flagship ad, like the original 1984 one,
for OS8...spend a lot during a prime event for one powerful spot. -
THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple!
For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different"
ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and
Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl
ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15
million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural
icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative
leaps.) - Entered 9/97 These
commercials should win awards!!! Macs are great...at this point I wouldn't
spend any more money trying to lure customers with features (although I'm
certainly not suggesting that Apple sit on its development laurels). Betamax
*is* better than VHS. That wasn't enough to save it.
Ultimately, it's "propaganda" i.e.: advertising, that will save
Apple. - Entered 8/97. #89 - Vote=1
Apple needs to open Apple sales stores in selected shopping centers to showcase and sell Macintosh, Newton, and Claris products to the mass market. Discussion: Apple already makes significantly better products than anyone else, yet the Wintel products benefit from better marketing and shelf-space. The few stores that sell Apple products rarely give these products more than a token presence and are never knowledgeable on their features. An Apple store can be a place where customers can see products properly demonstrated in a networked, internet environment. How will this help? Apple makes money by selling computers. Apple needs to sell more computers to improve its profitability. A store in a shopping center is the best way to do this with mainstream America. They can mitigate their risks by starting small and learning how to do this. - Entered 7/97. #90 - Vote=1
Apple
needs to open APPLE ONLY
stores in a few select malls across America based on apple user concentrations
in those areas. -
THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple!
For the new on-line Apple store, and the
CompUSA Apple stores within a store. - Entered
3/98. For example; in Nassau
County Long island in some certain areas there are many Mac users. Then
open a small Apple only computer store staffed with Mac savvy people to
cater to those people that own Macs. Also think about dazzling the many
other customers that will come through those doors with anything the Mac
does in graphics, games etc. And you know and I know that the salesman
sells the concept.................!!! Very important requirement! One last
bit of advice KEEP THE 1-800-SOS-APPLE help line.
Good luck Apple. - Entered 7/97. #91 - Vote=1
Apple needs to Advertise ! Get on primetime, get in the magazines, get on radio, get back in the schools, get in the consumer stores and show consumers that there is a better choice than Wintel. I haven't seen an Apple ad in anything except Apple magazines - MacAddict, for example. That's preaching to the Choir! We don't need to be sold on the Mac, the general public does! As I look for older Mac's here to purchase for home use, I hear it every time I ask: "Why are you looking for Mac's? Who would ever want a Macintosh?" -- Blasphemy! - Entered 7/97. #92 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97. THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98.
Apple should improve marketing. How did Mickey$oft become the #1 software vendor in the world? By making good products? NO--By having the best marketing. Emphasize the superiority of the PowerPC architecture. Release a 400MHz CPU based Macintosh THIS YEAR before Christmas. Moreover offer only 300MHz and faster machines and phase the slower ones out NOW. In contrast, the Pentiscum is 20 year old technology that is approaching its speed barrier. They may reach 300MHz, but it will run much too hot for laptops. Hire me as a personal consultant to the new CEO. - Entered 7/97. #93 - Vote=1
Apple
should... When Apple
introduces Rhapsody next year, there is a way to hit a home run. First
off, they should do what others have done. Keep hyping the features of
the new OS prior to it's release. Also, while doing this, spend big dollars
with Motorola to hype the Power PC chip. Intel's ads are fooling people
into thinking the Pentium is the superior chip, we know this is not true.
Numbers mean nothing to people 200Mhz, 300Mhz, 350Mhz, so what? Why should
I spend thousands of dollars to get cutting edge technology only to do
word processing? Why? Because programmers are eating up more and more of
that processing power to exploit their programs. Can we say multimedia?
Movies, sound, animation, and 3D graphics. Most programs including word
processors will have these features in the near future. Without staying
on the cutting edge, you will be left behind even if using a word processor
is the most important thing.
Secondly, when Rhapsody ships for the Wintel boxes, don't sell it, don't
advertise it to try to convert people, just cut millions of CD's and ship
it to all the Wintel owners of the world. We Mac users would love to see
Mr. Gates sweat about Apple's new OS. If I am spending money on Intel hardware
and using Windows 95, I would never consider buying Macs or it's OS regardless
of their price, although I might try it if I had it in my hands. If Apple
sold a Mac for $500 fully loaded blowing away any PC ever made, Windows
users would still never switch. We all know that if Apple covers their
costs of developing Rhapsody, that giving it to Windows users, Apple could
slowly and silently convert them from the inside out. Can you spell A-O-L.
American on-line did this very well over the past few years and nobody
has come close to the market share in their market. Once developers who
shied away from the Mac platform would see a strong reason to develop for
Rhapsody.
Apple's success should be measured not by dollars and cents, but by how
well they stop users from leaving their faithful Macs and switching to
Wintel. Once that goal has been met, they should worry about market share
again. Not by boxes sold, but by OS's sold. Apple is NOT a hardware company.
They are software technology company. The curiosity of the Wintel people
will get the best of them. Once they load this thing called Rhapsody and
see how much better the interface is, there is a strong likelihood that
they might not go back to Windows if their apps continue to function properly.
I strongly suggest to Apple that Apple give away Rhapsody to Windows users
to begin with, after two years they can start to sell upgrades to those
people and Bill Gates will never know what hit him. If nothing else, it
couldn't hurt their publicity.
Finally, if this method is to be implemented, DON'T ask users to call an
800 number to order it, DON'T have users download it, just send it to them.
Let them try it. Let them convert themselves. The world will once again
see how Apple is the leader in the computer OS arena. Remember how the
Green Bay Packers became America's team? They proved it to the rest of
the world! Apple can prove it to the world as well. Now is the time! This
reminds me of what the people that use Macs have been saying for years.
It's the operating system, not the hardware that makes it great!
- Entered 7/97. #94 - Vote=1
Apple should introduce an aggressive sales slogan. Lose the cutesy, touchy-feely stuff. How about something like: "Macintosh: the world's ONLY "personal" computer" or "Get a Macintosh or settle for LESS." - Entered 7/97. #95 - Vote=1
Apple should modify their slogan or come up with a new slogan, such as; "Macintosh: It lets me be me - and more." Or: "Let each be all that they are capable of being." Maybe hire the folks who made the SnApple commercials? - Entered 7/97. #96 - Vote=1
Apple should give frequent-buyer incentives to Apple customers as well as gift certificates and coupons to registered Apple owners who help sell any new Macs. - Entered 7/97. #97 - Vote=1
Apple should start making ads that show how the Mac makes you more productive, such as what incredible things scientist are doing with the Mac; testimonials from famous users; or a contest between a 45-year old PC MIS guru and a 10-year old kid to see who can open their brand new computer box, add a hard drive, modem, and printer, and then access the Internet, download a file and print it. Betcha the 10-year old wins hands-down! - Entered 7/97. #98 - Vote=1
Apple should have matching donation programs for corporations and parents groups where for every Mac they buy and donate to a school, Apple matches. - Entered 7/97. #99 - Vote=1
Apple should publish some white papers that we can flood our MIS Departments with showing the technological and economic benefits of going with Macs. - Entered 7/97. #100 - Vote=1
Apple should definitely focus on the customer, not the shareholders. Apple needs marketing. When was the last time anybody saw an ad for the built in speech recognition in the MacOS? Or the capability to drive two side-by-side monitors as one big desktop? Or the ability to read/write PC files? Most PC users don't know about these features of the Macintosh. It's time to change that. We need extremely aggressive marketing. Forget the fluffy ads to the home users and the kiddies, it's not going to cut it. You need hard ads, facts, and lots of them. Tell them that Apple has the fastest desktop and portable computers. Tell them how much easier the Mac is to use. Show them the 14,000 titles available for the Mac. And do it very, very often, on television, not just in print. And stop putting the damn ads in MacWeek, MacUser and MacWorld...are you insane? That's preaching to the converted, it's a total waste of time and money. Put your ads in Network Computing, PC Week, PCWorld, etc. Put your ads on TV, in prime time. And do it often, so that people start to see them. And most of all...it's time to start kicking butt. You have the ammo, you just need to USE it. - Entered 7/97. #101 - Vote=1 - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97. THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98.
Apple needs to give a share of their stock to all new buyers in place of the mousepads and pens. Technologically, they're moving ahead with the new faster processors and we should be seeing FireWire and DVD soon. The users need a solid hardware platform and bug-free system software, which are showing up too. Now all we need is for the third parties to give us crash-proof applications and Apple will be in great shape. Things are looking great. Now all we need is to get the message to the consumers so they'll buy. - Entered 7/97. #102 - Vote=1
Apple needs to offer huge discounts to second time buyers. This would allow loyal Mac users to sell their old computers to new Mac users thus increasing Apple's customer base, after all, Apple's best sales force is its loyal customers. Apple's current method of dropping prices to get rid of stock makes it very difficult for the average Mac user to upgrade to a better system. - Entered 7/97. #103 - Vote=1
Apple needs to completely change that marketing idea of the Emate. Not only for the education market, but for the world. - Entered 7/97. #104 - Vote=1
Apple needs to advertise, advertise, advertise, and not just in Mac markets. How about Computer Shopper, since it is many peoples first magazine when they research for their first or next computer? - Entered 7/97. #105 - Vote=1
Apple
needs: Three words: Apple
Factory Stores. Most people who bad-mouth Mac's are ignorant of Macs' abilities
and misinformed. More people need to be exposed to Apple technology. Apple
needs walk-in traffic, people who don't have any particular interest in
Apple or Macintosh but who might be attracted by a demonstration of wiz-bang
technology. Apple needs to put their own factory stores in every major
shopping mall in this country. And they need to ensure that they always
have a knock-your-socks-off demo running. Like one of those flight sim
demos using 3 or 4 monitors that I've seen at Macworld. These stores should
be staffed by knowledgeable people supplemented with volunteers from local
Mac user groups. I'd bet there would be plenty of volunteers who'd love
to play with the latest machines from Apple in front of mall shoppers for
free or perhaps in return for discounts. User group members would be true
believers and not some disinterested "professional" salesperson
trying to sell whatever has the best margin or results in the best spiff.
I've seen too many salespeople who don't care whether they're selling refrigerators,
cars or computers -
Entered 8/97. #106 - Vote=1 - (Note:
I went to my local Computer City today to check out the Mac computers and
the new Mac OS8. One of the 4 Macs on the demo shelf had a damaged (2"
defect) monitor case (this looked like a manufacturing flaw, as opposed
to a crack from being dropped). Another Mac had a NEC monitor attached
to it that had a near melt-down picture displaying the OS8 demo. I'm here
to tell you that this picture wasn't just out of focus, it was totally
unviewable, and the words were indistinguishable! No salesman around either.
IBM and PC clones nearby were offering killer packages with killer prices.
Some had $250 rebates, free printers, $99 300x600 dpi scanners, 56k modems
included, monitors included, etc....... I picked up some OS8 bumper stickers,
and an OS8 brochure though.......... sigh. - Ed.)
(Maybe the above factory store suggestion is the way to go, or maybe direct
sales (on-line) and/or mail order sales are the answer. - Ed.) -
Entered 8/97 - THANKS Steve! THANKS
Apple! For the new on-line Apple store,
and the CompUSA Apple stores within a store. -
Entered 3/98.
Apple: At each of my last two jobs, I've been one of 2 - 15 Macs in a company filled with PCs. It has always seemed to me that a lack of education among these corporate & govt. IS departments about the ability to interchange information between Mac and PC has been the biggest problem. We all fear what we do not understand and these guys just don't understand Macintosh! If they did, maybe they would not be so bent on weeding us out of their company's environment. I so look forward to working somewhere where I don't constantly have to defend my computer choice and fight to keep it from being taken away. My suggestion is an information campaign targeted at corporate IS executives & drones. If they knew more about Macintosh they would spend less time fighting against it and corporate America is where the computer money is at! - Entered 8/97. #107 - Vote=1
Apple: should be much more advertising on the net. This Is the place people will find out that their old system has had it. People will see here how slow their old computers are and that windows 95 freezes too much. By making an ad like 'Get real - get Apple' and so on. Getting people's attention when they are fed up with their computer is the best way to advertise. - Entered 8/97. #108 - Vote=1
Apple: Make targeted advertising in magazines, which are for a certain group of people, jobs, hobbies, etc. In every magazine the advertisement must be custom made for that group. The ad could show a particular company from that certain group which is very happy with their Macs, and tell us that because of the Mac they are better off than the competition, and spend less time in overtime computer work. The ad should give a feeling that the Mac belongs to the group the ad is for by creating an image which the group likes. - Entered 8/97. #109 - Vote=1 (Note: Apple has done this in the past and is doing it in the present OS8 material, and undoubtedly will continue to do it in the future. But things are a little different now because of the similarity of the Mac/PC GUIs. The keyword now (until Rhapsody) is: Solutions.) -Ed. - THANKS Apple!
Apple: Show that Apple and the Macintosh are people friendly and that other computer companies and computers are less people friendly. Sell the computer the way car companies sell cars: in "dealerships," i.e.: Apple specific product stores in targeted malls across America in areas with high potential Apple owner concentrations. However the most important thing is: The Salesman. Nothing less than the best will make or brake (that's brake not break) the market. that's my vision. All cars have car dealerships unique to the car: you do the same - if the customer won't come to the computer, bring the computer to the customer! Also, if you decide to try this approach and it works, please think of me and help me with all your new technology when I'm in my old age. - The Faithful - Entered 8/97. #110 - Vote=1
Apple: How is it that Microsoft is doing so well with an obviously inferior OS? It's the Marketing, Stupid! - Entered 7/97. #111 - Vote=1 - - THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For getting some new ad agency people and for the new "Think Different" ad campaign. (Oct. Newsweek reports that Steve Jobs rehired Chiat/Day and Lee Clow, the genius behind the award-winning "1984" superbowl ad spot that first launched the Mac; and that they are planning a new $15 million TV, print ad, and billboard ad blitz. It will utilize cultural icons like Albert Einstein to represent Apple's and Mac user's creative leaps.) - Entered 9/97. THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98.
Apple: I would like to see Apple advertise on the radio, my specific thought is a targeted market. . . the Art Bell show. This is a show which also has a strong internet presence. Art also frequently does shows that somebody with a multi-media savvy computer could do a lot with. The add needs lots of sound from those guys at clix-sounds. A spot could go something like "How would you like a computer that professionals world wide choose to edit sound and photos with ease unparalleled? How would you like a computer that even Grand-ma could get hooked up to the internet in no time flat? Look no further, a Power Mac is the answer." - Entered 9/97. #112 - Vote=1
Apple: How about a 9600/350 up against a similar Pentium box to the soundtrack of: "Anything you can do, I can do better, No you can't, yes I can", With various tasks taking place on the two platforms, rendering, Photoshop filters etc. Another could be informative, pointing out just how widely Macs are used,(80% of publishing, 53% of multimedia authoring, Win95 logo and pentium ads), most people I speak to think Mac's are just used by kids who haven't learned how to use a REAL computer. A central theme could be "Apple means Powerful!" - Entered 10/97. #113 - Vote=2 THANKS Steve! THANKS Apple! For the great new Pentium II Snail commercial and the Toast the Intell Bunny's Ass commercial - Entered 3/98.
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