Will Apple’s innovation prove to be a PR nightmare? at Piaras Kelly PR

Will Apple’s innovation prove to be a PR nightmare?

Published February 11th, 2006 in General

Apple is a company that has continued to capture the public’s imagination over the past couple of years. However its innovation is turning into a bit of a double edged sword and could start to become a nightmare for them over the next twelve months.

Take two of their recent launches: the video iPod and the MacBook. Numerous people are reporting that a new version of the video iPod is on its way and even Apple staff are telling potential customers to hold off buying the new MacBook. Simply put, Apple are releasing products too early which could eventually lead to a consumer backlash.

Rumours are running rampant this week about a new video iPod. If Apple rumours are anything to go by, expect it to be released some time within the next twelve months. So I’m left looking at my video iPod thinking to myself, ‘Okay did I get the guinea pig version of the video iPod? Christmas was rolling around the corner and Steve Jobs wanted to get his grubby paws on my hard earned cash, so he pushed out a product that wasn’t meant to be the final version!?’ You don’t buy a car only to be told that it doesn’t come with a steering wheel.

I had little sympathy for people who bought an iPod Nano, but were aggrieved when the video ipod was announced only a few months later. I completely see their point of view now though.

Not only will this cause a customer backlash, but it will also sow seeds of doubt in the minds of potential customers because their purchase decision will now take longer as they wait to see if another product is on the horizon.

Furthermore, how do you hype a product to a journalist when his first question is going to be, ‘When’s the next one going to be released?’

I think the Saturday Night Live sketch below sums up the stupidity of Apple’s current strategy.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, Piaras Kelly, PR, Public Relations, video iPod

3 Responses to “Will Apple’s innovation prove to be a PR nightmare?”

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1 Alan O'Rourke Feb 13th, 2006 at 8:07 pm

I dont know. I was very nicely given a gift of the video ipod this christmas and i now wish i got one a lot sooner. No thoughts of holding out for the next one, just i cant be without my current one
So sooo sweeeet!
2 Piaras Feb 14th, 2006 at 1:56 am

Don’t get me wrong I love my video iPod, but this isn’t the latest video game we’re talking about, it’s similar to the latest console. When Sony launch the PS3, they aren’t going to release a better one six months down the line. It wouldn’t make good business sense. If it doesn’t make good business sense for Sony, then why should it for Apple?
3 dermot Feb 21st, 2006 at 3:14 pm

In Jobs’ (and Apple’s) defence, he is on record as saying that he doesn’t think the era of on-the-go video is upon us just yet and Apple’s marketing doesn’t refer to the ‘Video iPod’, just the ‘iPod’.

And comparing the iPod to the PlayStation 3 is a bit disingenuous: games consoles have a much longer life cycle than a device like an iPod and they are expected to have a much higher shelf life, especially since they are loss-making items.

Don’t get me wrong - the gadgethead in me will be dying to get my hands on whatever incarnation of the video-enabled iPod is released next, but my common sense (and wallet ;D )will be telling me that (a) video released for this new iPod is still going to play on my device and (b) I don’t tend to watch my videos on the iPod’s screen anyway, preferring to output them to a TV, so 2.5″ versus 5″ or whatever doesn’t really enter it.