The fallacy of marketing via the rumour mill
25 January 2010 - Filed under Life Outside Work
The drama over the may-or-may-not-come-into-existence Apple Unicorn Tablet is REALLY spiralling out of control.
OK, so Apple is finally announcing the Tablet… What’s the problem?
- Report: Apple tablet could earn $3 billion in a year
- Apple 2010 Earnings Will Likely Be Affected by Tablet
- More Hints at Apple’s Desire to Hold ‘iPad’ Trademark for Tablet Device
All this still remains 100% rumour plus speculation, and Apple hasn’t said a thing, not even a T in the Tablet. Apple surely has a knack of keeping secrets till the last minute but this is an extreme form of marketing solely via the rumour mill with absolutely no substance. I’m not saying Apple necessarily intended for such speculation and public interest to snowball out of shape like this, but it makes me wonder if Apple is holding this “Come see our latest creation” event largely because the company is “forced” to do something about it. Could it be that Apple is walking into its own trap?
Drawing interest is certainly good, but manufacturers should look beyond free advertising. The problem with letting analysts and pundits craft a product for you particularly over a period of many months and years, and letting them prophesy your success thanks to the non-existent product, is that it runs the risk of a fall-out when the expectation-turned-fact is ultimately not met by the reality. Another problem is that any element of surprise is long gone; the best you can do is to not disappoint people. Perhaps that’s a lesson Apple can learn from Google’s surprise announcement (and delivery) of the Nexus One.
Given that not everything Apple has announced became a success, I’d say the outcome of the Apple Tablet saga hinges on two factors:
- Is Apple able to profitably manufacture a new product that packs features and value-for-money that are not met by its existing products?
- Beyond the initial wow, will people open their wallets because they actually need the 10-inch Tablet themselves?
As I said before, my personal view is that Apple’s latest creation will be a service, not a 10-inch tablet that carries a US$1,000 price tag. All will be revealed on 27 January.
2010-01-25 » JK