An Apple a Day

I’m sure by now you all know that there is a new Apple phone, a new Apple watch, and a new near field communication system to pay for it all.  I am most excited about the new NFC pay system.  You can walk into a McDonalds, order what you want and walk out like a rock star with a comp because the two computers talk and take care of it without you lifting a finger.

But the purpose of my post today was to discuss what a powerful brand Apple is and how effective their marketing is.  I won’t go into the past and talk about their groundbreaking Super Bowl ad or what has passed since.  What I found most interesting was how many brands having nothing to do with Apple piggybacked onto their announcement.   Master Card, Oreos, Zappos, Ford, Applebee’s, and Crest (yes the toothpaste guys) all jumped on board via Twitter and other social media.  Even some of Apple’s competitors basked in the glow of the event.  But hey, I guess when U2 is your house band you get some internet cred.

The point is that Apple is a marketing and advertising juggernaut.  Even to the point where their competitors recognize Apple’s preeminent place among brands and know they can hop on.  Why?  Because Apple marketing creates a crowd (or audience) wherever it goes and that’s what marketers and businesses marketing themselves should be looking for…a crowd.   Like the old Soul Asylum lyric goes, “nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd” 

The first thing you should ask anyone offering to market your business is, who is your crowd?  What audiences are you attracting with your content and are they likely to transact with me?

Everything else is hype.  Oh, and Apple knows about that too!