Apple's Creative Image

[adrian]

Source

Apple has to take the emphasis off its creative image to attract a wider market, according to Apple’s UK director Mark Rogers.

"There is the challenge of how you address the particular need that the customer has, rather than pitch the Mac purely as the creative tool, as I think that scares a lot of people off," explained Rogers. "A lot of people don’t want to be creative, or don’t think they want to be creative," he added.

Rather than focusing on its creative image, Apple needs to address the issues that matter. "People are saying what I need is a machine that doesn’t crash every ten minutes, and doesn’t succumb to thousands of viruses and within a month," he explained.

Find out more about how Apple intends to address this market in the September issue of Macworld, out now.

Competition between MS and Apple will be good for everyone. Hopefully Apple will soon use AMD chips and better the Mac OS to get a bigger marketshare.

[Erika Engle]

Re: Apple to ditch creative image

I just posted on another thread about how I love the new Mac v. PC spots. You can see them on the Apple Web site, FYI.

I think the spots do a really great job of highlighting the benefits of Macs over PCs -- and I'm a person whose creativity is pretty much limited to the words I put on "paper."

I don't do graphics or all that other "creative stuff" -- except for compiling CDs for personal use via iTunes on my personal machine (as opposed to the Star-Bulletin-owned machine that I use for work).

I love that Macs aren't virus-targets. I love that Macs rarely crash or "bomb" or freeze up. I mean, they do, sometimes, but RARELY.

[tutusue]

Re: Apple to ditch creative image

I just plain ol' luv Macs...period! They helped to bring out a creative side I didn't even know existed. There's so much more to learn and so little time to learn it. Can't wait 'til I have the time. If, 6 years ago, anyone told me I'd be editing casting tapes on the computer, complete with titles, transitions and music, then burning them to DVDs, I woulda told 'em they were nuts. iMovie and iDVD made that possible and oh so easy! I'd love to have the time to learn GarageBand so that I could drop my own music into my tapes! I know there are editing programs for PCs but iMovie is just so user/tutu friendly! And...iTunes! Whatta stroke of creative genius. Now I'm a music programmer! I have limited experience with iPhoto but can't wait to sink my teeth into that one, too.

And, of course, the lack of viruses keeps me somewhat computer-sane! The insanity comes from not knowing what I'm doing most of the time!

[pzarquon]

Re: Apple to ditch creative image

The article is an analyst saying Apple shouldditch its carefully crafted caché among creative types to appeal to a more broad audience, but Apple hasn't decided to do that. Though I'm sure they're always trying to better balance their image as being cool and fun with also being functional and practical.

Macs used to be the computer of choice for schools, and the computer of choice for creative types (designers, publishers, photographers, writers). The fact that Macs have lost their toehold in the education market is a good reason why they can't keep all their eggs in the creative market, either.

They won't ditch their creative image, I'm sure, but they have to foster a more broad image that includes home use (i.e. virus free, easy to use, media savvy) and business applications (i.e... er, um... hold on now...).

For example. The new "Get a Mac" TV ads are, indeed, pretty fun. But many market analysts have pointed out -- rightfully, I'd say -- that they're missing the mark. People who already like Macs will like those ads, but those who don't care or dislike them will see in them exactly what keeps them away. Namely, that the guy playing the Mac (Justin Long) is a smarmy, cooler-than-thou, jeans wearing hipster... a guy you can see sipping a latte in a dimly lit cafe, writing an environmental manifesto on his iBook. It's the very stereotype Apple should be trying to shed.

Meanwhile, he's supposedly outsmarting and outwitting the PC guy (John Hodgman)... but the ads are just begging you to feel bad for him. He has to play the straight man, but yet, that gives him all the best lines. You laugh at, and remember, him, not the Starbucks sipping, Prius driving, Proust reading punk.

Of course, folks may be predisposed to like Hodgman anyway, given his links with The Daily Show.

I love my Mac, and hell, I probably fit the Mac user stereotype (or even, somehow, want to fit that stereotype). I think it's great that Macs are the computers of artists, of people who "Think different." But artists aren't known for their wealth, and "thinking different" sounds scary to a whole lot of people who probably don't want to admit it. If Apple wants to gain more market share, it needs to go beyond advertising toward geeks like me, and start advertising more to people like my mom.

The iPod, of course, is the "gateway drug" a lot of people think is Apple's best asset right now. They're simple, elegant, perfect. The hope is, after you realize having an iPod doesn't turn you into a denim-wearing poet, you'll give a Mac computer a try.

[Erika Engle]

Re: Apple to ditch creative image

I think PZ makes excellent observations ... and provides good info, like the spot-actors' names.
I'm not a Daily Show viewer (and I really resent -- and am frightened by the increasingly true fact -- that so many young folks get their "news" from that show) ... but I just DIG that the Hodgman guy SO echoes Bill Gates' appearance! (Talk about casting expertise, eh, Tutusue?)
I hadn't really read all PZ's observations into the Mac guy -- he just looked to me like a kind of hip, casual, nongeek ... but having read your points, and suggestions about Mac-marketing going forward, I am unable to disagree with you PZ. Points taken.

[pzarquon]

Re: Apple's Creative Image

Well, I'm just playing the devil's advocate, as of course I'm a Mac guy and think Justin Long definitely comes across as the sort of guy I'd love to hang out with. But having been through more than my fair share of Mac v. Windows debates, I do know that the image that he projects -- the one that I'm certain many Mac users identify with -- is exactly the image others love to hate.

I think Tutusue's post epitomizes exactly the sort of awakening that, hopefully, Apple can continue to foster, and therefore use to broaden its appeal. The fact of the matter is, "making media" is a much easier, more elegant proposition on a Mac. Not everyone will want to make a DVD (iMovie and iDVD), or put out a podcast or mix a song (GarageBand), or build a website (iWeb)... but I honestly think that if more people played with the simple tools Apple has developed, a lot of them will discover they have a lot more creativity, and a lot more to share, than they initially thought.

[tutusue]

Re: Apple's Creative Image

[...]I think Tutusue's post epitomizes exactly the sort of awakening that[...]

And your post (#4), PZ, epitomizes the type of brain power that should be working for the ad agency! Damn...you're GOOD! Hmmm...I wonder if Apple's ad agency is still Chiat/Day? I suppose I could google it but, well, I'm busy...I'm tired...and I'm not in the mood!