Personally, I was initially excited and intrigued when Steve first showed off the device, but as he went through his demo and brought game developers on stage to show off their work, then highlighted items I found to be extremely dull (I’m looking at you iWork) I found myself less and less interested in the device and instead thinking about “what could have been.” Judging from the response I’m seeing on most gadget focused websites, I’m not alone.

But then I took a step back, this is a company that is forecast their Q1 revenue at over $15B, so obviously they’re doing something right. In looking at their product launch, there were many elements that jumped out at me at that I can apply to my business process. These elements fall on the agency side as well as on the client side. Let’s take a look at some of these.

1. Build a buzz

I’m not breaking new ground when I say this, but no one knows how to build a buzz better than Apple. If you follow their activity closely, you’ve probably been expecting a table announcement for several months. There are literally thousands of websites who do nothing but speculate on what Apple is going to do next. Apple of course never addresses any of these items publicly (as anyone who has ever asked an Apple Genius knows firsthand) but more importantly, they never try to stop the speculation.

The even more amazing part of their buzz building is that when it comes time to finally announce their newest product they don’t do a press release, or send out an email, they build an entire event out of it. The pictures from today showing crowds of invited guests standing in line, anxious to come in and hear what Apple had to say were unbelievable. Even though every single person in that line was 99% sure of Apple’s announcement, they still waited with bated breath as Steve Jobs stepped up on stage. More unbelievable, Apple manages to do this time and time again.

Now, I’m not saying that your business is going to build the kind of buzz that Apple does, but the takeaway here is that you should attempt some buzz building techniques with your own product or service.

Do you have a new product launching next month? Send out a few prototypes or samples to some key bloggers in your arena with a personalized note letting them know they are getting a first peek and that you would appreciate their feedback.

Is your agency offering a new service starting next week? Drop some semi-obvious hints on your twitter stream and encourage followers to re-tweet with promises of discounted pricing or even free service once it’s launched.

Are you finally wrapping up that 6-month website redesign for your client? Use facebook as a launching pad a few days (or even weeks) prior to the live launch. Introducing your audience to a beta version (even if it’s just a sneak peek at a few pages) will yield you some valuable feedback.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. From experience, I can tell you without a doubt that building a buzz prior to a launch (whether it be service or product oriented) will always result in a more active initial response when that launch finally takes place.

2. Curb your expectations

This particular piece falls more on the client side than the agency side. As I read comments on engadget’s live blog, it seemed like everyone was upset that the iPad didn’t have “this feature” and “that feature” and was “tied to AT&T” and so forth. I felt the same way, but the thing I was overlooking was that Apple had just released a beautiful new gadget that did a lot of things well. Everyone had built up this unrealistic idea in their minds of what the final product would be, to the point that no matter what Apple presented today, they were likely to be disappointed.

Being on the agency side of business for so long, I’ve seen this same reaction from clients. This occurs most commonly in the digital and social media arena. We’ve all been there before, a client has no prior experience in either field and leaves you with the job of creating a website, building a digital marketing campaign, setting up a PPC campaign on google adwords and creating a facebook fan page. You walk them through the process, submit deliverables along the way, and when it comes time to present your final pieces they seem underwhelmed. Initially this is upsetting, but as you talk through the presentation, you realize their disappointment is not because of what you delivered, but rather the version of the project they had imagined in their own mind. Once you explain the limitations of their server (and budget) for the website, and the limitations offered by Outlook 2007 when it comes to email programming, as well as the design guidelines put in place by adwords and facebook, they begin to realize that you have actually delivered something amazing.

3. Focus on your core market

Following up on the idea of curbing expectations, is Apple’s focus on their core market. As they showed games, iBooks and iWork on the iPad, I kept waiting for them to move into some more interesting areas. Where is the mobile.me cloud I had heard rumors about, or streaming audio via iTunes through the acquisition of Lala, video conferencing, multi-tasking, how do I set up remote connections to my server and access the movies on my AppleTV. It suddenly struck me that none of these were ever going to show up. Instead, more shots of the iTunes store, demos on purchasing movies and music and apps, all things I don’t care about. Almost simultaneously I started to see facebook updates from my less-techy friends and family with raves about the iPad and comments about rushing out to get one immediately.

It was then I realized that Apple isn’t going to make $15B this quarter because of me or people like me and that’s why the iPad was built the way it was. Rather than satisfy the 1% (this is a rough guesstimate) of their potential user base who want all these wonderful features, they’re going to satisfy the other 99% who want a pretty device that is easy to operate and works the same way as the things they already have (iPhone, iPod Touch). As with most Apple items, I’m sure the technology will be left in place that allows the hacker world to “jailbreak” the iPad and then add on all the things we want. But while I’m waiting for that, Apple will be selling millions of iPads to their core audience.

Taking this back to the business world, I often see a lack of focus both on the agency side and the client side when it comes to identifying their audience. One of the things we do at ParkerWhite is address this issue first and foremost. We have some of the most gifted designers in the industry and our strategy and thinking is top notch, but that doesn’t always mean we need to deliver the most out of the box and overly complex solutions. Sure it looks good, but is it solving our client’s problem? Is it speaking to their key demographic? That is always the most important thing. Of course this also means that when that key demographic is looking for the most amazing, never-before-seen creative, we’re going to deliver it.

On the client side, focusing on your core market often times means looking at deliverables from your audience’s perspective and not your own. You have a 27″ monitor running an obscure version of Linux with the latest build of Opera and the new product website doesn’t load properly? Well, the new site is optimized for 1024 X 768 resolution on the latest Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer browsers because according to our analytics, that’s the category most of your visitors fall into. It’s not an attack on the client, but rather a focus on the core audience. Make sure that the deliverables are ideal for your target demographic even if they are not your personal favorite.

4. Don’t rush to judgment

Here are some reviews from 2001, when Apple introduced their first iPod:



“The iPod has good features, but this is a pretty competitive category,” [Stephen] Baker [an analyst atNPD Intelect] said. “The question is whether people want that robust of a feature set with that high of a price.”

“It’s another incentive for them that can convince people to buy a Mac,” [IDC Analyst Brian] Ma said.

and I would be remiss in not mentioning the infamous comment from Slashdot user “TheBrownFury”:

No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

Not exactly what I would call glowing reviews. But as of January 2010, over 240,000,000 iPods have been sold worldwide and they have become ubiquitous with the term mp3 player.

How about some iPhone reviews, here are some I found online from Engadget:

“IT WONT REPLACE A BLACKBERRY, It’s not good for text input, it’s just not a business product”.

The iPhone will be coming with a polishing cloth because well of course its a fingerprint magnet as everyone figured.

Again, not a product everyone loved at release. But from a sales pov, the iPhone has sold almost 43 million units worldwide as of January 2010. Reviews wise, for the most part everyone who owns one loves it.

As I look through various websites and read the myriads of reviews and comments regarding the iPad, I can’t help but look back at people’s initial views on the iPod and iPhone. It faces many of the same “hurdles” as both of those products. Namely that there already products out there that do the same thing, arguably better. But as history has shown, these products were all massively successful in the long run.

As a client and an agency it’s easy to be overly judgmental and quickly disappointed when a campaign or product launch isn’t received well or immediately successful, but remember that you’re looking for long term success, not a flash in the pan. Be confident that you developed a strong plan, did your research and put out your best product, don’t let initial backlash put you down.

Of course, if your campaign or launch is an obvious complete failure then don’t be afraid to learn from your mistakes, admit you messed up and go back to the drawing board. I’m pretty sure Apple has a few of those in ther history as well (how many of you still have a G4 Cube?).

5. Leave them wanting more

The last thing that jumped out at me was all the things that should obviously have been on the iPad but were not. I’m talking about a webcam, a usb port, bluetooth connectivity, and other features readily available on an iPhone or iPod Touch. But again, this is a planned move by Apple. They know all about the early adopters, the people who will be waiting in line to buy an iPad the day it’s out and who will then immediately be on their twitter account, facebook, YouTube, etc. touting all the great things about this product. They’re the same ones that will be back in line when Version 2 comes out with all the “missing” features from Version 1. But the line will now be longer, because people who have learned to wait for that next version will now be in line with them.

Apple hasn’t had a major misstep in a long time. There is a reason their stock is so valuable, and their earnings are so prolific, and their design so innovative, and their CEO so revered (and at times reviled), they know what they’re doing. Of course the iPad could have had all the features you wanted, but that’s just not good business.

Agencies do this all the time. We put together a trend board, maybe a mock up or a composite of image to show you what the new website will look like, or how your new full page ad in this month’s issue of dwell will look. But we’re not going to give you everything up front. We want you to buy into us, and trust that we’re going to deliver everything you want.

Just like Apple we also need that early adopter, the one who says “Well you’ve never done a brochure, but your print ad was so amazing that I’m willing to give you a chance.” And when we deliver on that brochure, you’re coming back for another and bringing 2 more product managers with you who need brochures as well.

So as you can see, there are a lot of things that we can learn from the launch of the new iPad. As an agency (or any service or product driven company) there are multiple elements that we can start applying to our own business today. As a client, there are elements of this launch that you can apply to your personal outlook on working with your vendors.

Do you agree with these ideas? Were there any other elements of this launch that you can apply to your own business? Feel free to comment below.

These new packages have patterns on them that can be used to make a soccer ball once the contents of the packages are taken out. In countries where children make soccer balls from dirt, string, coconut leaves or plastic bags the organizations could take time to help the children put together the balls and create positive relationships with the children.

For more information visit Unplug Design.

The truth is, even though social media can help you solve a lot of your problems, it is by no means a stand alone savior. Develop a strategy, set aside a budget, implement a strong team and make it a part of your overall plan and then it becomes a wonderful tool. But without all these things in place, it just becomes another failed experiment.

With that in mind, I came across an excellent article by BL Ochman (@whatsnext) titled “10 Things Social Media Can’t Do” that does a good job of discussing the shortcomings of social media. Here is an excerpt:

Social media can’t:
1. Substitute for marketing strategy
A Twitter campaign, or a Facebook page that announces your weekly specials is not a marketing strategy.

2. Succeed without top management buy-in
Social media requires a way of thinking that includes willingness to listen to customers, make changes based on feedback, and trust employees to talk to customers.
The culture of fear (of job loss, of losing message control, of change) is ingrained in corporate cultures. Top management has to want to change.

You can read the full article here.

Do you agree/disagree with these viewpoints? Is there anything that was left out?

1. How much will it cost?
2. How will you measure the success?
3. What is my ROI?

The answers to these questions have always been fairly cut and dry. It will cost you x amount, we’ll incorporate <insert your favorite analytics tool> into your website and your ROI is going to be <ROI formula>. Simple.

Now that social media has entered the picture and become an integral part of most campaigns, I’m being asked the same questions but finding them more difficult to answer. I can still use my favorite analytics tool to gauge visitors to some degree and using my ROI formula I can derive a number, but does that number really capture the success of social media?

How do I place a dollar value on a new twitter follower, or on 6 new posts to my facebook fan page? More importantly, how does the marketing director (my client) take these numbers back to his boss and convince him/her that it was a success?

In my eternal quest to answer this question, not only for myself but for my clients, I stumbled across this amazing presentation from the Social Fresh Conference. Olivier Blanchard (@thebrandbuilder) from Brand Builder Marketing does an excellent job of outlining the basics of Social Media ROI in his presentation:

Is there anything you would add?

This article from Social Media Examiner does an excellent job of outlining “The 5 Essential Pillars of a Social Media Campaign”.

The biggest mistake marketing and brand managers make when approaching social media is not thinking of the social web in the same strategic light as everything else they produce.

You can read the full article here:
“The 5 Essential Pillars of a Social Media Campaign”

Does your company have these 5 essentials in place? If not, what are you missing?

If you haven’t yet, go take a look at the creative shots people came up with the past three weeks and vote for this week’s winner. Remember, your votes help out San Francisco school gardens because Hansen’s donates 10 cents for each click to the National Gardening Association!

Normally 7:30am is not a time of morning I like to see outside of pajamas but for Social Media Breakfast I rarely grumble as I get ready and drive down to the meeting spot. I think my enthusiasm for this meet-up comes from the company and the content we discuss on our monthly breakfast morning.
We share our beliefs and helpful tips on how to connect with our friends, fans and followers on our profiles. We discuss hurdles we have run into in our social media lives.

There are also presentations during these meet ups. Two sessions ago our very own Oscar presented about the Hansen’s Loves San Diego campaign we did. This last meeting the lovely ladies Ginger and Erika from Souplantation did a presentation about how they integrated their social media profiles into everything they did with the company. I may be biased because I love Souplantation and work with Oscar but I found both presentations to be informative and interesting. I’m looking forward to next month to see who is going to present!

If you, our dear readers, are in San Diego and are interested in social media at all you should stop by and see the magic that happens for yourself.

To get more information and updates on the next meeting take a look at @SMBSD on twitter.

Hope to see you there.

And if you have any social media meet ups that you love share them with us. We are always looking for new friends on and off of twitter.

All of us at the office are really excited about this contest. We are eagerly awaiting new submissions and we can’t wait to share the tweets and photos taken by the street team. They are going to be posting to @HansensNatural as they cruise the city.

While I am excited to see who wins each week as well as who wins the grand prize I am really excited about the fact that Hansen’s partnered up with The National Gardening Association and are going to donate 10 cents for every vote made on the Hansens Loves SF website. Each time you vote San Francisco School Gardens are going to reap the benefits. How awesome is that? Kids will get a change to learn how to grow gardens and they will learn the benefits of fresh, healthy foods.

Needless to say, I am going to be getting as many people as possible to vote, whether they live in San Francisco or not. Helping students learn about healthy, sustainable living in any city is a benefit to every city.

When you have some time, check out what’s going on!