I really liked this article  by Julian Lee in www.theage.com.au  – Steve Jobs’s Apple legacy may not be so sweet at the core. He says,

” In the end I suspect Jobs will be remembered chiefly as one of, if not the, best marketers the world has ever known.”

N’er has a truer word been spoken.

If we look at it from the “Marketer as story teller” paradigm, then the main purpose of marketing  is to tell a story beginning with  a “Once upon a time”, and ending with the “Happily ever After”.  The Happily Ever After forms the basis for the next engagement.

Marketing done well will have control of  every single  touch-point with the  customer. The primary aim of each point of contact  to deliver a promise(sometimes in the way of a product or a service)  AS WELL  AS to over-deliver on happiness.

Apple understands that.

“There’s a reason why Apple put the ”i” into its products and it has nothing to do with information. It cannily recognised that in a world of globalised products the consumer yearned to be recognised as an ”individual”.”

Apple has a closed marketing loop, The experience of stepping into an Apple store or authorised retailer all the way to the packaging and  design of eh products are meant to draw attention to the “me”ness of the individual. The products are designed to simply fit into the lifestyle of the user, allowing them to engage and relate without getting in the way.  Each point of contact with the brand emphasises that message and the products deliver on the promises made. This leads to an intrinsic HAPPINESS with apple products.

As I type this out, I have my iphone in a charging dock, an ipad  with a magazine open, my 15 inch macbook  and a  generic 22 inch monitor.   Within these 4 screens, I communicate, work, play  and live. The mistake that people make is that that is the totality of the experience. I find that  many people relate an electronic screen as primarily a medium for the a one way delivery of content. Apple however knows that these devices are interfaces for life. The medium by which people connect  with the world at large.

Ironically, they aim to be the perfect…  wait for it …..  WINDOWS .  *grin*

Parhaps that is why Apple product are designed to just ‘work’ out of the box and to work with other Apple products seamlessly.  The engagement is as natural as possible, just as a good window provides a clear, unbiased and unclouded view of what is happening on the other side,  the products act  as a conduit that can be personalised by look and feel and function until it simply becomes an extension of ones world and worldview.

Transformattive innovation is rare, Jobs did it the old fashioned way, By keeping promises and making customers happy one at a time.