1. Consider the core tenets of Jobs’
vision: poetry connected to engineering, bold and simple design, the
intersection of technology and liberal arts, and ease of use through end-to-end
integration. How does Apple and its products exemplify these ideals?
Steve Jobs once said, “It's in Apple's DNA that technology
alone is not enough — it's technology married with liberal arts, married with
the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our heart sing.” Apple
tries to emulate these ideas through the ease and simplicity of its products.
The company’s goal is to sell products to people; therefore their philosophy is
that technology alone will not be user-friendly. I believe that Apple has
absolutely achieved this goal. When I walk into an Apple store, I don’t feel
overwhelmed by all the technology and computer science that I don’t understand.
Instead I feel like I have just entered a fun zone where I can explore products
and learn new things. Yes, an iPad is an extremely intricate piece of
technology, but to me it is also an intuitive and fun device that meets my
wants and needs as a human being through its design and simple user format.
Apple pioneered the idea that a truly great computer should be accessible and
personal. The Macintosh was so successful because the people working on it were
musicians, poets, artists, and historians. A world without Apple would be a
world with ugly, utilitarian hardware devices that were threatening to anyone
without a strong tech background. Steve Jobs had an eye for usability and
functionality that people at other companies simply didn’t have. This is in
part due to the calligraphy class he dropped in on at Reed College. It taught
him the importance of font and user friendly typography. This would be a common
theme that Jobs used throughout his future innovation, as evidence in the Mac
typefaces.
2. Consider Apple’s
approach to brand marketing and advertisement. What is the ultimate goal in Apple’s
advertising? Discuss the “Think Different” campaign of 1997. What was the
campaign’s message? How did it position Apple’s products and corporate
identity? Consider the following quote in your response: “It was designed to
celebrate not what the computers could do, but what creative people could do
with the computers.” Why is this an important distinction?
The “Think
Different” campaign was created upon Steve Jobs’ return to Apple. This was a
time right after Apple hit rock bottom and when the company’s name and brand
had been tarnished in the public eye. The campaign’s creators realized that
Apple could not resuscitate its brand simply by advertising its products.
Instead, the approach was to celebrate creative geniuses throughout history
while simultaneously implying that Apple had a unique role in the world as
well. This was by providing the tools to allow these creative people to achieve
extraordinary things. “Think Different” was a way that Apple would communicate
its values to the world, and reinforce the idea that innovative people with passion
can transform our everyday lives. The campaigns message was that the people at
Apple still believed in their brand, and still believed in the intersection of
technology and liberal arts. I agree that the ad was designed to celebrate what
creative people could do with the computers because it targeted writers,
artists and designers by providing examples of famous revolutionaries. The
audience admired and related to these people, who included Muhammad Ali, Bob Dylan, and Albert Einstein to name a few.
3. Jobs held closely to Mike Markkula’s edict that a good company must “impute”—that everything from packaging to marketing must convey a product’s value and concept. How does Apple accomplish this? Can you think of any other products that you consume or interact with that also “impute”?
Apple imputes by controlling the entire customer experience
of its products from end to end. Steve Jobs had a passion for simplicity to the
point of obsession. Even his signature outfits always had a plain black
turtleneck. Jobs believed a truly great piece of art was beautiful even when
parts are hidden. Therefore, he even cared about the artistic look of the
inside of the Mac. His signature is inside every Mac computer. Apple’s mantra
is “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Jobs noticed that clean and
simple designs were more appealing than the black industrial designs of
companies like Sony. He attributed design simplicity with the consumer idea
that the product would be less intimidating and easy to use. Jobs also smartly
notices that one of the few aspects of his brand that he didn’t have control
over was the consumer experience when buying a Mac. He needed to perfect his
brand image from start to finish. This led him to spend an immense amount of
time developing Apple retail stores that would be within walking distance of
other shopping locations. This was so that Apple would come to the customers,
not the other way around. Apple stores are seen as the gold standard in
customer service. There are no cashiers, only concierge and consultants. The
first mission of Apple is not to make a sale; it’s to help customers grow.
Another company that has similar imputing values to Apple is Tesla motors.
Tesla is one of the only car companies that doesn’t sell its cars to dealerships,
instead it has its own dealerships and therefore controls the entire customer
experience of buying a car. When I visited the Tesla store in D.C. with my
scholars class, it had a completely different environment from traditional car
dealerships, and that caused me to have a more positive connotation with the
brand. Many of the cars are even sold in shopping malls, so as to make the
process of buying one much easier to customers who don’t have to make a
separate trip to another dealership.
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