Background information
Apple TV+ – marketing in Netflix’s clothing
by Luca Fontana
Apple is changing its image and that’s a good thing
21.4.2020
The iPhone SE2, which is actually just called iPhone SE, is the latest coup in Apple’s lengthy process of changing its image. Bye-bye elitism, hello grandmas!
Apple’s your chum. That sounds wrong but pretty much sums up what the Cupertino-based company wants us to believe. Apple wants to be your friend, not a tech company. A mate you have a laugh with. Not a patronising giver of gifts in return for a humble obolus of several thousand francs.
There’s nothing that sums this up better than the smartphone ads.
In September 2017, Apple’s former chief design officer Jony Ive uttered something seemingly profound about «a physical object that disappears into the experience». Jeez, Jony, you’re quite the elitist little upstart.
And all of this was available at a special price of 1,500 francs. No wonder Apple fans have a reputation of being elitist arses. If that’s the message they’re being fed, it’s no surprise they can’t help repeating it.
But that’s all changing now. The iPhone SE is only a market-oriented repositioning of a trend that’s been emerging.
Communication, not technology
Apple’s communication strategy has radically changed in recent years. When the iPhone 4 peaked, Steve Jobs’ stage presence was giving off mixed messages. The outfit he was wearing had set him back about 400 dollars – 270 of which had gone towards the jumper. He gave off a backslapping vibe, was full of indestructible youthful verve yet used a language that was pompous. An attitude that shaped Starbucks hipsters, metrosexuals and fraudster Elizabeth Holmes. Spoofs soon ensued.
Apples ex head of design, Jony Ive, floats around in spheres that most Swiss art directors wouldn’t dare to dream of. No amount of cocaine in an given trendy club can produce verbal rubbish on par with «Developing the form and display together defines a whole new integration.»
But what’s left after «best ever» and Jony Ive’s oratorical skills are mere rectangles with roundy edges. These are and were never bad. iPhones are solid devices with software that runs smoothly, a good camera and an excellent ecosystem running in the background. But when my Macbook informs me that somebody’s ringing my iPhone and I take the call on my SIM card-free developer iPhone, I’m not thinking: «Oh my, the symbolisation of interconnectivity in the physical and virtual space is really optimised for peak performance, thereby creating an idiosyncrasy between technology and humans.» Nope. I’m just thinking «Hah! Nice.» as I take the call and arrange to meet up for a beer.
Finally, Apple is taking this into account after a decade of pretentious blah. Since the iPhone SE2 – now officially just called «iPhone SE» without the 2 – the overblown babble and the «utterly uncompromised vision of the future» are over. Apple now sounds as follows:
iPhone 11 Pro called. It wants its chip back.
Humour? Apple? Now that’s bound to make a few art directors’ turtle necks unfurl.
The tone is also reflected in the introductory ad for the iPhone SE. The new one, that is. Not the one from 2016.
Apple likes your momma
Is Apple going down the #yolo route, to use an ancient meme? No, Apple leaves nothing to chance. It’s not something the company has ever done nor ever will do. Nothing grows into something so dominant and good if playfulness becomes a marketing strategy.
Apple needs new customers.
All those hipstertown art directors, slick young bankers or coffee-clutching art communication culture students just aren’t cutting it anymore. Expensive is no longer good enough.
Apple wants to lure in the village youth from the back of beyond. Apple wants your mum, who used to be perfectly happy with her 300-franc Android, to get an iPhone. That’s why they’re offering one year of free AppleTV+. The pleasant side effect: in a year’s time, many will forget to cancel their trial subscription. That’s a nice bit of cash for Apple. Another scenario could be that users simply get used to the series and films on offer and don’t want to miss out on AppleTV+. For some, it might just be more convenient to keep the subscription running.
«Expensive means good» doesn’t work anymore. Until a few years ago, iPhones were top of their league in terms of price tags. At least that’s how the public perceived them. Huawei once brought a 2,000-franc phone to market. If you’re after a gold or diamond-encrusted custom-built phone, we’re looking at at least 20,000 francs. But as regards off-the-peg phones, the iPhone was considered the most expensive one out there.
Then the market tagged along. A brand-new Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is similarly priced to an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Apple could now say: «No sweat. Let’s make the iPhone more expensive» – the turtleneck division would still buy them. And why not? After all, the device really isn’t bad. However, your mum would have none of it: «They’ve got to be joking! I would never...»
And so, Apple decided to do the exact opposite. Series 11 of the iPhone is comparatively affordable, and the new iPhone SE is almost offensively cheap. Your mum will look at the iPhone SE and say: «That’s pretty,» and the salesperson will reply: «Yes, and it can do so much». And they’re both right. Fast forward about 450 francs later, and your momma’s an Apple customer. Hopefully for the rest of her life, if Apple has its way.
Red is better than shooting motion pictures
On 27 June 2019, Jony Ive left Apple. After almost 30 years, Apple felt obliged to go down a new communication route. Over were the days of Ive’s deep and smooth voice. He’s now opening his own company called LoveFrom and continues to design for Apple.
With Ive’s departure, Apple has also laid off the title Chief Design Officer. There will be no direct successor to step into Ive’s footsteps. All tasks will now be tackled by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and a team of designers. Their new strategy isn’t new. Samsung already made the shift with the launch of the Galaxy A – from reserved and techy to chummy and funny. Others are bound to follow.
This new image is promising but needs to be brushed up with performance. And the iPhone SE is the perfect tool to do so. It offers a lot, is affordable and unmistakably an Apple device. It’s also a device that can handle the odd drop to the floor. A mobile that takes photos worthy of Instagram on the one hand, but won’t manage to shoot motion pictures on the other. It’s the kind of device your mum will carry around in the depths of her handbag. She won’t be covering it with a protective case nor delicately placing it in a shrine in the evening.
Because what counts in the end isn’t «The singular vision of technological idiosyncrasy,» but «Wow. The iPhone now also comes in red».
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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