Last Monday, Apple held one of its much anticipated launch events, unveiling a range of new services including Apple TV+ Apple News+, Apple Card and Apple Arcade. While the event itself received tons of media coverage, there are lessons to be learned in how to properly launch a product and ensure your messaging cuts through.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room – Apple’s new streaming service. During the event, we learned that Apple must be using the same branding agency as Disney, as its service will be called Apple TV+. Apart from the unimaginative name, consumers wanted to know two key things: when will the service launch and how much will it cost?
Unfortunately, Tim Cook didn’t answer either of these questions. Instead, the press conference featured a parade of stars from Apple TV+’s upcoming TV roster; the majority of which have already been announced. Even if Apple isn’t yet in a position to give a firm launch date or pricing structure, the long-drawn out parade of Apple’s star names added little to the hype, since it’s hardly the first streaming platform to bring big-name movie stars to the small screen.
The more interesting announcements of the day were actually Apple’s other new services. Having changed how people consume music, Apple is now aiming to change how we consume news (a potential game-changer for the beleaguered publishing industry), how we spend our hard-earned cash and how we game online.
So, what can we learn from the event? Apple will undoubtably use its marketing strength and reach to make each of these products a success. To quote Oprah, “They’re in a billion pockets, y’all.” Unfortunately, not all companies have this to fall back on. If you’re looking to launch a product, it’s important to clearly communicate your product offering to your potential customer base. Despite beliefs to the contrary, you can only launch a product once, so make sure you get it right.
What did you think of Apple’s recent launch event? Do you need some help launching a new product? Comment below or tweet me at @CraigMacLellan.
This blog was written by Craig MacLellan.
Apple certainly has the cash and clout to gain traction in these expansion areas. But, I think their credit card is an also ran.
Apple knows how to put on a show about…nothing. They’re the Seinfeld of computer companies!
Craig – I couldn’t agree more. So many companies these days think they can “launch” without having news or a public call to action. In short, they can’t. I do hope, however, that Apple figures out its game plan as I’m a shareholder! Cheers, David
This just goes to show you that even the savviest corporations need to step back and evaluate their strategy to be sure all moving parts align before clicking “go.”
You’re right, Craig! As much as I love Apple and its products, I thought this could’ve been saved to complement one of the yearly iPhone announcements. Maybe it’s all part of their plan — since they know we have them in our pockets, they keep us looking forward to what we’ll eventually have.