How not to launch in iTunes...
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 3:38PM Now look, I'm a Liverpudlian born and bred and still live in the fair City of Liverpool (home of the Beatles to the un-initiated), but even I struggle with Apples latest announcement.
Not so much with what was announced, but the way it was announced.
Don't get me wrong, it's a huge deal and probably something that Steve Jobs and the rest of Apple (especially the lawyers) must be very proud of. Apple have been struggling for years to get the Beatles on iTunes and now they are there.
My beef is with the manner the announcement was made.
For 24 hours before the announcement was made, Apple took the unprecedented step of putting a simple splash screen on the main home page of Apple.com stating...
This caused rampant speculation in the blogosphere as to what the announcement was, but the rumour of it simply being the Beatles on iTunes was discounted by pretty much everyone.
The main reasons for this:
- Would such an event warrant 24 hours of promotion on the main Apple site?
- The statement "That you'll never forget" -
Really Apple?
What magnitude of event would be required to make loyal Apple fans never forget November 16th 2010.
No way could it possibly be the inclusion of the Beatles on the iTunes store?
Seriously?
However, the more I thought about it, the more convinced it would be just that, and realised that there would be great disappointment following the announcement.
The main reason for not thinking it was a major announcement (well not major to the majority of Apple fans), was mainly the lack of a press event. Apple would never launch a major product or make sweeping changes to the iTunes infrastructure without Steve being able to tell the story to the Press and even demo it.
So as expected, Twitter is awash with fail, and disappointed Apple fans left right and centre.
How did Apple get it so wrong?
My belief is that they nearly got it right except for one thing....
The phrase "...another day. That you'll never forget."
That was totally misleading and completely inappropriate for the majority of Apple fans.
Apple should have known better and not set unrealistic expectations by wording the splash screen in this way and by doing so, have completely screwed up what should have been a prestigious launch and alienated quite a large swathe of Apple fans.
Ah well, they'll get forgiven eventually I suppose.
So where is this iOS 4.2 release?
Reader Comments (20)
Couldn't agree more.
Surely everyone who wants the Beatles music has already bought it more than once?
Poor Apple. Whenever they do something they are on the firing line no matter what. They have done so many great things that expectation is high and when you are at the top of your game there is only one movement possible: Down.We will get over it and give them some well deserved slack.
Love the Beatles.
Yes but the stuff you get with all the videos and narrative is an enhanced content that delivers something special. Hope other bands will take note.
Exactly right. This was a rare marketing mistake on Apple's part. My guess is it all came from Jobs', who is a reportedly a big Beatles fan....
Surely every, and I mean every, previous Apple announcement has had speculation about The Beatles coming to iTunes. So it's not suprising that they feel it's a big deal and treating it as such. The wording is a little strange, but then again they thing the iPad is magical ;)
We knew it wasn't 4.2. since when have they made annoucement like this? We knew it wasn't hardware. ditto. We knew it was iTunes. The hype and now subsequent disappointment has not been Apples doing.
I for one have held off buying Beatles CDs waiting for this. And I'm glad they're finally here.
I'm not convinced it was such a bad call. The proof of whether it was misguided will come in the coming days/weeks when we see how many Beatles tunes Apple have actually shifted.
Regardless of whether you agree with or appreciate the manner of the campaign, it has generated a LOT of interest. Has it harmed Apple? No. Will it generate extra revenue? Surely. Good business call, in my book.
Perhaps this is a sign of things to come from Apple. Sure, we all look forward to a good Keynote, packed with glistening new slabs of technology or software, but Apple will (especially with the growth of the Apple TV) become more and more interested in selling media ...
Interesting times.
Not only does everybody already have all The Beatles music they want, it's all been available digitally on a USB stick for ages, too, which also includes the video content.
I love The Bealtes. But I already have all the albums, as most fans do. While the alure of digital downloads of "Help" and "Let it Be" as long been the Holy Grail for sites like iTunes, it's not really that big of a deal for many Beatlemaniacs. In fact, they may not be pleased at all if the audio is as compressed and mucky as many iTunes songs tend to be. So, it's great to have The Beatles on iTunes, but I'll certianly remember this day a lot less than the first time I heard "I Saw Her Standing There" back in the 60's or when Sgt. Pepper was released on CD.
I already had the Beatles in my iTunes. Yeah I agree it was a bit hyped. Now I am looking forward to the iOS 4.2 release...hopefully soon!
Could it be that they were distracted by the Royal announcement about Will marrying Kate, and thought that an engagement means a 'GIG' ;)
Ringo and Paul starring at the wedding - to be published on iTunes
They will live in North Wales, so would make sense to hold the wedding in Liverpool Cathedral anyway
Spot on Don, there are so many ways they could've hyped this up for Beatle-fan's without building up expectations of everyone. It's not even like the prices are good, far too high (IMHO) for digital (crappy compressed) downloads.
I couldn't agree more.
Found it very disapoiting (still love the Beatles ;-)
Uwe
Greatest computer company of all time, meet greatest band of all time. How can you overhype that?
Nothing against the Beatles. But a day "that you'll never forget"? Come on!
Well, they are right. I won't forget this day. It is the day of one of the lamest jokes ever and definitely the lamest joke that has ever originated from Apple.
Congrats to Apple. And congrats to the Beatles a.k.a their legal heirs. It makes sense from a economical standpoint (especially for the Beatles, because the young generation won't buy CDs any more, which means that the next generation buyers would not have encountered the Beatles at all without them being available online).
But is this a big news for iTunes? If iTunes has nothing else to offer, then... oh boy! Not a particularly good PR stunt....
Where is 4.2?
I am not to sure you hot that right. Basically Apple used their marketin website for a brilliant stunt. They got everyone to look at apple.com at 3pm UK time. They got a lot of coverage, surely not all positive, but in the end the message was received. We'll all have forgotten about the manner of the announcement soon, but Apple pulled off a very impressive marketing stunt and that surely we won't forget.
I think this article by tuaw sums it up nicely, http://www.tuaw.com/2010/11/16/why-you-really-shouldnt-have-expected-more-than-beatles-on-itun/
No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. The announcement wasn't about The Beatles! Surely you couldn't have missed the big story of 16th November? What is amazing about this whole thing is that Apple managed to get the news 24 hours before the rest of us!
I disagree with you Don. I am an apple fan and I loved the intrigue and Getting Beatles into iTunes may not be a big deal for us but it surely was to our dear Steve. Brilliant attention getting strategy .
November 16, 2010. A date that has now been seared into history, alongside the day when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the day that JFK got shot, which I think were both in December, but I don’t actually remember exactly, and the day of 9/11 which is of course easy to remember since it’s the actual name of the day.
But this? The Beatles on iTunes? Who will ever forget this day? Who will forget this day when the greatest musical artists of all time finally agreed to make their historically significant music be downloaded at a reasonable fee via the greatest online music store that has ever been created.
Even if you wanted to forget, I dare say, you will not be able to. No, you will never, ever erase this date from your memory.
Even if you live a hundred lifetimes, and survive a dozen world wars, and a nuclear attack by robots from outer space; even if you win the Nobel Prize for discovering the cure for cancer, and have so many children that you need to write down their birthdates so you remember when to send them cards, and even if you end up with full-blown friggin Alzheimer’s and can’t remember your own name — no, even then, I dare say, you will never, ever, forget this date.