Apple's
"Switch" campaign failed, right? Tens of millions of PC users
didn't rush to Apple Stores and purchase enough Macs to have
any noticeable effect on worldwide marketshare, so let's
just label the whole thing a flop and move on. Well, wait
a minute now...did we miss something?
Sure you
did, if you're of the camp who can't see beyond the immediate-term,
and who can't step back and see the long-range benefits that
Apple has reaped by choosing to run its "Switch to the
Macintosh"
campaign when it did. I want to highlight four key
areas in which I believe that the Switch campaign has helped
Apple -- whether it originally planned it that way or not:
iTunes
Music Store marketing
Before
you can get Windows users to boldly download anything
from Apple, even for free, you've got to at least get them
believing that Apple is still a viable company that makes
a viable product. The Switch campaign notified Windows users
everywhere that a) Apple is still in business, b) the Mac
is a platform that someone somewhere must still be using,
and c) Apple is proud enough of its computers to dare suggest
that Windows users try one out. So even those viewers who
didn't take enough away from the Switch campaign to actually
buy a Mac, were still presented with ample evidence that
Apple is still a player. Ask yourself: are you more likely
to download music store software from a company that you
mistakenly believe is about to give up the ghost, or a company
who has the guts to recruit you as a user?
Power
Macintosh
G5
Rather
than Apple simply coming out of nowhere claiming to have
developed the world's fastest personal computer, Windows-using
viewers were first presented with a cast of characters who
had switched to the Mac for reasons other than pure speed.
In other words, Apple first said, "hey, switch to the
Mac, it's easier and better," and then later came back
and added,
"oh, by the way, now we're the fastest on top of it
all."
It's a one-two punch that might not have had the same impact
if the order had been reversed. Windows users more bent on
speed than usability might simply have tuned out the G5 commercials
if they hadn't been softened up by the Switch commercials
first.
Waking
up the sleepy Mac users
Unbelievable
as it may seem, there is no shortage of Mac users out there
who still have no idea about MacOS X or the iApp revolution.
I've come across one too many users who bought their iMac
primarily because they liked the color or the shape, and
are still plodding along on MacOS 9 (or 8.6 even) and, being
the type
who pays
little attention to the latest developments within the world
of personal computing, has no idea what Apple has been up
to, or how much they're missing out on. Unfortunately, these
are
the types that Apple faces losing to Windows, for reasons
every bit as valid as, let's say, the Dell Dude. Although
the Switch campaign was officially targeted at Windows users,
it did
just as
good
of a job of getting the message out to sleepy Mac users who
out of their own ignorance, aren't enjoying more than a fraction
of their Mac's potential.
Call
to arms
Many a
Mac user has long wanted to knock
down the door of everyone they know, and proclaim the superiority
of the Macintosh, in the hopes of getting them all to move
to the Mac. Well, Apple's Switch campaign has finally made
it
socially acceptable to do so. Now, Mac users who can't shut
up about their platform choice are looked at by Windows users
as evidence that the Switch ads are true, not simply as oddballs
who made a strange computing choice for some strange reason.
In other words, Apple declared open season on every Windows
user who has a Mac-using friend, family member, co-worker,
or acquaintance. As anyone who's "helped" a friend Switch
to the Mac can attest, for most Windows users it's a long
process
in which several layers of misconception, fear, uncertainty,
and doubt
must
be peeled away one at a time. Apple's Switch campaign was
the catalyst that started the process in so many of these
cases.
in
other words...
PC users
who make up their mind to Switch to the Mac but own a six-month
old PC aren't likely to buy that Mac until they've used up
a little more of their PC's useful life, or finished paying
for their PC, or both. I can personally think of a number
of PC users who are 100% certain that their next computer
will be a Mac, and are simply waiting until the time is right
for them. And from what I've seen around the net, there are
a significant number of users currently in this "holding
pattern." So although they haven't bought their Mac
and added their purchase to the statistical gods, the Switch
campaign
has already succeeded in converting them.
In addition,
journalistic outlets worldwide appear to be full of self-proclaimed
Switchers who are all too happy to share their experiences
with their viewers and readers. The impact that this "first
wave" of Switchers will have on those who are generally followers
when it comes to computer decisions, well that remains to
be seen. Let's face it, most people who own a particular
brand of PC purchased it because someone else told them
to. And most of them who Switch to the Mac will do so because
someone else told them to, as well.
In fact,
if you're currently "working" on a potential Switcher
or two, but just quite can't seem to turn the corner with
them,
you might think about getting them a SwitcherPack for
the holidays, a low-cost way to assist your friends and family
in deciding to go ahead and buy that Macintosh after all.
There's never been a better time to help make the Switch
campaign
come
true
in
your neck
of
the
woods...even if you need a bit of last-minute third-party
help. For more information on the SwitcherPack,
you can visit here.
But one
way or another, I believe that the effects of Apple's Switch
campaign are only now surfacing, as it has breathed legitimacy
into Apple's subsequent ad campaigns, and it has given Mac
users everywhere the go-ahead to become active Mac advocates
within their own circles. Although "Switch" will never get
the credit it deserves, it helped to get the party started
in various ways.
On a personal
note, I suppose I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that today
is my
sister's
birthday. She became a Switcher back before it
was fashionable.
