Apple's first stumble with the IPad

Apple just released it's I Pad. I truly think they blew it here after all this hype. But how can it live up to the hype? Apple obviously wasn't reading any of the posts here or my posts to the Media Trade Journal Articles when it comes to readers and TV everywhere. Plus not only is the name hysterical since my esteemed sister said it was a bunch of men who came up with the name, Hitler was very disappointed. And I agree with his talking points.

Click for:

Hitler's Rebuttal

Over 700,000 people have seen this hilarious creation which highlights many sever limitations of the I Pad. In one fell swoop all the free marketing from Apple fans and Media/Advertising Industry Journalists and Pundits has been countered.

The Wi-Fi and 3G are great. The battery life incredible. But no Flash???? No Firefox?

This blog had suggested in the past the perfect "Insert Brand Here" Tablet Computer will have full HTML and Flash (or equal) with full web surfing and game playing because that is what people want. They want bigger screens for TV and Movies. I myself bring my laptop into my bed to watch DVD's because up close the screen is bigger than the 19" LCD HDTV across on my dresser. I would love a fix for this heavy, hot device from my lap.

And when an "Insert Brand Here" Tablet comes out with Flash(or equal) they will truly be a game changer. The I Pad is really just a large sized I Touch. And the only reason I can think Apple did this was to not have an APP Creator Revolt. Nothing like bragging about 125K Apps in your store front only to have them not work on the I Tab and crushing that whole ecosystem at once. But what Apple fails to realize in a HUGE way is that App ecosystem be damned other forms with no App Stores who can care less will gladly destroy this ecosystem. HP, Dell, Sony, Upstarts, all have no App Stores!

Interesting because in the past Apple was the company bringing creative destruction to industries. Now they might suffer the same.

In my next post I am going to address the print industry and where it went wrong and can it be saved.

Subtle Startegy, Network Greed or Poor Media Buying

We have observed this, we are watching a program on Cable or Network TV and we notice one or two commercials are repeated so often that we actually switch over while they play because we are sick of hearing the same message. I am currently watching a stand up comedian on Comedy Central. I have seen in 45 mins the same I Pod Touch commercial 6 times and an I Phone App commercial 4 times.

So is this strategy on someone's part? To ensure the message is beaten in my skull. So that I get brainwashed into buying the devices.

Or is this greed by Comedy Central? Apple gave them money for inventory to reach a certain demographic and they are light on clients for spots on this show so they just keep plugging Apple?

Or is this poor media planning? Where someone isn't paying attention or not critiquing the performance reports they get from Comedy Central when they come in?

I know media planning and buying for a major national brand across all platforms is as complicated as curing cancer. But Apple spent about 30% more than they should of on spots during this 1 hr program. And as a champion of the brand with a Finance/Sales background I call it wastage.

Do Apps really matter to Brands?

Malibu Rum has 2 million I Phone App Downloads in 6 Months

I am not singling out Malibu Rum. This is specifically typical 'excitement' Branded Apps generate for certain biased parties.

I know I know I always am the cynic. I personally do not see value for Branded Apps unless it is a 'must have must use' App. The reason is it will be hard for Malibu Rum or any Brand to know if the App they worked so hard on is used beyond the first week....or even visible to the smart phone user among the ridiculous amount of Apps an active App down loader will have on their phone. In the case of Malibu Rum, you have a liquor that is very sweet, lower alcohol content than regular rum, and the imbibers will be mostly slanted towards younger people and specifically women. Most adult real men do not drink Malibu Rum, just like they don't drink Wine Coolers LOL. So a bowling game?

There are plenty of ideas for Apps that people will want to use over and over for a Liquor Brand that would get more use and more Brand exposure than bowling. And BTW I love video bowling, it is the Malibu Rum demographic that I found the game choice intriguing.

I don't own a Liquor Brand but my free advice would be an App that has drink recipes and allows people to enter in their own favorites for future reference. Maybe include a calorie counter and allow people to zap drink recipes to their friends and even take pictures of the perfect concoction to share.

Or for Malibu Rum an App that includes lots of topical locales (photos and videos), a way for people to upload their own from such locations when partying in the sun, and even connect to Travel Websites that get Malibu a referral fee for any travel booked during that session.

Bowling?

The transfer reallocation moving about reaily of mobile retail applications

I read today that Pizza Hut has booked $1 million in sales in 3 months via it's I Phone App.

See Article

But some perspective needs to be shed on this. First of all Pizza Hut is a $6 billion company. So the amount is very small. But that being said the key to success for Mobile is getting people to Adopt using mobile devices in ways that benefit your firm. So today Pizza Hut has a clear cut advantage over other pizza delivery companies because I Phone users can easily order from them on the way home from work, or while in transit to watch football at a friends house. That will change over time and eventually there will be applications that collate all delivery places including private one off local pizza places into one App so you can compare all prices and specials and make your decision. But until then Pizza Hut has an edge.

Now for the reality. Pizza Hut can not tell how much of the $1 million was added sales vs sales they would get anyway via traditional phone call or the internet. Obviously Mobile and Online reduce over head because a person does not have to answer the phone. But the fact is I will guarantee more than half the sales were sales they would of gained anyway. So the impact as of now is minimal for ROI, but huge in terms of being a trend setter and conditioning customers to order via their phone. This benefits not only Pizza Hut but the entire Mobile Ecosystem.

It is very important that firms and agencies relay proper measurements. Often in the news 'success' is touted without any data to back it up. They conveniently omit the number of people, or the true bottom line impact of their activities. While this is great PR investors should be wary of buying stock in companies that do great PR without the substance to back it up. In this case the jury is out, but we will give Pizza Hut some kudos on their efforts and progress!