Steve Jobs Steps Down At Apple; What’s Next For Mobile Marketers?
Change is the universal constant. Some of it gradual and some of it dramatic. Mobile falls into the latter category, with deep and gripping disruption leaving its mark on the mobile industry rocked by surprise announcements on an almost daily basis. Last week Google snapped up Motorola, and this week we learn that Steve Jobs –the King of Disruption — has resigned.
Following the first shockwaves when the news hit, I reflected on my blog about how extraordinary minds create technology that disrupts.
There hasn’t been a bigger or better disrupter in this century than the now former Apple CEO.
iPod. iPhone. iPad.
Game-changers.
What should marketers make of disruption and how should they react? As always, the key is to time your participation so that your brand is out of the gates once the disruptive activity settles and it’s clear which technology or tool is winning the race. Jumping the gun doesn’t guarantee a head start in the right direction. There are graveyards full of innovative technologies and devices that failed from the get-go and never gained the traction we expected. Remember Digital Audio Tape and Betamax videotapes?
In mobile marketing and advertising, just because something can be done, doesn’t mean you should blindly spend against it before its time. (An example is Augmented Reality, a technology packed with ‘wow’ effect but lacking in mainstream take up.)
Jobs’ iAd is in that same category. Apple’s closed mobile advertising network (closed because you can reach only those people on the iOS platform) has been a large disappointment for many advertisers and others (like me) who looked at Apple’s move into mobile advertising as a milestone and a much needed push to move the industry along.
But don’t close the chapter on iAd just yet. Despite his resignation, there are indications that Jobs may not be done tinkering with iAd.
In-the-know Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg reports that Jobs will continue to have influence on Apple and its innovation “To be very clear, Mr. Jobs, while seriously ill, is very much alive,” Mossberg writes. “Extremely well-informed sources at Apple say he intends to remain involved in developing major future products and strategy and intends to be an active chairman of the board, even while new CEO Tim Cook runs the company day to day. So, this is not an obituary. But his health is reported to be up and down, and even an active chairman isn’t the same as a CEO.”
How I See It: In the short-term, Apple sales should soar with Sprint reportedly set to join Verizon and AT&T as Apple’s third carrier partner in the U.S. this fall. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster forecasts iPhone sales will growth from 30 percent to 37 percent in calendar year 2012. Sprint may get some company. There are rumors that T-Mobile will also sell the iPhone by this holiday season. The implications for marketers? iAd may become more meaningful with a beefed-up consumer base. Until then, it’s disruptive — with much excitement but without much return.
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There was a time when RIM was also a disruptive force in the industry. That was back when its BlackBerry revolutionized the way most business people, and then consumers, accessed their email. In my view, RIM is a textbook case of a company that has succeeded in disrupting mobile, but somehow lost the plot. It did not continue to innovate.
Its latest phones, running on the new BlackBerry 7 operation system, have been mostly panned by industry pundits, including influential Ed Baig of USA Today.
While Baig said he generally likes all three phones he tested, he pointed out that “some features have RIM playing catch-up.” He continued: “That’s disappointing given the speed at which Android phones and Apple’s iPhone are adding innovative features.”
Baig (and I) are puzzled. As he put it: “With all that’s at stake, you might expect that the latest devices represent bold leaps forward. (I don’t mean Bold, as in the name of one of the most venerable BlackBerry brands, but rather something that is fresh, impactful and frankly, different.) Instead, the models — while superior to what came before — aren’t likely to shake up the tech Richter scale. And RIM continues to fall far short in the ever-critical apps sweepstakes.”
So, what are the device shortcomings? In a word: apps.
According to Baig, “arguably the biggest deficiency for all the new devices is in the apps department.” RIM has about 35,000 apps in the BlackBerry App World store, a tiny fraction compared with iOS and Android. And only a “few thousand” or so of those will be compatible with BlackBerry 7 devices at launch. He concludes: “The new BlackBerrys are solid devices that should appeal to the many people who still love the brand. I just don’t expect many others to get overly excited.”
Baig is especially respected by business travelers who have been reading him in USA Today for years. His words won’t help sell BlackBerrys.
How I See It: As I’ve written in columns and blogs on MobileGroove and elsewhere, the worst mistake a marketer can make is to work off of stale data. The same goes for ideas and innovation. BlackBerry has had its day – and there may well be many more coming. However, unless RIM can disrupt again – and adoption occurs – then RIM risks ending up an also-ran in the mobile marketing mix.
About Jeff:
A career author and sought-after speaker, Jeff Hasen builds, strengthens and protects brands. Companies benefiting from his talents have landed on Wired’s list of most innovative entities on Earth and been named pioneers and the early leader in the burgeoning mobile marketing category. Jeff co-created the certification program for the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). He is one of only two individuals certified by the MMA to train professionals and students on mobile marketing definitions, techniques and benefits. At Hipcricket, he conceived and led the execution of an accelerated rebranding effort in advance of the mobile marketing software and services company being named “the early leader in the mobile marketing space in the U.S.” by Frost and Sullivan. Hipcricket also won consecutive annual pioneer awards from CTIA — The Wireless Association. Follow Jeff on Twitter (@jeffhasen).
