Recently, our media studies class had to read
an article containing four points on how Apple effectively gets their products as sought after as they are. I think that the article more or less gets Apple's marketing strategies spot on. One point that stood out was number three, which talked about how Apple executes it's marketing strategies. It said that Apple lets fans do it's marketing for them, which I think is brilliant, because one of Apple's main selling points is that it empowers the consumer. It further goes on to explain that Apple encourages this word of mouth (or two step flow) marketing by cutting down on it's marketing overall and letting people wonder, ask, and speculate about new products. Even when they are openly advertising things, they leave out lots of information and keep only enough to pique our interest, i.e. "letting people fill in the gaps themselves", as opposed to many other companies' hypodermic syringe approach to marketing.
Earlier on in the article, the writer says that Apple started making computers for schools before moving on and making computers for the same people that had grown up and wanted something "cool". Staying with consumers throughout their childhood and far beyond allowed Apple to cultivate an image for itself. If teenagers, who are a very social demographic, value their friends opinions more than any advertising (for whatever reason), then making sure that a lot, if not all of them view Apple in a positive light ensures that they have a good chance of reaching even more people.
