Apple’s never going to be the same…again. As pundits, reporters, and your friendly neighborhood Mac sites weigh in on the sudden end of Steve’s tenure as CEO, expect to hear variations on one sour note amid the accolades and fond memories: Apple is doomed without him, and the company’s best days are behind it. No one is happy to see Steve go, but don’t worry. Apple will be fine for a long time to come. That’s due not only to the excellent team Steve’s put in place, but also to his brilliant marketing tactics. Their success brought back the Mac and sent Apple roaring to the top of the tech world –– and beyond. Thanks to Steve, Apple’s here to stay. Here are five of the biggest reasons why.
Wanna buy a MacBook 600DVD, or an iPad LC16? Probably not, and Steve knew it. On returning to Cupertino in 1997, he cut Apple’s offerings from a confusing array of PowerBooks and PowerMacs to a lean-and-mean handful of machines not unlike what we have today. And he famously axed products that didn’t fit his vision, like the beloved Newton PDA, when another CEO might have tried selling anything to get back in the black. That constant refinement of the product line––even smash hits––was a hallmark of Steve’s tenure (just look at the discontinued iPod mini and all the forms the iPod nano has taken). That sounds like perfectionism to us, and that’s pure Steve.
Believe it or not, people once saw Apple as a washed-up relic of tech’s olden days, if they thought of the company at all. The dramatic Think Different campaign changed that forever. Its simple tribute to “the crazy ones” and footage of iconic celebrities, artists, and historical figures reminded the world Apple was here to stay while suggesting that, just maybe, a computer could be more than yet another box on your cubicle desk. Subsequent campaigns actually showed the darn computers…until they didn’t. The Switcher campaign famously explained what made Macs and OS X so great with only a couple guys, an empty room, and a seriously laid back sense of humor. The results were a million YouTube parodies and quarter after quarter of customers buying their first Macs. Fun products that are easy to use and unlike anything else on the market––that’s Apple’s public image today, and Steve’s vision helped shape it.
Back in the day, die-hard Apple fans knew they could find their favorite computers at third-party vendors, but nobody else did. For most people finding Apple gear meant hunting forgotten shelves at the mall, or, if you were lucky, browsing a store-within-a-store at the local CompUSA. Steve fixed that when he launched the first Apple Stores, to much media fanfare and lines around the block, way back in 2001. Today those lines are still forming for new stores, many of which are tourist destinations in countries all over the world. Far from the “painful and expensive mistake” some analysts predicted, the Apple Stores have become as iconic as any of Cupertino’s most popular creations. Fans knew Apple’s products would sell if given half a chance. Steve proved them right.
Many keynotes ended with Steve explaining that, despite the awesome new iPod he’d just announced, for him and Apple it was “all about the music”. He wasn’t kidding -- his penchant for good tunes has served Cupertino well. In 2003, Steve’s powers of persuasion convinced the major labels to sell songs legally online, and combined with the then-burgeoning success of the iPod, the results revolutionized the way we enjoy music. They also revolutionized Apple, getting them in front of millions of new customers and into the entertainment business. Since then, the iTunes Store has gone on on to offer movies, TV shows, and ebooks -- but for millions of people, music was the first gateway into the world of Apple. Thanks to Steve, most of them haven’t turned back.
We may be a little poorer for Steve’s absence, but let’s face it: he made us all a lot poorer, $0.99 at a time, for the last several years. The iTunes Store proved the world was ready for digital distribution on a massive scale, but Apple’s online sales took its biggest leap yet with the App Store. By providing an easy way for iOS users to find and buy new software, Apple let them easily add new features to their devices while establishing a thriving ecosystem for developers. Most shrewdly it turned Apple into a de-facto label, distributing the work of “artists” and “bands” who work with Xcode instead of guitars and drums. We’re guessing a 30% share of the profits doesn’t hurt either. Pretty smart, Steve.
MacMike
August 25, 2011 at 3:44pm
He also promoted the idea that computers could look as good as they perform. Instead of beige boxes he introduced iMacs in several colors and even patterns so people had their choice. Later he dropped the colored plastic for brushed aluminum, but at the time a computer that had a colored see through chassis was unheard of.
