Every Company Needs a Good Map

Apple and Steve Jobs have demonstrated time and a gain that they have a method they believe in.
1)    Create a demand well in advance of a product's release.
2)    Design for the future not the past
3)    Don't talk about potential future upgrades, releases, or other products.
4)    Don't sell it right away but have some ready to use for people who can influence customers
5)    People have a 6 week attention span - feed new material every 6 weeks

Even with the enormous buzz around the iPhone, did you notice that Apple and AT&T are advertising it? Why would you buy airtime on television and radio, ad space in papers and magazines, and billboard space in major metropolitan areas? Is there anyone who does not know about the iPhone in the existing TAM (total addressable market)? Isn't this a bit of overkill or wasted money? First, it is sort of a thank you to those outlets for the free advertising. Second, it shows that Apple is not letting others control the message. Thirdly, it helps to teach the consumer about the benefits of the unit instead of discussing the financial and technical aspects that most news outlets, bloggers, and technophiles focus on.

Let's Go Over The Steps
Creating demand for your unreleased product while not creating demand of existing products is a difficult thing to do. You undermine the demand for existing products by showing that something about to be released is better and that they should wait. This works well in markets where it takes time to react. It is not easy to add features to a handset or an airplane. The lead-time is the window of opportunity you have to undermine a competing product. Because there is no lead-time for web-based software development anymore, web applications are deployed the day they are announced. If you announce a new web based functionality and wait to release it then the Open Source community will have a replacement before sunrise the next day.

Designing for the future takes work. You have to consider not only how a product is used to day, but also consider how it will be used tomorrow and for the average lifespan of the product. This requires market research, user groups, and forward thinking. As they say, if Henry Ford had made what people said that they wanted, then he would have tried to breed a stronger horse. Looking at what people do, not at what they say they want, is a critical component of innovation.

It may seem inconsistent to announce a new product and then say "We don't discuss future products" but that is what Jobs did in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. (Subscription may be required to read the interview.) What he meant was that Apple does not discuss unannounced products or features. There is a very good reason for that. If you talk about what is going to be available people will delay buying your current product. Only if those upgrades will be free to current customers will discussing future features have a positive impact.

Having samples ready to go is a critical part of today's pre-release marketing. People expect the experts to have a preview. If movie critics are not allowed to pre-screen a movie, it indicates that the move will probably be a flop. If technology experts are unable to test a new product, we figure that the company has something to hide.

The attention span of the average adult seems to be diminishing. Political consultants work with this. The short attention span is why advisors are trying to get all of the dirty laundry out before the real campaign season begins. Books are given 3 - 6 weeks to begin selling in a bookstore before they are sent back. Publishers know that if a book does not catch on quickly, then it probably will not ever sell well. Therefore, a constant reminder, or refresher message, every 6 weeks or less helps to keep a message or product discussion afloat.

BTW - If you go to the Apple site today you will notice that it highlights the iPhone. Just like a good politician - keep to the talking points. Also, it is my understanding that if you get an iPhone in Europe it works with multiple systems not just AT&T. You may not hear this in Apple US stores because as we know, Apple does not like to discuss unreleased upgrades or functions..

What have you learned from the launch of the iPhone?