I was on Twitter yesterday when Cali Lewis; star of Geekbrief.tv, decided to send a message to her 19,000 Twitter followers. Cali’s message was simply:
“Is this the new MacBook Pro?” – (with a link to a dodgy looking image)
This is how the ‘VIRAL PR’ Apple are so famous for always begins!
Why is Apple’s PR so good?
Firstly, they offer GREAT products! Secondly, it REALLY helps when respected people like Cali Lewis are generating interest in a product that Apple are about to announce or launch!
Why?
Because Cali has a massive numbers of fans following her and watching her shows, all of whom are tech consumers AND early adopters - making them worth a FORTUNE to Apple!
Reporting on a rumour before an official launch is NOT news – it’s simply spreading valuable hype for the product concerned. This hype is actually what marketing people call ‘pre-launch publicity’ and it’s what big companies like Apple and Microsoft use in order to generate massive launch date sales!
Remember the queues outside the Apple stores when the iPhone was launched?
Of course, I do not know Cali Lewis (I’m sure she is lovely) and I have no idea why she invested her time in blogging about this rumour or publishing the photo etc.
It just makes me curious when such a busy person invests their valuable time (for free) into helping generate pre-launch publicity for a multi-million dollar business – with no payment of any kind.
I also now want a new MacBook Pro for some reason!
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You’re absolutely right, Apple does extremely well from the rumors that circulate. I spend a lot of time filtering through all the rumors (it’s my job), but it’s very rare that I give any rumors attention. There are too many and most are bogus. Of course, right before a major Apple event, I do a wrap up of what’s expected to be announced, but that’s different than what it sounds like you mean.
The times when I do mention them is when there’s something about it that I really want to be true. Kind of my way of saying “Look at this, this is where I want this device to be heading”. I’m an Apple fangirl, I think that’s pretty well known. :) I enjoy the process of people inspecting possibly photoshopped pictures. For example, there was one comment on that post that said it couldn’t be real because the angle of the photo versus the angle of the phone didn’t match. Why do people spend time analyzing these things? No one answer…it’s kind of like a sport to a lot of people, I guess.
You said: “It just makes me curious when such a busy person invests their valuable time (for free) into helping generate pre-launch publicity for a multi-million dollar business – with no payment of any kind.”
I invest my time promoting Apple because I love what they do. Sure, there are things I don’t understand (like the new Nano design), but overall, I think they hit it spot on. I get hundreds of tech questions a day. The majority of those questions wouldn’t be an issue if that person were on a Mac. So in a way, I spend my time promoting them to help my inbox from getting overloaded. ;)
Hi Cali,
Thanks for dropping by the blog – it always amazes me who reads this!
I know you are a real Mac ‘gal! My concerns are less to do with someone being pro-Mac or pro-pc. I use both and they each have their merits.
What genuinely concerns me is when ‘known’ people are in some way rewarded to generate publicity – without their readers / viewers being aware.
I think advertising and sponsorship; when done openly is excellent (like the ads on your show!) This is a good and honest way to generate revenue.
What REALLY pisses me off is when I hear that someone is secretly endorsing a product or service to their readers / viewers / listeners without disclosure.
Thanks again for the comment Cali!
Cali, I agree it would make all our lives easier if everyone was using Apple products. My 80 year old Dad keeps switching back and forth between his Mac and his Windows PC and every time he calls for help it’s when he’s using the Windows machine. And, he’s not the only one…will they never learn!