Marketing That’s Measurable

In 37 years in public relations, I don’t recall anything quite like the firestorm that Steve Jobs created when he startled his loyal throng of techno-geeks by announcing that Apple was slashing the price of its monster success, the i-Phone, by $200 for the 8-gigabyte model … just a few short months after it was introduced.

Apple loyalists, the same ones who slept outside in the rain for nights on end to be among the privileged many to shell out nearly $700 for the “one phone that does everything,” responded angrily by calling Jobs “arrogant” and “out of touch” with his customer base. Every possible means of communicating with Jobs was used to besiege him with angry words from i-Phone users. Marketers world-wide were shocked by his incredible blunder. After all, this wasn’t Crazy Eddie, the carpet salesman. This was Steve Jobs! Superman, Flash Gordon, and Batman all rolled into one!

PR people like me stood back and watched to see how Jobs would respond to the crisis of his own making. And we didn’t need to wait long. Suddenly, there was Steve Jobs, arguably one of the smartest business men of our generation, apologizing and promising to make it right. He offered $100 back to those who had bought the i-Phone when it was introduced, and he sincerely apologized.

Crisis Communications 101, folks. Done expertly by the same man who had just made one of the more spectacular marketing blunders in recent memory. Kudos to Jobs and his advisers, because this time a major crisis will blow over. He reacted quickly and properly. He said he was sorry, and not through some spokesman. He took it like a man.

Good job, i-Man!

Johnson Direct LLC

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The comments expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of Johnson Direct, LLC.