The new iPad and the ingredients for Apple loyalty

Not surprisingly the launch of the new iPad has been a relatively muted affair in India. The  friendly pricing may help in attracting new users to the Apple fold but those going wide-eyed are still the Apple fans. It’s early days yet and a lot of re-sellers are likely to carry out promotions in the coming weeks. My hunch is that Apple would see this as ‘along expected lines’ as they seem to have read the Indian market correctly. I don’t think there are enough ‘numbers’ in India for the Apple model – of premium products, sold in a ‘controlled’ environment (distribution, pricing, hardware, software etc.). Hence the focus on China for where the ROI is better (though the new iPad is yet to be launched there).  As WSJ pointed out the ‘other’ model of being the ‘anti-iPhone’ – offering a plethora of smartphone options at various price points, is also a successful model too.

My upgrade to the new iPad reinforced a few issues familiar to the long-time Apple user. Firstly, the sense of community. You can take an Apple product bought anywhere, in any store to any Apple store and you will be able to upgrade, repair and get advice. Several of the re-sellers will gladly offer you their wi-fi services to upgrade your software and backup your Apple product. I took my old iPad to an iStore and got my new device registered and restored content from my backup. All this is quite unlikely in other computer or mobile ecosystems, unless its in a company owned or operated outlet.

The backup process and the joy of seeing ALL of your old iPad’s content in the new device is magical. Yes, with Android your Google stuff – contacts, mail, books maybe stored in the cloud and be useful in an ‘upgrade from backup’ situation. But I doubt if they can match the iOS backup process – be it from iTunes or iCloud. All my previous content including mail accounts, contacts, photos, music, apps, books were all transferred to the new device within hours. What more, when I opened a game, it took me to the last level played in that game on my old device. This seamless-ness  is worth paying a premium for- at least according to my mindset. The process and the ecosystem delivers a peace of mind – knowing full well that all content precious to you is safe. The joy which arises of out of this whole process strenghtens the emotional connect with the Apple brand. It can’t be explained – only experienced. The non-Apple fans won’t ‘get’ it.

Samsung: misdirected ‘wake up’ call to Apple fans

And so Samsung is on a marketing overdrive again. Nothing wrong with that but they seemed to be obsessed with Apple and iPhone in particular. In Australia they have launched a guerrilla marketing program against iPhone by staging a ‘protest’ outside an Apple Store in Sydney. This is timed with the imminent launch of the ‘next Galaxy‘ and hence the dig at Apple fans to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ as the saying goes.

I fail to understand this strategy of attempting to embarrass or mock the Apple fans into submission. Both Apple and Samsung have been successful following entirely different strategies in the mobile space. While Apple has just one model in the smartphone space targeting the high end, Samsung attempts to cover all bases with a plethora of smartphone options. Just the Galaxy variant probably has a handful of sub-brands (if you can call it that). As an aside, the nomenclature structure leads to some unintended fun.

So why would Samsung do something that would make them come across as a desperate wannabe brand? The Samsung Galaxy brand (be it S2 or Note) has an avid fan following. So does the iPhone. It is virtually impossible to convince one group about the superiority of the other. In that context, I doubt if poking fun at the Apple fans and talking down to them will not convert them into the Android fold. At least not the die hard ones who have willingly chosen the so-called ‘closed’ platform. There could be a some newbies to the iOS fold who could perhaps get swayed. But the pros of this approach don’t outweigh the cons. Even Android fans agree.

Original post: here.