Apple Romance

The iPad 2 was announced today, and once again, I am smitten. So funny to read all the blogs though and see the Apple "haters" talking about how lame an announcement it was and how much better the Motorola Xoom is. Of course they are in the small minority and this iPad will sell even better than the wildly successful 1st iPad.

Those haters think we're all a bunch of fashionable lemmings, but I think it's something much more powerful than that. I think it's possible that Steve Jobs is one of the greatest marketers of all time.

Here's the thing- no matter how incredible the marketing, a crappy product won't succeed. Conversely, an awesome product poorly marketed is doomed to failure as well. Jobs understands marketing and has mastered both sides of the equation.

As consumers we want something that works. Every time. If it does what we bought it for every time, we are happy. If it does what we bought it for every time and it does a bunch of other cool stuff, then we are really happy. If it just plain works, does cool stuff AND is sexier than every other thing of it's type, then we're in love. And that's the Apple that Job's created. Some people just don't understand love and how it motivates people. Thus the haters.

Job's marketing genius has been rewarded with the adoration of marketers everywhere, thus resulting in some of the most wide-spread, free press adulation any company or product has ever seen before. People love to back a winner, especially when the winner is reliable, cool and sexy.

Can other computer companies pull off reliable? Sure. I can think of a few that do. Can other's pull off cool? Absolutely. Reliable, cool, and sexy? Not yet, and the outlook isn't good.

As a business owner, entrepreneur and marketer, there's a lot I can learn from Jobs. It might be a while before I figure out a way to make insurance sexy, but I'm nevertheless inspired.