Thirty years ago on January 20, 1984, I stumbled bleary-eyed into the newly opened opulent Grand Hyatt Hotel in NYC. At the time, I was the manager of an authorized Apple dealership on Long Island and was there for the launch of the Macintosh.
The air was tense with anticipation, voices alternating between whispers and nervous laughs. The "lab" rooms filled with Macs were closed and guarded despite our best efforts to peek inside. We filed into the huge ballroom, joking back and forth about all the secrecy, coffees in hand. I'd never been to an Apple product launch before, and my curiosity was at fever pitch. I couldn't wait to see how this event unfolded.
In the spotlight, sporting his bow-tie, Jobs bounded onto the stage and the show began. He spoke briefly and told us how Macintosh would be the next major product in the personal computing industry. And in fact, Apple believed in that so strongly that they would tell the whole world about it at the SuperBowl. Lights out, cue video and what was to become the most famous commercial of all time played.
Spotlight returns on Steve, who shows photos of the Mac and now says that everything you're about to see and hear on the big screen is going to be driven by what's in the bag. As the rest of the show proceeds with Steve pulling out the Mac, setting it up and Mac starts to speak, the crowd goes wilder and wilder. We were screaming, laughing, clapping, jumping up and down, standing on chairs and throwing stuff in the air. And as Steve began playing commercials that showed how easy Mac was to learn while making fun of the IBM PC — the world's most cynical audience (no one is more cynical than an east coast business owner) started stamping their feet, clapping and shouting "Down with IBM! Down with IBM!" It was a madhouse.
I learned some huge branding lessons that day.
Never underestimate the power of simplicity. The stage was empty, bare. Just a table [that eventually held a Macintosh]. A big screen. And Steve. What a focal point!
Tap into the audience's emotions. Steve tapped into how much we (the dealers) hated IBM. IBM was our villain. IBM strong-armed us, didn't understand our business, made everything so difficult, treated us like dirt — we were ignorant slime who didn't understand marketing or computers. [Meanwhile, the IBM Peanut debacle was in full force.]
With IBM the villain, Apple and Mac were our heros, rescuing us from the mediocrity of IBM. It wasn't just about computing, the conversation was about growing our businesses. And Apple showed us how they were helping us do that. Music to our ears.
Create a remarkable experience. Apple treated us like royalty. We were in the newest and arguably, most luxurious, hotel in New York at that time. The food was superb. The chairs comfortable. The presentations awe-inspiring. We played with hundreds of Macs, for hours and hours. We had one-one conversations with the engineers, software developers and trainers. By the end of the day, we were totally sated. We were also on fire. We couldn't wait to get our hands on the Mac in our stores. We couldn't stop talking about the launch for years. In fact, I still talk about it.
We left that day, re-energized as loyal and recommitted Apple brand fanatics. Apple kept its brand promise — the power to be your best — because we certainly felt that way. We felt invincible.
That's the power of branding when done well. That was the magic of Steve Jobs.
Bless you Steve Jobs. For without you, I would never have gone into high tech, never become a brand strategist, never had the wonderful life I have been blessed with. RIP.
