Audience Appeal of Apple

How does Apple create its audience appeal?

Introduction

Since the late 2000s the world is witnessing a unique, reoccurring phenomenon. Every year, on one particular day in September, ten thousands of people around the world of all social classes, ages and ethnicities form giant queues on the high streets of major cities around the globe. One could argue that this phenomenon is not that unique. I recall having seen photos of similar scenes in my history textbook. However, unlike the people in my history textbook, the people I am talking about, are neither queuing for free food, nor are they seeking shelter. These people are waiting to get their hands on the latest device of a company, which has transformed the technological world by changing the way we look at and interact with technology. The company I am referring to goes by the simple name of “Apple”. In this project, I am going to investigate the company’s marketing, its stores and its design, as well as the presentation skills of its co-founder, Steve Jobs in order to find out how it has managed to create its audience appeal.

Today, Apple is the most valuable company in the world and its revenues amount to over 150 billion dollars a year. However, it was not always like that. Apple was founded in a garage in Cupertino in 1976 by Steve Jobs a, 21 year-old Californian, who dropped out of college after only 6 months because he “couldn’t see the value in it” and his two friends, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. When the three launched the company, most computers were huge machines, which were owned by the government or big companies and could only be used or even touched by experts. Many people at that time perceived computers as scary because they were highly capable but at the same time cold and emotionless. By launching the first Macintosh (see photo) in 1984 Apple radically...