MacWorld to Follow Floppy Disk Into Extinction 9 comments
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The blogosphere is aflutter with the news that this year will be Apple's last Macworld event and that Phil Schiller rather than Steve Jobs will be doing the keynote. What could have gone wrong? Is Steve ill? Does this mean the end of Apple?
Get a grip, people. The real reasons behind this move are exactly what the press release says (gasp! can you do that in PR?). Macworld, like most other trade shows, wasn't really working as part of Apple's (AAPL) marketing strategy, so they gave notice that they aren't going to do it any more. The reasons? It's actually pretty simple. Apple's annual Macworld extravaganza was:
- Expensive. Macworld Conference and Expo may be a cultural icon to some, but it is actually just a trade show organized by IDG. While that is a great business for IDG, it's a multi-million dollar expense for Apple, all to reach around 50,000 attendees. While that may be nice, it's about the same number of people Apple reaches at its Fifth Avenue Store in New York in a few days. Not exactly the best return on investment.
- Inconvenient. Let's see, what's the best way to annoy employees? I know, we'll make them work through the holidays to prepare for a big trade show on the first week of the new year. While all of the consumer electronics industry seems to honor this tradition for the January Consumer Electronics Show, that doesn't mean it's a good practice. Apple and its employees don't need the hassle.
- Way too predictable. There's no better way to ruin surprise and excitement than to schedule it months in advance (proof point: Microsoft OS launches). Pundits everywhere (myself included) now plan stories and research around the first week in January knowing that Apple must have something new to talk about. That doesn't fit with the amazingly great marketing Apple likes to produce. And yet the downsides of this predictability are huge: if the unthinkable should happen -- some technology is late, there's a new product production glitch -- Apple has to jump through hoops to deliver regardless or be painted as having "failed" because they didn't deliver in time for Macworld.
Despite the end of Apple's participation in Macworld, no one should think that this is the end of the Apple, new Apple products, or even Steve Jobs' famed keynotes. Instead, these will now be surprises, undoubtedly announced using Apple's now famous special event invitations emailed to attendees. And while Apple won't have the throngs of every day fans at those events, special store events will offer venues to reach that audience. People often forget that Steve Jobs shows up occasionally at non-Macworld events such as the opening of the Regent Street store in London; not doing Macworld will undoubtedly create new opportunities for other appearances. And no matter where he goes or what he does, he will still draw a crowd. And those who need a structured schedule and their annual fix of Jobsian presentation mastery can always attend Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference in the summer, where he will undoubtedly be doing keynotes and cameos for years to come.
The bottom line: Apple has again figured out yet another way to "think different" by leaving something out, just as it did with the floppy disk. And just as with floppies, the rest of the industry will go through denial, rejection, and finally acceptance that it was the obvious thing to do. 2009 is already shaping up to be a very interesting year.
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This article has 9 comments:
On #1, Macworld produces a massive amount of focus on the company for weeks before and after the event, making it a promotional juggernaut both online and off. The number of attendees is clearly irrelevant, especially in the digital age.
Point #2 I can understand, but profitable business decisions are not decided on a basis of convenience, especially for large companies.
And Point #3 - this is a 25 year old event, with Steve Jobs delivering his keynotes almost half of those years. Clearly there's been some substantial benefit to the company from participating so heavily for over a decade.
I'm not quick to jump on the "Jobs' health" bandwagon, although it is peculiar to see the event moving forward - with a separate speaker. On the other hand scaling back on trade shows in this environment is very understandable.
It is an excellent venue for upper management, product designers and engineers to mingle with customers and get piece of their mind, unfiltered by yes-men, business analysts, marketers and so forth. The same level of interaction can not be achieved at the retail store level.
#1: Apple leaved all of MacWorld (Tokyo, NYC, Paris) in few years, this is just another step (or last step) in walk.
#2: same as No 1.
#3: same as No 1.
I've thought for years that Apple was nuts to announce new products in January -- instead of just before Thanksgiving. I'm glad to see them making some changes to do away with that practice. I'm sure it was a problem within Apple to target product rollouts to a specific extravaganza in January.
Much better to serve the food as soon as the cooking is done, rather than trying to artificially target a predefined serving time.
That Macworld has been a nightmare for quite awhile and it impacted consumer spending too, producing fear about what would come right after they spent $ on Apple tech for the holidays...terrible idea! It always amazed me that Apple did it, but I know in the earlier days they needed the forum they weren't able to generate on their own. i hope all the Apple employes get some sleep over the holidays...something they haven't been able to do for years!
I won't miss it, and having to try to read through the live updates from multiple sites, etc... When they have something new, just announce it online with a video, etc...
And save all that travel, banner printing, etc... it would be much greener not to have it at all.