Watch "The Macintosh Marketing Story: Fact and Fiction, 20 Years Later" on Google Video

Your friend, andrei@brandlyyours.ro, has sent you the following video from Google Video and included this message:

"The Macintosh Marketing Story: Fact and Fiction, 20 Years Later". It's a great video recording of a conference at the "Computer History Museum". Enjoy :)

Click to watch: The Macintosh Marketing Story: Fact and Fiction, 20 Years Later

Description: It was the autumn of 1983. Business Week magazine had an IBM personal computer on its cover, with the ominous words, And the winner is...IBM. Apple Computer was in a world of hurt. The Apple II had lost its competitive edge. The Apple III was a sales disappointment and the Lisa, introduced in January 1983, was a financial failure.Great expectations were being placed on the Macintosh, scheduled to launch on January 24, 1984. Yet there was skepticism both in and outside the company. There was no hard disk support. The screen was too small and it wasn't in color. There was limited software. And the price was very high -- ,495. Yet this was indeed the computer for the rest of us. The engineers knew it. The software guys knew it. And Steve Jobs knew it. The challenge for the Mac Marketing Team was simple: They had to establish and hold a beachhead. Or else they and the product would die. The introduction of the Macintosh computer launched a comprehensive and integrated approach to high-tech marketing. Much of what was highly innovative in 1984 is now standard fare for all product introductions. Join us as six key members of the Macintosh launch team tell the inside stories behind one of the most insanely great product launches of all times."

Want to see more cool videos? Go to video.google.com
Think you have an even cooler video? Add it at upload.video.google.com

If you're having trouble watching the video, try copying the following URL into your browser: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7611997084394058640&q=macintosh&pr=goog-sl

How are you?

Good news for my Romanian readers: Vodafone and Zapp have reached an agreement regarding the Vodafone trademark in Romania. Connex-Vodafone has already started to communicate its message to the Romanian market: "Together we're stronger". I keep my fingers crossed for a successful rebranding and I'm really going to miss the old Connex. Farewell "The future sounds good"!

Remember Marketing

"Good marketing isn't about what you want to say -- it's about what your prospects need to hear. Change your perspective in this area and you'll see immediate results." (Deborah Beckman, president of Spirit West Marketing)

Why branding doesn't work; try marketing

The Business of Brands

I have just started reading this book but it has already triggered some aha-moments. Flanco (a retailer in Romania) rebranded a couple of years ago but the rebranding was no big hit despite good design and positioning strategy delivered by Brandient. My opinion is that the organization was not ready to deliver the brand promise. This is why Flanco's rebranding pretty much failed. The CEO recently left the building and other top execs may follow.

My Romanian fellows, still think branding=nice logo+ communication bla-bla. Well, ladies and gents: branding is a management tool. :)


Flanco
Flanco's rebranding


PS: The book uses data and concepts developed by WPP companies, including Millward Brown. I work for Daedalus Consulting, a member of the Millward Brown group.