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Hearts and Minds (11/19/98)
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It's no big secret that Apple really only wants one thing for Christmas-- market share. The problem is, market share is hard to come by in this Microsoft-dominated computerscape. The key to winning market share is to get the Apple brand on everyone's mind, by advertising, news coverage, word of mouth, and any other methods that might work. In other words, market share doesn't grow until mind share grows first-- and it's a long process. That's why Apple's made such a huge push to stay in the public eye for the past year, and the way they transformed their media image from "dying dinosaur" to "innovative comeback king" was truly masterful. Between "Think Different" and the iMac, Apple's boldest moves in the past year have been calculated to restoring the shine to that tarnished Apple logo in the hearts and minds of customers-- and more importantly, potential customers.
Guess what? It seems to be working. The numbers so far indicate that the iMac is a big hit with first-time computer buyers, and even with Wintel users crossing over. The most recent indication that Apple's mind share is increasing is this new survey just completed by CENTRIS and MarketMaps, a couple of market research firms who polled 2000 households about their computer buying plans. Of those households planning to buy their first computer during this holiday season, Apple actually ranked second among brands those people would be most likely to buy; IBM came in first with 17.2%, but Apple's 10.1% apparently beat out HP, Gateway, and Dell. Among those who mentioned Apple as their likeliest choice, over half of them picked Apple because they think it'll be "easiest to use." A MacCentral article has more on this intriguing survey.
If these numbers hold, it could be a very merry Christmas indeed. In fact, since the $29.99-a-month deal hadn't been advertised before this survey was completed, Apple's standing in the consumer sales race may be even higher now. Yes, it'll probably be years before Apple can regain the market share levels it had at its height, and there's no guarantee that they'll be able to stay on this winning streak for that length of time. Still, we consider any upward swing in the mind share numbers both a positive change and an indication of future greatness.
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 11/19/98 episode: November 19, 1998: Apple execs are probably giddy as elves following more indications that the iMac could be really big this holiday season. Meanwhile, Japanese iMac buyers taking advantage of the consumer loan program have to skip a lot fewer pizzas than their American counterparts, and Bill Gates is getting itchy to testify as a surprise witness...
Other scenes from that episode: 1160: Japanese Pizza? Hmm... (11/19/98) It's probably too early to say for sure just yet, but initial observations indicate that Apple's $29.99-a-month consumer loan program is indeed helping to bolster the iMac's already-strong sales. When the program was officially announced a couple of weeks ago, however, we weren't overly impressed; rumors had been circulating that the interest rate on the loan would be a respectable 8%, but instead it turned out to be nearly 15%... 1161: Surprise Witness (11/19/98) Think being the richest man in the world would make someone relatively free from frustration? Not so, according to an Associated Press article. Bill Gates is reportedly very unhappy with his continual taped appearance on "Redmond Justice," which seems to happen every few days...
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