iTunes celebrates 10 years of effective consumer technology PR
This week, Apple celebrated the 10th birthday of iTunes, marking a decade since the tech giant changed the face of the music industry forever. As comfortably the largest music retailer in the world, iTunes has more than 435million users, who’ve downloaded over 25billion songs. It is easy to point the finger in Apple’s direction for destroying the UK’s high street music retailer. However, consumers made their own decision in the masses to buy music on iTunes, as opposed to spending their money on the ailing high street. Was it all down to clever consumer technology PR?
Entering the new millennium, Limewire, Napster and other illegal downloading sites were emerging as a major threat to the music industry, allowing consumers to download to their hearts’ content without paying a penny. Then iTunes entered the frame with a concept so simple, it would have been easy not to realise it didn’t exist already. Allowing people to buy music online, for 99p per song, to be put straight onto their already compatible iPod? Genius. Apple played what has become its signature game, hitting its consumer with a concept they had no idea was a crucial element to their lives until that very moment.
Following the birth of iTunes, Apple quickly learnt how to keep its simplistic PR ship afloat. The company kept attention-grabbing PR activity to a minimum, choosing to go all out for their very special milestones, rather than little and often. For example, to celebrate the online store receiving its one billionth download, Apple engaged with their loyal customer base by rewarding the lucky downloader with a 20” iMac, 10 60GB iPods and a $10,000 iTunes Music Card; a trick they continued to use for subsequent landmark downloads. The company recognised the strength of the world’s everlasting love affair with The Beatles, and leveraged it heavily after finally managing to secure the rights to sell their entire catalogue on iTunes. So much so, that did anyone even notice it had taken seven years to get there?
The key elements of iTunes’ success can be applied to any consumer technology PR campaign. Firstly, convince the consumer you have something they now cannot live without. Secondly, deliver that experience. Thirdly, reward faithful customers and keep communications simple. Bring on the next ten years.
