One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to come up to you and show you a nice brand-new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken, and this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the Jack of Spades jump out of the deck and squirt cider in your ear. But son, do not bet this man, for as sure as you are standing there, you are going to end up with an earful of cider. – Damon Runyon
I’ve arrived late to the Apple party. For the most part the zealots who were near hysteria in their love for their Mac, iPod, or other Apple device in my mind were exhibiting borderline cult like behaviors. For 20+ years the Apple brand never made its way into my work (or personal) life.
A couple of years ago I purchased an iPhone 3G. This purchase was primarily as a telephone as the phone I was using at the time was well past it’s useful life and was frequently failing. Since this acquisition, I’ve been a regular at the App Store and regularly use 10-15 iPhone business apps.
In looking at my relationship with Apple, I would have to say it is fundamentally emotional. As brands go, this is a great foundation to build a relationship upon.
A day without Apple would be difficult, but possible. While I frequently use my iPhone as a phone, I find myself using the iPhone Apps dozens of times a day, at all hours of the day. Going without these would be similar to an addict going through withdrawals.
Going without Apple on a long-term basis does not seem within the realm of possibility. As I curse at my Vista based computer on a daily basis, I can certainly see an OS X based computer being the replacement. I don’t know that Windows 7 is not a top-notch operating system, but more that the exceptionally positive experience I’ve had with my one Apple product makes me wanting additional products that will give me the same positive experience.
From a brand perspective, the relationship is ideal from Apple’s perspective in that this largely emotional tie will allow them to charge a premium for their products. The relationship is great from my perspective as well, as the relationship (while based on a sample size of one) has me trusting that all products they produce will offer a similar experience. I may be disappointed at some point, and if so the form of relationship will change.
In short, the Apple brand promise a lot, and exceeded expectations. If I’ve joined a cult, so be it.
