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June 29, 2007
iLoyalty
Today, thousands of people around the U.S. are lined up at stores to get the first Apple iPhones, which are available at both Apple and AT&T stores.
Yet, from anecdotal reports on Flickr and Technorati, it appears that most of the lines are at Apple stores, not AT&T stores.
Which raises this question: Why would someone camp out overnight in front of an Apple store (even in the rain) when they could probably walk right in, or at least wait in a shorter line, to buy an iPhone at a nearby AT&T store?
Because of many things having to do with the care and feeding of a brand with cultish devotion, iLoyalty is never rational.
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» The iLoyalists have spoken... from Solutions Talk
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» Loyalty Free from Be Uncommon
I was in Big Dad's Pies yesterday and noticed a sign highlighting a Frequent Pier card. It's a standard loyalty card that gets stamped every time you spend more than $5 etc etc. It grabbed my attention though because I [Read More]
More people are avoiding the AT&T stores because the appearance, if not the reality, is that AT&T personnel are not prepared for the onslaught of people seeking iPhones. Apple stores, on the other hand are quite familiar with seasonal rushes and have proven capable of handling large numbers of customers efficiently.
In general, the Apple store experience is much nicer than the cell phone store. Is choosing the better experience irrational?
it probably is a little irrational, if you're primarily going in for the iphone.
But I'd also rather buy it at an apple store than any other store. the whole concept of the iphone is about the experience, not the rational. as with the ipod, there are most likely much more functional and cheaper products, which are, though, not going to be as much fun!
Just spoke to someone in line at the New York City flagship Apple store. Every customer who walks in the door is greeted with cheers and applause from the Apple employees. It's all about the experience!
Loyalty or Savvy Marketing Ploy? The cynic in me begs the question that if people are only lining up at Apple facilities and not AT & T facilities, how many were asked to be there by the corporation? Steve Wozniak waiting in a line? C'mon.
The company received millions of dollars of national TV coverage because people waited on lines...how many were Apple connected?
Bravo for another great products marketing launch.
Down here in FL there were lines at every AT&T store I came across.
It's simple, there's a chance to hook up on the line at the apple store where as at ATT the only thing you're going home with is a glass phone.
roland, its a matter of experience, true. But there is also a reason for Apple being what it is. I'll take the iPod shuffle as basis and try to think of a better, more functional, whatever device in the, for the arguments sake, mp3 player market. No echo, nothing pops to mind although loading through iTunes was definitly designed with the advanced masochist clientele in mind (you know, those who feel they can't possibly feel any pain any more). Granted, there are loads of 'cheap to a fault gadgets' with loads of useless gibberish. But start looking out for those you don't need any batteries for (imo the single most valuable feature from a purely practical purpose) and wich comes charger included. Or take the strong clip, even more so with regards to the low weight. For a guy like me a real live saver, I've already lost 2 mp3 players when chasing trams and inertia getting the better of the players catches (which were probably designed with exactly that scenario in mind). And well, from a design perspecicve, hey, that thing has exactly what it needs to have, no fancy frills that get in your way. Its about listening to lads f your favourite music, about quaslity sound and about not getting in yor way ot worse, steals a whole afternoon to figure out what you knew beforehand you'd never need. And than the warm and cozy feeling when spotting somjebody else sporting the same thing. Ok, I'm normally not that full of praise, in fact most of the time hardly at all. But I just felt the need to express that what now might be considered to be about experience is in its very core still about the technical values, about great devices with a brillant design and ease of use and in a way of expressing ones disdain for all the 'have it all, cost nothing, throw away in a month' junk which Apple hopefully will be no part in the future as well.
Phew, whata sermon..
