| 29 January 2010
The official launch of iPad has shown a thing or two about Steve Jobs and Apple. Firstly, it is the extraordinary display of communication skills. Cupertino has always been a master of creating a progressive expectation that makes the final presentation a global frenzy. This drove daily newspapers, periodicals and online media to hype about this new device.
Confidentiality. Another striking feature is Apple’s ability to safeguard the characteristics of the new product until its climatic final revelation. We are talking about a company of 35,000 employees not leaking a word out, given the interests of the game, is really a mystery.
But the most important feature is all in the word which Obama chose for his presidential campaign: Change.
Change the customer experience. The Mac, iPod, iPhone and now the iPad have provided an entirely new customer experience. Nothing can be said about the possibility of success in sales (I bet it will be a huge success anyway) but this device certainly offers a new experience compared to any other existing gadgets. I am not an Apple-maniac. And I will not praise a product that I have yet to hold in my hands, which has many minuses and a high price. I only say that we are talking about something new and different.
Change the device industry. Who should be afraid of the iPad? Should it be the makers of mobile phones, netbooks, tablets that never took off, or mp3 players? It is hard to tell and even more difficult to categorize. All the industry players are, however, wondering what to do and will perhaps change.
Change in the content industry. Take the case of news publishing. The fact is that all publishers, not just the modern and innovative ones, have no more excuses to avoid the change. After many years of snubbing, and in some cases obstructing internet, they must react to the sirens sounded by Apple. Publishers can depend on a closed and functional system that ensures the market pay for content distribution. They must focus in developing innovative forms of newspapers that maximize the customer experience and identifying the appropriate trade policies. Every person will have his own application, size, price, and account. If the customer wants to read 5 articles in 5 different newspapers then he must synchronize all the different systems. Apple is doing all that, raking in millions of dollars. Lets imagine for a moment an alternative mode of reaction, or at least parallel.
Publishers who are facing this new situation rather than proceeding individually should develop a model of coopetition. Create a distribution platform for payment and delivery of premium content where consumers can purchase and subscribe without hassle. Customer is happy and publishers are selling. It would not be the first time in which the content producers build its own distribution channel. The first time this happened was in the audiovisual industry, which Newscorp, Disney and NBC joined forces to build a platform for the distribution of movies and TV shows (www.hulu.com). Another example is more recent and relevant: Conde Nast and Hearts have just announced the creation of proprietary I-Tunes for news. A third example, this time on the contrary, is the music industry that perhaps now regret not having built a platform of their own.