Is Tim Cook the new Steve Jobs? No, but that’s okay.

If you haven’t checked out Business Week‘s interview with Tim Cook yet, do yourself a favor and read it.

It’s long but well worth the read, especially considering Apple’s influence and the insights into Tim and the “new” Apple. And if you don’t think that Apple influences you, pull out your mobile phone and then get back to me. If it’s a smartphone of any kind, then Apple influences you. Without the creation of the first generation iPhone, the whole smartphone industry wouldn’t be where it is today – not even close.

I’m glad Tim stepped up to do the interview. Any PR pro or journalist will tell you that Steve Jobs “got” PR better than most executives. Ask Walt Mossberg or any of the other handfuls of journalists who received personal phone calls from him on a regular basis. I’m not telling every CEO to go call up journalists this second on a whim (not all can be Steve Jobs) because for most, calling requires strategy and a good reason. That said, kudos go to Tim for his in-depth interview with Josh Tyrangiel, and understanding its importance. It seems especially fitting considering that Business Week was the first publication to put Steve Jobs on its cover.

In the interview, Josh did a nice job of asking personal and business-related questions. Personal questions aren’t appropriate for every executive interview, but Apple is unique. Its fans are so loyal that they truly care about who’s running the ship – Josh and Tim both know that. Tim didn’t get overly personal, and knew to bring the responses back to what’s most important – his Apple business philosophy. In my opinion, we finally got to see something in Tim that I’ve wanted to see for a while – his passion for the company and its products. No, he’s not Steve Jobs and no one realistically expected or wanted him to be. But we did want to see – no, us Fangirls and boys needed to see – is that Tim Cook absolutely loves Apple. He does.

What impressed me most was how much some of Tim’s responses channeled part of Steve Jobs’ business mantra. For example, Tim Cook stated that, “we’ll keep disrupting and keep discovering new things that people didn’t know they wanted.” This sounds eerily similar to Steve Jobs’ famous quote, “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” It’s not exactly the same, but was just similar enough. In addition, throughout the article Tim praises his coworkers as if they are the best thing to happen since sliced bread. He went to an absolute hyperbolic extent to describe the best, smartest, most creative business people in the world – working with him at Apple. Steve Jobs did this often, dramatically describing how ingenious his people and products were. Tim has definitely taken on this trait. That’s not a bad thing at all. As CEO, it’s critical to have confidence and respect for the people you hire.

I also need to give props to Tim for his JFK quote – not just the quote though, but his meaning behind it. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Tim spent some time explaining Apple’s desire to give back through charitable donations and employee match programs, but also to set a good example. Apple would still be wildly successful whether or not they were more transparent regarding supply chain practices and conditions for workers in overseas factories. By no means do they have to do this. But Tim’s right, they’re a corporate and tech superpower, so why not set a good example?

Tim Cook isn’t Steve Jobs, not even close. And as Steve told him before he died, he shouldn’t try to be Steve – that’s no way to run a successful company. He has his own way of stirring the creative process and leading, and that’s okay. But he did learn a lot from Steve, and I think this interview proves it.

Check out the article and let me know what you thought in the comments. Was Tim channeling Steve? Was he way off the mark? By the way, if you’re looking for a cliff notes version of the article other than this fantastic one you just read, check out Jon Mitchell’s article from Read Write – he provides a great analysis of Tim’s responses.

A version of this post appeared on prSPEAK, a blog by PAN Communications. 

iPhone 5: Why It’s Not the New iPhone

For months, we’ve heard rumors that the iPhone 5 would be called the “New iPhone.” Of course, I doubted this and hoped it wasn’t true, but I let it play out. Hours before today’s Appleannouncement we learned that it would be iPhone 5, and then hours later at the conference we learned why that is: it’s not new. Okay, there are some pretty cool features in the new device and iOS 6 has functions I’d like on my current device (iPhone 4). Steve Jobs was one of my heroes and Apple is my obsession, so you can trust that it’s not easy for me to say this – don’t rush out and buy the iPhone 5.

The Good.

• It’s pretty. The big thing Apple is trying to push is that it’s thinner and the screen’s bigger. This is pretty significant considering it’s the first time Apple has ever made its screen bigger. It’s longer and not wider. This isn’t a huge deal for me because I don’t play a ton of games or watch movies, but I do think it was a necessary update for them. All my Android friends (yes, I still hang out with non-Apple folks…sometimes), tell me their device is better (it’s not) and their big selling point is the screen size. Well, I don’t pay extra to see movies in IMAX and I’m not paying for a phone because it has a bigger screen. Big is big enough. Still, a lot of folks did want this, so I say it was a good move for Apple. And oh yeah, this phone is thin – 18 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S, which was already pretty thin. The folks at CNET observed that it looks to be about as thin as the current metal strip on the sides of the iPhone 4/4S. Speaking of that metal strip, the iPhone 5 is made entirely out glass and aluminum. The aluminum finish is different on the black and white models – silver for white and slate for black.
• It’s fast. The iPhone 5 will run on iOS 6 (more on that later) and will have an A6 chip – which is fast. And now Sprint will get LTE too, not just AT&T and Verizon. So this iPhone should be two times faster than A5, with faster graphics too. Word on the web from folks who were there is that the graphics looked incredible during the demo. Software on the phone has been updated as well, which means more email and web pages in Safari. Not sure I needed these, but it’s fine to have.
• Great photos. I love a great photo as much as the next gal, and I’m definitely one of those who has replaced my digital camera in favor of my iPhone. In fact, when my camera recently died, I took photos of the Collessuem in Rome with my iPhone and I have no complaints about the quality. But, even better quality is always welcome, so I’m excited about the new camera features. There is “dynamic low light,” which enables better photos without flash. There’s also spatial noise reductions, a smart filter and a lot of other technical stuff that make photos better. As Mashable put it, “bottom line, pics should look better and be captured 40% faster.” The coolest feature of the camera though, is the Panorama feature. There are apps out there that do this, but now it will be built in to the iPhone’s camera. It takes photos in real-time and stitches them together, with 28 megapixel panoramics.

The Bad.

• Lightning. I was praying each day until this announcement that the rumors about the power connector were wrong. Unfortunately, they weren’t. All of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod car charges, wall chargers and USB connectors will be useless on their own, ditched in favor of a smaller cord. Now, it does appear that Apple will sell you a small connector so they’re not useless, but good luck keeping track of that small part when you probably have power cords hanging around in several rooms in your house and your car. And, oh yeah – what about my iHome, where I charge my iPhone every single night? The connector is reversible, which is…interesting, but altogether unnecessary. It’s not that difficult to turn a cord around. The worst part of the new connector, they’re calling it Lightning. I love Apple and almost all of its branding, but is it really necessary to name your power cord? Maybe they’ll prove me wrong.
• App overload.  Turns out that the iPhone 5 will have five rows of apps on the home screen instead of four…why? Is there really a need to crowd my home screen with 24 apps (including the bottom stationary row)? I’m not sure if the designers were trying to say we’re too lazy to swipe to our next page of apps or not, but this is not an update I’m excited about. I get that the screen is now longer and the size of the app icons may not be all that different, but it does seem too crowded to me. The other unfortunate part is that any apps that aren’t updated will remain the same size as they are on the 4 and 4S, so app developers are strongly encouraged to update the apps. The good part is that they won’t be stretched or scaled, but the user will see a black rectangle to offset the size difference. Supposedly it won’t be that difficult to update apps, but I’m curious to see how quickly this all happens.

 iOS 6

I have nothing bad to say about iOS 6, and it might be the only reason I consider buying the iPhone 5. Here’s why:

• Siri.  Now, I have the iPhone 4, so I don’t have Siri and that’s never bothered me much. But version two, as with any major feature or product update, will be better than version one. In iOS 6, much like the rest of the first world, Siri’s on Facebook. This could be potentially disastrous for late-night posts after a few cocktails, but it’s a cool feature. For sports fans out there, Siri can also now give you sports scores and recaps. And if you want to check your Fantasy League, no worries there, because Siri can now launch apps – a much anticipated feature from yours truly. Siri better not be a Yankees fan though, or we may have some SIRIous issues.
• Maps. I like Google Maps, they’ve always gotten me where I need to be. That doesn’t mean I love it, it just did its job. For obvious reasons, Apple got rid of Google Maps to replace it with its on version. I used to have a Tom Tom and I truly miss having a voice physically tell me where to turn while I’m driving. After all, it is better for safe driving. Apple’s new Maps feature uses Siri to tell you where to go with turn-by-turn directions and it’s in 3D, which is pretty cool. The major bonus that Google didn’t do is that this Maps feature integrates from Waze to include real-time traffic information – super helpful. Oh, and Maps has a print option displayed so you can easily be old school if you choose.
• Passbook. Welcome to Apple’s virtual wallet app. CNET said it right, too: “other apps do this, but having it centralized and improved really will be useful. This is the virtual wallet most people will use for the first time.” You can integrate movie passes, Starbucks cards, concert tickets, sports tickets, flight information, store loyalty card, etc. It might not be a fully loaded virtual wallet, but it’s one step closer and I’m all for that.
• 196 others. Yes, there are over 200 new iOS 6 features and a lot of them seem pretty cool. For example, you can now Tweet from whatever app you’re in. One thing I still haven’t seen though, and maybe I missed it, is better Facebook integration. I complained about iOS 5 because I couldn’t share photos to Facebook directly from the Photos app, and I really hope they fixed that for iOS 6.

Those are the gist of the things that everyday Joe should care about for the iPhone, in my humble opinion. A few other things to consider are that FaceTime is available over cellular data now, but some carriers will charge extra for this  - I’m looking at you, AT&T. The earpiece is 20 percent smaller as well, for more noise cancellations. There’s also a five-day week view in calendar, for those of us (everyone, right?) who has ditched appointment books for digital calendars. Of course, I have to give a shout-out to CNET andMashable, since I got my information and photos as quickly as possible from their live-blogs.

My recommendation is not to run out and buy a brand new iPhone. If you have an upgrade available and you want it, then go for it. But certainly don’t pay full retail price for it and if you have an iPhone 4S, consider hanging on to it a little longer. The improvements aren’t revolutionary and there were no Siri-like game-changers this year.  It’s nothing new, it’s just updated. Considering the mobile world makes product and feature updates more often than my tween cousin updates her Facebook status, you probably won’t have to wait long for an actual game-changer to come along. Let me be clear though, I still recommend iPhone over any other mobile phone on the market so if you’re thinking of the switch from Android then it’s time to stop thinking and do it already – 400 million people can’t be that wrong. (Apple sold its 400 millionth iOS device last quarter).

I’m interested to hear other people’s thoughts, will you be buying the iPhone 5? Let me know in the comments section.

A version of this post also appeared on prSPEAK, a blog from PAN Communications. 

Steve Jobs: Thank you.

I've blogged about Apple countless times, just this morning, in fact. I've based several school projects on the company that I admire so much. Heck, I even made my personal logo an onion with the rationale that Steve Jobs proved produce can be a powerful branding strategy - no seriously, check out this post from 2010. I've blogged about Steve Jobs himself a handful of times. But what I've never done is explained why this company and its inspirational CEO have meant so much to me on a personal level. That may sound silly, but it's also very true. Now, on the evening that one of my heroes has passed away, seems like the perfect time to explain why I'm so obsessed with Apple. And I am obsessed, you can ask any one of the dozen or so people in my life who texted me to make sure I was okay when they heard the horrific news that Steve Jobs had passed away.

Simply put, Apple is one of the greatest reasons I'm passionate about what I do. I was passionate about Apple before I even had my first Apple product. So when I got my first iPod, I thought I could do anything. When I got my Macbook Pro, I knew I could do anything. That came with my iPod Touch, and I downloaded way too many apps, far more than I could use. But what came next is what launched me into passion, into feeling like an unstoppable force. That's right, what came next was my iPhone.

Before I knew it, I was obsessed with mobile. I was reading anything I could get my hands on to find out more about the industry, about the capabilities of smartphones and what they would come up with next! Anyone who tried to tell me the iPhone wasn't the greatest phone on the market was quickly squashed like a bug as I babbled about how it's the most user-friendly interface and I stammered off stat after stat about how it's the number one mobile operating system and although Droid is impressive, it's simply not an iPhone.

The way Steve Jobs and Apple have continuously broken the mold and pushed innovative new products onto the market is inspirational. Previous technologies have been forgotten in the wake of Apple products. Steve Jobs' vision has revolutionized consumer technology, and that vision, the drive to continuously improve, innovate and create products that make our lives better and more efficient - that's why I love my job. I work with technology visionaries who, much like Steve Jobs, are working to push technology forward to create a more efficient supply chain, a better customer experience or a faster online experience - all with technology.

Where would technology be today if it weren't for Jobs? We don't know. Because it isn't as simple as there wouldn't be iPhones, Macbooks and iPads on the market. Other MP3 players and tablets wouldn't have had the competition to beat. Jobs raised the bar and inspired others to be better. And he did it in style. Each one of Apple's products isn't just a handy piece of equipment; it's a work of art. Sleek design was almost as important as the features and how well it functioned -- almost.

People who meet me know that I'm tech-obsessed. The reason is inspired by Apple, led by Steve Jobs. I am passionate about tech, and it all started with my first iPod. Jobs has inspired me, and when I get on the phone to pitch a client and technology I'm really excited about, I think of how excited Jobs must have been when he was sharing his ideas. You could see it in his eyes at press conferences. He believed in advancing technology. He was a visionary and an inspiration. We're all sad to see him go. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for inspiring all of us and gracing the tech world with your vision. You will be missed, and my thoughts are with your friends and family.

Verizon's iPhone - Premature or Strategic?

As my account manager pointed out to me today, unless you've been living under a mobile rock, you've been hearing about the Verizon iPhone, and the jeers back and forth between the wireless giants -Verizon and AT&T. I've read quite a few of these stories and still don't know exactly how I feel about the whole deal. Disclaimer - I've been a loyal AT&T customer since I got my first cell phone six years ago, and am a current iPhone user.

That being said, a few of the articles I read questioned why Verizon would launch the iPhone 4 now, potentially just a few months before Apple unveils the next version of iPhone. I'm here to offer my perspective on that. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons, but the top two that come to my mind are press and sales.

Press

Every company wants good press. This Verizon announcement has led to an almost absurd amount of coverage. Almost every tech, mobile and wireless blog and publication has covered it - not to mention the business press pick-up in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal and so on. Sure, Steve Jobs can pretty much sneeze and get some impressive media attention, but this Verizon announcement has got everyone talking - tech folks, mobile guys and gals, social media gurus, business ladies and gents, and of course, consumers. When Apple does launch the next generation iPhone, Verizon will have to fight AT&T for the press. By announcing this now with the iPhone 4, Verizon snags some stand-alone pieces. Boom - Verizon and Apple increase their SEO and press momentum - not that either has struggled too much in those areas.

Sales

There will always be those consumers and early-adopters who want the latest and greatest gizmos and whatyamacallits. There's the Apple enthusiasts, of course. We all know those people who buy the latest version of everything Apple. They waited in line overnight for each iPhone and almost peed their pants when they got their hands on their first iPad the day it launched. Don't get me wrong, if my wallet allowed it I'd be camped out next to them. Many of these enthusiasts may be settling for supposedly lower quality AT&T service because they want the hottest Apple device. But now they have the chance to switch to the service they really want - Verizon. In a few months, they'll wait in line again when Apple announces the latest iPhone. That means they have potential repeat buyers, which leads to greater sales than if they waited to make the announcement with the next iPhone.

I think Verizon's decision to announce that they will be carrying the iPhone 4 was a strategic move at this point in time, that has already secured significant media traction, and will likely lead to increased sales. That's my PR thought for the day.

Image taken from Google images.

I Am an Onion.

You may have noticed that my personal logo, which is also the background to my Twitter, is an onion. A lot of people ask why I chose this, and I love telling them. So I decided to share it here. When I was designing my personal logo, I had a lot of ideas, but none of them seemed like the right fit. I was frustrated, disappointed, and tired. Then a lightbulb hit. This was it. This was me. I am an onion. I designed it as a means to portray my versatility. I'm a social media maven, a tech-enthusiast, an Irish gal, a dalmatian lover, a twin, a daughter, a romantic, a lover of books, a soft-hearted egomaniac, a terrible dresser, a Patriots fan, a lyricist, a sister, a writer, and depending on who you ask, a comedian. I'm proud to be exactly who I am, proud to be an onion. As you peel back my layers and get to know me, I hope you'll come to appreciate the diversity of my passions.

My inspiration for this logo was social penetration theory, as developed and described by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. I'd like to thank Apple Inc., for reassuring me that produce can be an effective way to brand yourself. And hey, if I'm going to brand myself with produce, you bet it's going to be the veggie that's so powerful it'll bring you to tears. On that note, I'll also thank Wendy Nichols at Merrimack College for actually bringing me to tears as we peeled onions to learn about social penetration theory. Lastly, I want to thank Greg Hedges, my graphic design professor at the Newhouse School, for letting me run with such an untraditional idea, even when Cynthia bet me a bottle of tequilla that you wouldn't. Maybe people will remember me as the green onion girl, but at least they're remembering me.

I read a fortune cookie once that I kept in my wallet until the day it was stolen at a pizza place. It reads, "Do not wish to be anything but exactly who you are, and try to be that perfectly." If you want to brand yourself, just think of what portrays you, and be that. Be an onion. That's my PR thought for the day.

P.S. Cynthia you still owe me that bottle of tequilla.

Cupidtino and Exclusivity

With Apple’s newest iPhone and iPad being such hot topics, there’s been a lot less chatter about its new social website, Cupidtino. The site, still in its beta version, is an online dating site playing off the baby angel of love and Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Ca. Here’s the catch; you have to be a Mac user to access it. Social media, dating sites included, are about connecting and we’re supposed to be able to choose who we connect with. Not allowing PC users to gain access limits that choice. The idea is that there’s a common interest here, catering to the Mac culture. Is Steve Jobs trying to breed Mac babies? I'm kidding of course, and I'm a Mac user myself. Still, this exclusivity is like a whole new form of prejudice. It’ll be interesting to see if PC users are upset by this exclusion. Are you a PC or Mac? If you’re a PC, do you feel excluded by this site? If you’re a Mac, would you join this site?

Brand Loyalty: Apple's Awesome Experience

Some more branding here, with one of my favorite companies that is no stranger to anyone - Apple. Apple is one of the most innovative and influential technology companies in the world. How did they do it? I'd love to give you my opinion from a branding perspective, though there's a lot more to it. With its products, and with customer service, Apple enhanced the level of loyalty its customers feel toward the company.


A few months ago, I was lucky enough to attend a guest lecture at the Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. The lecture with Jerry McDougal, Vice President of Retail for Apple, provided me with some great insight into Apple's brand and strategies.

Experience with a brand strongly affects brand loyalty. Apple embraces the idea of customer experience by creating a tech-savvy and hands-on environment in its stores. Customers are encouraged to come into the stores to work, and to play. As McDougal says, “99% of stores that sell phones have dummy phones that don’t work. At Apple, you can really test the product." Apple does this with all of their products and they don’t limit the amount of time you can use these products for free either. Here's a fun fact for - there have even been authors who don’t own computers who have written entire books in an Apple store on a test-drive computer. Many stores wouldn’t have allowed this to happen, but Apple strives to foster good customer experience. These authors didn’t have to pay Apple anything, and they weren’t asked to leave after a few hours. Instead, Apple employees helped them out when they needed a coffee or had a technical issue.

What else has helped Apple's branding? Oh right, Steve Jobs the wonder-CEO. Literature on brand loyalty has stressed the importance of CEOs in brand management. Steve Jobs has always been the face of Apple, even during his hiatus when he wasn’t the CEO. People in the tech world love him and here's what I love about him; he unveils each new Apple product personally, so customers are hearing about the new technology directly from the source. Okay, maybe the iPhone 4 unveiling wasn't perfect, but at least if was straight from Jobs himself. Jobs even has such dedicated fans who admire him as a hero, like the fan who created a site, allaboutstevejobs.com.

Even more proof of Apple's incredible branding is a research study conducted by Cornell University, which revealed that the Apple store in Manhattan was the fifth most photographed place in New York City, and the 28th most photographed in the world. Loyal customers are the best marketing tool a brand can have, and Apple’s dedication to customer experience has created just that.

Satisfied customer will act as marketers without even realizing it. Apple enthusiasts rant and rave about their technology, and they make people who don’t have Apple products jealous. They think they are the best because they have Apple; and they tell people they are best because they have Apple. The evidence is all over the virtual world, with blogs dedicated solely to discussing Apple, and Facebook pages such as "We Love Apple." Apple Inc. didn’t ask its customers to rant and rave; they just provided the products that compelled its loyal customers to do so. Simply by providing a good product experience, Apple enhanced its brand loyalty.

Apple is awesome, and their loyal brand enthusiasts prove it. That's my PR thought for the day.

The Value of True Brand Loyalty

A good brand is almost as important as the product or service itself. It helps make consumer decisions easier. It's a marker for trust, for reliability. It separates one company from the next. The relation of a good brand to sales is evident, and companies must make managing their brand a top management function.

True brand loyalty is what every company strives for, or at least it should be. An increase in brand loyalty not only boosts reputation, but it directly affects sales. Brand loyalty is different than having a popular brand. A popular brand can lead to increased sales, but it may not last forever. Brand loyalty means developing a strong customer base dedicated to your brand. Committed customers are a huge asset to a company, defending the company if there's a crisis and generally having a more negative view of its competitors, incidentally engaging in word of mouth marketing.

Brand management has often been viewed as a marketing function more than a public relations function. The three brands I have recently studied, however, took a personal approach, building relationships with their customers. Building relationships? That sure sounds like PR to me. The truth is that every department and every employee helps build the brand. Perhaps the most important employee to help build the brand is the CEO, but we'll discuss that in a later post as we look at a company with a brand not unfamiliar to anyone living in this century; Apple. The next three posts will take a closer look at three organizations, Avon, Starbucks and Apple, to see how they were successful in achieving brand loyalty.

True brand loyalty is an asset to every company, and a vital PR function, so it's important to looks at companies who have done it well. That's my PR thought for the day.

Ignore My E-mail? Not A Chance

I recently purchased the book Socialnomics by Erick Qualman and read the first three chapters today. I won't comment too much on the book until I'm finished, but so far it has been interesting and provided some good insight. It's an easy read, so I should get through the rest fairly quickly, but I wanted to comment about an excerpt from Chapter 3, titled, "Social Media = Braggadocian Behavior."

The excerpt discusses how e-mail, though still a vital computer mediated communication medium, is actually being ignored by some members of Generations X and Y. Immediately, I began to disagree in my head, however, as I read on, the proof shocked me. According to the book, Boston College did not give @bc.edu e-mail addresses to incoming freshmen this year and Apple hired a 22-year-old who had never sent an e-mail in his life.

As a fellow 22-year-old, I found the latter incredibly difficult to digest, considering I have sent at least two e-mails a day since I started college over four years ago, and most days I sent infinitely more than that. I have three different e-mail accounts (2 for each college I've attended and my personal g-mail), and I send e-mails to friends from home every single day; I e-mail my boss countless times a day about various projects I'm working on; I e-mail former professors and bosses; I e-mail my sorority sisters for updates; and of course, I e-mail my mother. Not to mention my Google Alerts that I rely on to stay informed about current events in PR and social media. Without e-mail, most of my friends and family would not even know I still existed and I would have a much harder time maintaining connections and relationships.

Maybe this 22-year-old was able to get away with texts, instant messaging, comments on Facebook, and other such mediums for informal e-mails to friends, but what about professionally? How did he even submit his resume to Apple or any other companies that he applied to? If this person went to college, what if he had to ask a professor a question?

Additionally, while networking sites and other social media may provide messaging services very similar to e-mail, most, if not all, lack one major function; the ability to attach an outside document. This includes Word documents, presentations, photographs and much more. How would this person send such stuff; is it really possible that he has never had to?

All I know is that I have a lot of questions for this 22-year-old employee of Apple who has managed to escape the e-mail phenomenon for so long and still landed a job for Apple. I'm also not trying to knock the guy, good for him I guess. He's clearly been able to master social media in such an incredible manner as to have replaced a more traditional form of communication, at least as far as new media goes. Still, inquiring minds want to know, how did he do it?

I've embraced social media in my life, but I still find the need for constant e-mailing. The fact that others don't and can still maintain a professional online lifestyle baffles me. That's my PR thought for the day.