I’m jumping on the “Are there any women in Apple marketing?” bandwagon that Brooke Hammerling (@bhammerling) started yesterday in regard to the iPad. (Yes. I realize I’m a little late, but this was the earliest I could sit down and write this!)
I have no idea what Apple was thinking when they named their latest product, but they clearly didn’t run it by any focus groups that included women. If they had, I imagine the feedback would have been negative.
But now that the iPad is out, we can enjoy humorous comments like the following on PR Newser:
“All I know is that if I can buy it from a vending machine in the washroom, it’ll be damn convenient.”- nankevans
Funny stuff!
But in all seriousness, I’m a big fan of Apple products and I have no doubt that the iPad will be a big hit. We’ll all probably get used to the name and it won’t be such a hoot in the near future.
However, the lesson to be learned here is that Apple, being the huge corporation that it is with a good reputation for putting out quality products, can get over a silly naming gaffe. But other businesses may not be so lucky. A situation such as this could cause smaller, lesser know companies to fall flat on their faces, no matter how awesome their product. Take note when the big guys stumble to ensure you don’t make the same mistake.
on Facebook
on Twitter
No one liked the name “iPod” either at first, but it hasn’t stopped Apple from owning the mp3 market. But I agree that marketing generally doesn’t work best when the CEO names things based on liking “iP” (iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc.)
Thanks, Jeremy, for your comment. I wasn’t aware that the name “iPod” wasn’t liked at first either. And, like you mentioned, look at the product now! I’m sure the iPad will take off and no one will remember that we thought the name was funny.