Think Different. Yeah, not so much.
If you’re a market analyst or perhaps an Apple shareholder you should be worried following Apple’s latest iPhone launch.
And it’s not for the reason most technology commentators and YouTubers are focused on - the products themselves.
Sure, the phones were pretty underwhelming. But that’s hardly a surprise - the mid lifecycle “S” version of the iPhone rarely rocks the world.
Instead, the most disturbing thing to me were the crazy product naming conventions Apple has chosen to use for this launch.
Who really cares about the names of the products I hear you say? Well, we all should. Let me explain why.
Product naming is an essential part of marketing. Brands with good product names tend to be good marketers. Conversely, brands with with shitty product names tend to be terrible marketers. And when you’re not very good at marketing, your company performance will suffer over the long term.
Back in 2007, Steve Jobs announced Apple’s first phone. It was simply and elegantly named the iPhone.
This followed other brilliantly simple product names from Apple like iMac and iPod. In fact, the ability of Apple to use product names and language that was less technical and more human than its competitors was a key differentiator, and proof point of its “Think Different” brand positioning.
The company went on to create other descriptive product names like the “iPad” and "Apple Watch".
Subsequent generations of iPhone followed a sequentially numbered naming structure until iPhone 8 jumped to iPhone 10 in 2017 to celebrate the iPhone’s 10 year anniversary. This is where things started to go wrong.
Apple wanted people to call it the iPhone 10 but oddly decided to use its Roman numeral equivalent, an “X”.
The problem was most people don’t use Roman numerals these days so the vast majority of people started calling the iPhone 10 the iPhone X.
Of course, product naming blunders can be forgiven. Perhaps someone in marketing felt the “X” made the iPhone 10 feel appropriately special for its anniversary year. Or maybe it just looked better as an “X” on the packaging and marketing materials. Whatever the reason, Apple had every opportunity to reset and get back on course with its famously simple and non-technical product names.
Oh boy, did they stuff that up.
Instead, Apple announced that the replacement to the iPhone X will now be called the iPhone XS. There will be a larger version too. But unlike the “Plus” name it historically used for bigger versions of the iPhone it will call this the iPhone XS Max. Confused yet?
There will also be a cheaper version of the new iPhone in lots of different colours. Apple did this before with the iPhone 5 - they called it the iPhone 5C (the “C” stood for colour). But, this time round they are going to call it the iPhone XR. What does the “R” stand for? No one seems to have any idea. I’m guessing it’s for ridiculous.
So today, Apple joins the ranks of almost every other technology company with completely meaningless and confusing product names. Just another jumble of letters and abbreviated words emblazoned on its products, packaging and marketing materials. They have officially lost the marketing plot...
Apple really has stopped thinking differently. And that should worry us all.
C EO at Bright future Day care
6 年I will like to see one on my table
Software Engineer at Meta
6 年Yes the "R" in iPhone XR should stand for ridiculous. It is unfuck**g believable that they have such a low resolution screen one of their brand new phones. You can't watch 1080p video on it. Like, are you f***ing kidding me?! This is a statement from Apple that says they know their customers typically aren't the most bright when it comes to purchasing quality tech. I will continue my hate for Apple throughout LinkedIn. It is a fun hobby.
Global leader in marketing & digital business | Non-Executive Director | Startup investor and advisor | Techno-optimist.
6 年One thing I learnt working in the music industry before working in advertising and marketing is that names are utterly irrelevant. ACDC was named randomly after one of the band members looked down at his mum's sewing machine and saw it written on the powerboard. Little River Band was named when the band was driving to Geelong from Melbourne and were desperately?trying to find a name. They drove past Little River, and they adopted it as their name. If names were so important, why are most?agencies unimaginatively named after their founder? Apple will be fine, this editorial is truly weak thinking - a nothing piece of irrelevant?fluff.
Engineering Manager in Integrated RAN engineering, Customer Experience at Ericsson
6 年I would say in the end that we should all care as Apple with its ridiculously named phones is the only thing that is separating us from total domination of big brother google....
BrandKing - Business marketing support & Merchandise. Far East sourcing with a dedicated Asia team ready to save you time, money and stress.
6 年iPhone excess..... the crowd cheered at the names, the battery life and the price... hilarious. Big Apple fan but most likely off to huauawayaia or however you spell it!!