Steve Jobs & Marketing
There's a widely held trope in the tech community -- strong even among Mr. Jobs' disciples -- that the product is the marketing. Or as venture capitalist Fred Wilson once wrote, "marketing is what you do when your product or service sucks."
But Mr. Jobs didn't see it that way. While Apple's seductive products and luminous storefronts are core elements of its brand, Mr. Jobs saw the advertising as inextricable from the product. That's because the product wasn't an iMac, iPod or iPhone, it was the brand itself and how a well-designed product -- any product -- can make your life better.
"Even a great brand needs investment and caring if it is going to retain its relevance and vitality," Mr. Jobs said to staff at after he returned to Apple in 1997 and unveiled the "Think Different" campaign.
