Once again, Apple has circumvented the status quo by developing the world's most advanced mobile device, the iPhone. Unlike the OCR driven Blackberry or the stencil managed Windows device, the iPhone combines value-added features such as a fully functional Web browser, an advanced and functional MP3 player (iPod), and a true touch screen platform, which allows users the freedom from stencil-driven bondage.

So why is this iPhone device relevant to a marketing blog? Simply from the standpoint that Apple has revolutionized the mobile market in one swoop by satisfying a true market need, namely to develop a user-friendly hand held device that facilitates efficient and easy communication.

Unlike the Blackberry I currently carry, the iPhone provides the user a true interface for instantaneous communication via a phone, Web platform, and SMS texting. Plus, the iPhone only has one button, which has completely simplified the arduous process of data entry on mobile technology ... no more stencils, no more miniature keyboards, no more gadgetry features that literally take weeks to figure out; the iPhone has enhanced userability through exceptional design. Trust me, as soon as my T-Mobile contract expires, I'll be running to the Cingular store that very day so as to move away from the soon-to-be RIM paperweight.

So as professionals, what can we take away from Apple's example? Namely, to not get caught up in product commoditization, but to strive to deliver on a true market need. Steve Job's innovative leadership was simply a product of assessing what the ultimate aim is in mobile technology, namely convenience and functionality, and delivering upon it. As a result, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericcson were all caught off guard and have been scrambling over the past week to formulate a response.

Link to this article
Posted by Erik Jon Warila @ 1/12/2007 08:31:00 PM | 4 comments

BSU, Hollywood aint got nothing on you. Surreal is a word that probably gets overused, but there's nothing else that comes close to describing the iconic American-dream spectacle that BSU put on for us in their defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl last night. Action, suspense, horror, and drama...it had it all—and then some. They say that truth is stranger than fiction, in the case of the Fiesta Bowl truth is exponentially more exhilarating than any screenplay that could ever be imagined.

If for some reason you missed the Fiesta bowl, stop what your doing and take a look at the amazing highlights of this game. Whether you're a football fan or not has no relevance. If you've got a pulse, just a brief skim of the highlights will be guaranteed to quicken it. Here are few quotes from the sports world to give you a flavor:

"It'll go down as one of the best college football games in history...an instant classic" - FOX News

"...it gives the game a legitimate case for being considered the greatest game of all-time … not just the greatest bowl game. As far as sheer excitement goes, it's hard to vote against it. And 20 years from now this could be seen as one of the most important games ever..." »Read full article Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com

"How do you sum up one of the most remarkable endings any of us will ever be fortunate enough to see? How do you sum up one of the most exciting bowl games ever contested? And how do you sum up what will one day be viewed as one of the most significant moments in the history of college football?" »Read full article - Stewart Mandel, Sports Illustrated

"...a dizzying, riveting, back-and-forth game that will be remembered as one of the most exciting in college football history." »Read full article - Pete Thamel, New York Times

"At the end of a game unlike any college football has ever witnessed, two of the great female icons in American culture staged a harmonic, hypnotic, borderline hallucinogenic convergence. Boise State introduced Cinderella to Lady Liberty." »Read full article -Pat Forde, ESPN

So what does Boise State winning the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma, a revered bastion of college football, have to do with marketing? Plenty, but I'll let RisingLine principal, and BSU fan extraordinaire, Erik Warilia comment on that when he returns from Phoenix later this week. Until then, let me just say thank you Broncos for one of the most inspiring demonstrations of dedication and passion that have ever been seen in the history of sports.

Labels: Customer-Evangelism

Link to this article
Posted by Douglas Case @ 1/02/2007 01:30:00 PM | 2 comments