Apple continues to generate an enormous amount of publicity around its iPhone product line. Its preview, launch, and price cut, as well as numerous events in between, have made it undoubtedly this year's most covered technology product -- both in the mainstream and tech-centric media, community site, and blogging worlds. Arguably no company can match the marketing ability of Apple, but other tech vendors can learn lessons and gain insights by examining the short history of the iPhone PR odyssey.

Round No. 1: An uncommon sneak peek and dribbles of information get the PR avalanche started

In a rare pre-launch look at an Apple product, the normally secretive CEO Steve Jobs discussed the product in January -- a full six months before it would be available for purchase (see this post). The company noted that two models would be available. The models were to be based on their flash memory capacity. A 4 GB model would retail for $499, while an 8 GB model would sell for $599.

The media, tech community site, and blogger coverage -- articles, posts, and thousands of comments -- on all aspects of the forthcoming device kept the product in the tech and mainstream news and on potential customers' minds. The PR buzz was kept alive by continual speculation as well as occasional information on the product from Apple and the iPhone's sole wireless carrier, AT&T (which now included former Cingular customers). Even negative aspects of the phone, such as the lack of a true software development kit (SDK), kept tech enthusiasts discussing its eventual arrival.

Round No. 2: The iPhone launch and early results keep the free PR flowing

In mid-June, Apple provided a firm availability date for the iPhone: US customers could purchase their own on June 29. In an event that received another wave of attention by the mainstream, tech media, community sites, and blogger -- perhaps more so then the initial preview because of the subsequent hype -- customers lined up for their iPhones that Friday. Initial reports of AT&T being unable to activate many of the phones fed a new round of discussion: Was AT&T unprepared for the launch, or were there simply too many iPhone customers? Again, the initial event and the follow up created more Apple and iPhone coverage. The mainstream media, such as the Washington Post, provided triple-coverage as it noted both the launch, the initial activation problems, and the eventual improvements to the device's activation process.

More iPhone coverage resulted as a result of the first official word of the product's success from Apple. In late July, Apple announced its third quarter financial results. The release quoted CEO jobs saying, "iPhone is off to a great start—we hope to sell our one-millionth iPhone by the end of its first full quarter of sales ... ” Then, in late August, AT&T announced its quarterly earnings, delivering some eagerly-awaited iPhone sales data in the process:

Sales of the Apple iPhone have been robust. The June 29 launch allowed for less than two days of sales and activations before the end of the quarter. In that time, AT&T activated 146,000 iPhone subscribers, more than 40 percent of them new subscribers. Sales of the iPhone continue to be strong in July with store traffic above historical levels. 

This news sparked yet another flurry of iPhone coverage. Again, many pundits and enthusiast speculated as to whether the new AT&T data was proof of weak iPhone sales or the result of AT&T's inability to activate new subscribers -- particularly those switching form other wireless providers. 

Round No. 3: A massive fall price cut generates two more PR tsunamis

On Wednesday, initially lost in the noise of the revamped iPod family, Apple announced that the iPhone would receive a significant price drop. The 4 GB model would be sold only until supplies ran out (the closeout price was not mentioned, but turned out to be $299) and the sole remaining model -- for the time being -- would be the 8 GB offering, now retailing for $399. This represented a massive 33% price reduction for a product that had only been on the market for about two months.

Once the price drop was noticed, the media, community sites, and bloggers wanted to know why the company had dropped the price so much so soon. The company release only noted that the change would make the iPhone "affordable for even more customers this holiday season." but for the early adopters who had paid $200 for the product just days to two months ago, there was no mention of a rebate. Online discussions, articles, and posts were rampant with angry comments from early adopters and those advocating for early adopters. In another bout of speculation, commentators wondered if the price reduction demonstrated that the product was not selling up to expectations. Some wondered, did Apple knowingly ring profits from eager early adopters, only to anger them months later?

Apple weathered the growing negative PR storm for just a few days. On Friday, Apple responded. The company posted a letter from its CEO on its site. In the open letter -- similar to other well publicized letters that Jobs has posted recently -- the CEO said:

• He had heard from many existing customers and was ready to apologize. He wrote, "I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale." Later, he noted that, "We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple."
  
  
• Despite making the right decision, Apple needed to reward early adopters. He made three observations. First, he said the company stood by the reasoning behind the price cut: "... we are making the correct decision to lower the price ... " Second, he noted how these types of actions are part of life in the tech industry: " ...  the technology road is bumpy ...  there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price ..." Finally, he said that despite observations 1 and 2, early adopters should be treated better by the company: "... we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers ..."
  
  
• Apple would offer customers credit worth half the price cut. Jobs outlined how the company would "do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers." The reward for early adopters would be a $100 store credit at the Apple online or physical stores.
  

Competing mobile phone software providers, handset manufacturers and other wireless carriers could only watch in frustration as more waves of iPhone publicity filled the Web, TV, and print media. The discussion of the apology and coupon fueled yet another round of iPhone frenzy as online commentators debated whether Apple's move was based on misunderstanding early adopter reaction or a carefully pre-planned PR stunt.

Planned or not, Apple's 9-month iPhone marketing adventure has succeeded beyond any realistic goals. Awareness of the iPhone, the Apple brand, and the company's other products, such as the iPod music and video players and Mac line of computers, has received a massive boost. 

Rewarding early adopters is not new: The Aperture 1.0 to 1.1 incident

While some online commentators held that the iPhone price reduction and subsequent coupon were all part of a Apple master plan to generate PR, giving back money -- or more accurately, rebates and coupons -- to early adopters is not something new for Apple. Just last year, the company faced a similar customer backlash and responded with a similar offer.

In October of 2005, the company announced version 1.0 of Aperture, its post production professional photography application. The program, to be available the following month, had a list price of $499. Six months later Apple announced the immediate availability of Aperture 1.1. The release noted that this version, free to those who had bought the initial product, offered "dramatically improved RAW image rendering" and "impressive speed gains." These improvements directly addressed some of the applications harshest critics, such as the well publicized critical review at Ars Technica in which the review had said, "At this stage Aperture is a big, expensive misfire and considering the hefty price tag, I can't think of a reason to recommend it." But the big shock was not the improvements, which were expected. The surprise was that Apple was dropping the price of the product by 40% -- to $299. An as a "thank you for their support," the company offered all Aperture customers a $200 coupon for use at the Apple Online Store.

The positive reaction in the Aperture-concerned niche of the tech industry set the precedent for the iPhone coupon that would follow next year. Whether planned or not, Apple could look back at the Aperture rebate program and gauge the reaction of the iPhone coupon strategy.

Lesson for tech vendors: Can'ts, coulds, and shoulds 

In reality, it doesn't really matter whether the most recent iPhone PR was the result of a blunder or the product of brilliant -- if manipulative -- marketing. Tech vendors can learn from iPhone's marketing campaign, although many of the particulars that led to the PR coverage are not reproducible by other companies. Most marketing executives:

• Can't ... have their own Steve Jobs. There are certainly some personalities in the industry -- now and in the past -- from Microsoft's Bill Gates to Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy to IBM's Lou Gerstner. But no one has captured the media and tech enthusiasts interest the way Steve Jobs has. He creates publicity -- positive and negative -- through his very presence, whether its wearing black turtlenecks or announcing "one last thing" at company conferences. His recent foray into open letters espousing doing away with digital rights management (DRM) and his battle with NBC over the price of TV shows only add to his persona.
  
  
• Can't ... tap into a huge pool of those who love the company and its products. Consumer products generate the most enthusiasm, and about the only other companies and products that can generate such rabid media and blogger response are the handheld game/game console suppliers. But while those entertainment products may be inspirational, the company executives enlisted to promote their products fail to create a Jobs-like reaction. For example, gamers rabidly devoured any news of the next-generation consoles before they launched, but only a hardcore few new of the Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo executives in charge of those products.
  
  
• Could ... try and focus on every little detail. From its product unboxing experience to its minimalist ad campaigns to its product fit and finish, Apple seems to spend time and resource on the little details. In fact, many tech-oriented sites rush to be the first to publish pictures of the unboxing experience for new Apple products. This has led to similar coverage of other products being unboxed, but Apple seems to gain the majority of free PR in this niche area.
  
  So why can't other companies offer similar fit and finish? The problem for most companies is that they don't connect detail with profits. In fact, most connect minor details to avoidable costs. A marketing executive hoping to follow the Apple model will have to convince the CEO that fine details lead to dollars.
  
  
• Could ... try to create interest through limited exposure. One of Apple's marketing strengths is its ability to surprise the market. Despite nearly every tech site -- whether Apple-centric or not -- reporting on future Apple products and speculating about upcoming events, the company manages to surprise the market and professional and armchair analysts. For example, few expected the entire iPod line to be revamped, let alone the iPhone to see such a dramatic price drop. Yes, sometimes rumor and other tech sites do uncover future products and news, but their track record is such that even those reports are not fully believed by readers.
  
  For marketing executives, the biggest obstacles to secrecy is the industry's need to test its offering with beta releases as well as the belief that early news seeding will increase market interest. However, secrecy can be applied in a limited fashion. Apple engages in both secret and pre-release activities. For example, few industry watchers expected Garageband when it was first unveiled, while the next-generation, dual-platform Safari Web browser has been in beta since June.
  
  
• Should ... reward your early adopters. In one area, companies can mimic Apple's recent trend to reward early adopters (planned or not). Providing special treats for those who jump on board at first launch -- whether small, such as company trinkets, or more substantial, such as free software -- can go along way to creating happy customers and positive PR. The practice of rewarding the public for its help has taken root in the software bug and security vulnerability world. In many cases, vendors will now credit the individual or organization that brought to light a specific coding defect. Similar public recognition could be applied to those willing to be beta testers, such as having their names coded into credits or even buried in application Easter eggs.