[MacDEF]

Quote:

Forgive me, but that's about as naive a perspective as you could possibly have on this. Business is about money, period. There's no such thing as "company level" vs. "product level." The products exist to be sold; whatever secondary effect they have (promoting a digital hub concept or whatever) is secondary.

Russ, there are *plenty* of products on the market that exist primarily to promote a brand or a product, and only secondarily to sell themselves. It's a common tactic in marketing and economics.

We obviously disagree on this, and that's fine, but I don't think I'm being naive -- I have an advanced degree in economics, so I'm not exactly a doofus in this area

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF Russ, there are *plenty* of products on the market that exist primarily to promote a brand or a product, and only secondarily to sell themselves. It's a common tactic in marketing and economics.

Right, and typically they are low-end, inexpensive versions of the main product line intended to get people interested enough in the brand that they will "trade up" to the main product line. The Cadillac Cimmaron was a great example -- a Chevy Cavalier in Cadillac clothing. Really a P.O.S. as far as Cadillacs were concerned. But rest assured that Cadillac (the company) would have been ecstatic if it became their best-selling product. They certainly didn't limit it to only 1/20 of their potential market, as Apple has (initially) done with the iPod.

The iPod is different -- I think the Sony Playstation analogy is a good one. MP3 players are a side business for Apple with the introduction of the iPod, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be the most profitable product in their history. Apple's board of directors and stockholders couldn't care less whether it is useful in promoting the "multimedia hub" concept, as long as it sells well. And it will sell far better if Apple gets off its bottom and releases a Windows version of iTunes soon.

We're just rehashing old arguments again at this point. I obviously gave the wrong impression with my "naive" statement -- I wasn't trying to imply that you were naive. It's a common misconception in non-business circles that anything other than product sales and profits mean much of anything. It's the perspective, IMO, that's naive. It's a bit surprising to me that you're promoting it, given your degree. But just to be absolutely clear about this -- I never thought of you as a "doofus" -- you like Macs, after all.

Russ "The Peripatetic Audiophile"

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Quote:

It's a common misconception in non-business circles that anything other than product sales and profits mean much of anything.

The problem is that Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. have shown this misconception throughout its history