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One part of Apple's media strategy that's confusing to me is how they brand these things. For instance, how come their exclusive TV programming is branded unde

by uptown 9y ago

One part of Apple's media strategy that's confusing to me is how they brand these things. For instance, how come their exclusive TV programming is branded under Apple Music? How come iTunes is the wrapper for all media ... not just "tunes"? Seems like they'd benefit from rebranding these products as "Apple Media" (or something like that) then have Apple Music, Apple Video, Apple Texture, etc. as sub-brands under Apple Media. Then, offer a sampling of these services for free to owners of Apple hardware (or at a flat annual fee similar to Amazon Prime's bundled services) and offer premium upsells for those that want a more-expansive or unlimited selection of content.

achompas 9y ago
Let me take a stab: > how come their exclusive TV programming is branded under Apple Music They're using the programming to market Apple Music subscriptions. Apple wants to enroll new users, then up-sell them on new hardware. Ben Thompson has a great take on this [1]. > How come iTunes is the wrapper for all media ... not just "tunes"? I think this is a legacy issue. iTunes started on music, then gradually expanded to movies, TV, etc. Changing this is hard, though, since iTunes has accumulated over 15 years of brand recognition as Apple's media hub. > as sub-brands under Apple Media Apple Media has no brand recognition among consumers. Sounds like applying an engineer's mindset to a marketing/branding problem. [1] https://stratechery.com/2018/apples-middle-age/ https://stratechery.com/2018/apples-middle-age/
- wlesieutre 9y ago
  Sounds like they didn't learn the lesson if they're now branding video content under Apple Music just because it launched as a music service first.
- uptown 9y ago
  "Apple Media has no brand recognition among consumers." True. But Apple Music had no brand recognition when they launched that, and it's only been around since June 8, 2015 when they already had involvement with other forms of media. Why not take that opportunity to rebrand?
  - achompas 9y ago
    They've sunk millions of advertising and branding dollars into Apple Music since then, and they've built tons of goodwill from that investment.
    - uptown 9y ago
      But do you think people know that video content is one element of Apple Music?
      - achompas 9y ago
        I think people will not go to Apple Music looking for shows. I think they'll look for their favorite shows (Carpool Karaoke) on YouTube, discover they're on Apple Music, then use that as another reason to pay $10/month for it.
- gutnor 9y ago
  > Apple Media has no brand recognition among consumers. Sounds like applying an engineer's mindset to a marketing/branding problem. Is it really ? For old timers, yes iTunes is the application from the days of uploading stuff on your iPod from a Mac, that's a well known Apple Media Hub for people managing their media on their Mac machine first. The mandatory tool where you manage your iPhone backup and applications. If you come through the iPhone world, including Apple TV - the iTunes "brand" is basically invisible, they name it "iTune store" and that's the place you buy stuff, not where you look at stuff ( there are dedicated app for that ) This point of out to parent being more right than you give him credit for - Apple made 0 effort to preserve its 15 years investment on its prime platform, it actually did what parent suggested, splitting everything into dedicated app, they just need to rename iTunes Store as "Media Store". Anyway let's be a bit realistic here, Apple on its own has enough brand recognition that they could very well make a new "Media" product with a nice catchy name and a fresh rewrite or reskin iTunes. I suspect that it the marketing solution but the problem is actually an engineering problem: on MacOS, iTunes has grown feature organically and it probably requires a lot of investment for very little gain. edit: remove duplicate
  - robotresearcher 9y ago
    > they just need to rename iTunes Store as "Media Store". 'Apple Store' is already a great brand. Why not just declare that the Apple Store now sells media? The Apple store is nice, both the physical and online versions, while the iTunes store is pretty bad. How about getting the Apple Store people to use their skills on the media store?
    - achompas 9y ago
      > How about getting the Apple Store people to use their skills on the media store? Because the media store is a legacy product with declining revenue that is already being split into different apps (TV, Apple Music, soon News). I'm sure it's less about team skills and more about availability. Apple clearly has ambitious plans for its services. I will say, though, that I've seen so many folks confuse iTunes Store and Apple Store. Merging the two would be smart -- a central place to buy things (digital or physical).
ryandrake 9y ago
“Media” is too bland and generic. Might as well call it “Apple Content”. Yuuuuck
- uptown 9y ago
  Maybe. Media isn't necessarily a "sexy" word given the legacy relationship with physical media that the content industry is leaving behind. But it'd free them up to use the more-accurate names for the content that was marketed under that umbrella. You'd still have Apple Music. And Apple TV. And Apple Movies. (Or whatever they want to call each tier of the content). Right now I'd bet virtually nobody knows you need to use Apple Music to watch Planet of the Apps or some of their other TV content, and it's certainly not intuitive for somebody new to their ecosystem.
- pavlov 9y ago
  "Apple Records". Gives you access to anything that was recorded.
  - Tsiklon 9y ago
    If this were all possible it would likely involve a very expensive licensing deal with Apple Corps. as Apple Records already exists.
    - pavlov 9y ago
      That was the joke... Apple Inc. has already trampled on Apple Corps multiple times, with the latest settlement giving them right to the name in every other context except this one, AFAIK.
- robotresearcher 9y ago
  Just use "Apple Store". Now sells media. Simple. They already own one of the top retail brands, and it doesn't suck.
- Terretta 9y ago
  Apple Online. AOL for short.

by uptown 9y ago

achompas 9y ago

Let me take a stab: > how come their exclusive TV programming is branded under Apple Music They're using the programming to market Apple Music subscriptions. Apple wants to enroll new users, then up-sell them on new hardware. Ben Thompson has a great take on this [1]. > How come iTunes is the wrapper for all media ... not just "tunes"? I think this is a legacy issue. iTunes started on music, then gradually expanded to movies, TV, etc. Changing this is hard, though, since iTunes has accumulated over 15 years of brand recognition as Apple's media hub. > as sub-brands under Apple Media Apple Media has no brand recognition among consumers. Sounds like applying an engineer's mindset to a marketing/branding problem. [1] https://stratechery.com/2018/apples-middle-age/ https://stratechery.com/2018/apples-middle-age/

wlesieutre 9y ago
Sounds like they didn't learn the lesson if they're now branding video content under Apple Music just because it launched as a music service first.
uptown 9y ago
"Apple Media has no brand recognition among consumers." True. But Apple Music had no brand recognition when they launched that, and it's only been around since June 8, 2015 when they already had involvement with other forms of media. Why not take that opportunity to rebrand?
- achompas 9y ago
  They've sunk millions of advertising and branding dollars into Apple Music since then, and they've built tons of goodwill from that investment.
  - uptown 9y ago
    But do you think people know that video content is one element of Apple Music?
    - achompas 9y ago
      I think people will not go to Apple Music looking for shows. I think they'll look for their favorite shows (Carpool Karaoke) on YouTube, discover they're on Apple Music, then use that as another reason to pay $10/month for it.
gutnor 9y ago
> Apple Media has no brand recognition among consumers. Sounds like applying an engineer's mindset to a marketing/branding problem. Is it really ? For old timers, yes iTunes is the application from the days of uploading stuff on your iPod from a Mac, that's a well known Apple Media Hub for people managing their media on their Mac machine first. The mandatory tool where you manage your iPhone backup and applications. If you come through the iPhone world, including Apple TV - the iTunes "brand" is basically invisible, they name it "iTune store" and that's the place you buy stuff, not where you look at stuff ( there are dedicated app for that ) This point of out to parent being more right than you give him credit for - Apple made 0 effort to preserve its 15 years investment on its prime platform, it actually did what parent suggested, splitting everything into dedicated app, they just need to rename iTunes Store as "Media Store". Anyway let's be a bit realistic here, Apple on its own has enough brand recognition that they could very well make a new "Media" product with a nice catchy name and a fresh rewrite or reskin iTunes. I suspect that it the marketing solution but the problem is actually an engineering problem: on MacOS, iTunes has grown feature organically and it probably requires a lot of investment for very little gain. edit: remove duplicate
- robotresearcher 9y ago
  > they just need to rename iTunes Store as "Media Store". 'Apple Store' is already a great brand. Why not just declare that the Apple Store now sells media? The Apple store is nice, both the physical and online versions, while the iTunes store is pretty bad. How about getting the Apple Store people to use their skills on the media store?
  - achompas 9y ago
    > How about getting the Apple Store people to use their skills on the media store? Because the media store is a legacy product with declining revenue that is already being split into different apps (TV, Apple Music, soon News). I'm sure it's less about team skills and more about availability. Apple clearly has ambitious plans for its services. I will say, though, that I've seen so many folks confuse iTunes Store and Apple Store. Merging the two would be smart -- a central place to buy things (digital or physical).

ryandrake 9y ago

“Media” is too bland and generic. Might as well call it “Apple Content”. Yuuuuck

uptown 9y ago
Maybe. Media isn't necessarily a "sexy" word given the legacy relationship with physical media that the content industry is leaving behind. But it'd free them up to use the more-accurate names for the content that was marketed under that umbrella. You'd still have Apple Music. And Apple TV. And Apple Movies. (Or whatever they want to call each tier of the content). Right now I'd bet virtually nobody knows you need to use Apple Music to watch Planet of the Apps or some of their other TV content, and it's certainly not intuitive for somebody new to their ecosystem.
pavlov 9y ago
"Apple Records". Gives you access to anything that was recorded.
- Tsiklon 9y ago
  If this were all possible it would likely involve a very expensive licensing deal with Apple Corps. as Apple Records already exists.
  - pavlov 9y ago
    That was the joke... Apple Inc. has already trampled on Apple Corps multiple times, with the latest settlement giving them right to the name in every other context except this one, AFAIK.
robotresearcher 9y ago
Just use "Apple Store". Now sells media. Simple. They already own one of the top retail brands, and it doesn't suck.
Terretta 9y ago
Apple Online. AOL for short.