We've all seen them - the Apple commercials personifying the differences between the Mac and the PC. The Mac guy being a 20-something hipster clued into the web 2.0 revolution as he details the ease at which he can upload photos, create websites, create and edit presentations and video-conference with friends (iLife baby!!). The PC guy being a 30/40-something Office-Spacer that makes mention of the numerous manuals, cables, viruses and updates that plague his otherwise super productivity.Aside from some clever, and otherwise accurate marketing (hey, I'm on a PC as we speak), these commercials also tap in to the influence of the Conflict. Who knew conflict could be such a powerful marketing force?
Apple did.
Qualcomm did (CDMA vs GSM).
Hip Hop has made an industry of it. Think - the infamous hip hop "beefs" - Eminem vs the black rappers (joking...kinda). Biggie and 2Pac (Tupac). Jay-Z vs Nas (and later 50 Cent). Dr. Dre vs. Easy E.
The Democrats and Republicans have successfully divided a country of almost 300 million people, and an entire generation through (in)effective conflicts.
When you think about it, conflicts are nothing new. What they are, however, are incredibly divisive - allowing people to "pick sides" and be a part of something. Can they backfire?! Surely... hello, American political system?! But for now, Apple seems to be converting PC lovers daily (Intel boosted MacBooks aren't helping the PC market either).
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2 comments:
Yes, very good point.
Creating conflict is one of the successful marketing plays outlined at http://marketingplaybook.com/the_5_marketing_plays.php by some very smart guys who used to run marketing for a certain, not so little software shop based in Redmond
Hey Mary - thanks for checking us out.
The Verdict: if done and managed correctly conflict seems like it can do wonders for business and political organizations.
The biggest of them all - iPod vs Microsoft Zune (debuting in a month) will be a true test. I've got my money on iPod.
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