Apple continues to sell more iPhones, break its own records, and surpass expectations with the launch of the iPhone 4S on October 14th.
When the iPhone 4 launched, 600,000 units were pre-ordered within the first 24 hours. The iPhone 4S beat that by nearly 67%!
When the iPhone 4 launched on June 24, 2010, 1.7 million units were sold within the first three days that it was available. The iPhone 4S beat that by over 135%!
Here are the statistics for the iPhone 4S to date from Reuters:
- 1 million iPhone 4S units were pre-ordered within the first 24 hours of its availability.
- In the first 3 days that the iPhone 4S has been on the market, 4 million units have been sold.
- During those first three days, the iPhone 4S was available in 7 countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and Canada. The iPhone 4 was only available in 5 countries in its first 3 days on the market.
- The iPhone 4S was available through the 3 primary wireless carriers in the United States (Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and Sprint) at launch. The iPhone 4 was only available through AT&T Wireless when it launched.
- Analysts predict that the iPhone 4S will hit 25 to 30 million units sold within its first 3 months of its availability. It will be available in a total of 29 countries by October 28th and over 70 countries before the year ends.
There is no doubt that Apple does at great job with tease marketing and building a demand for its new products by tapping into consumers’ emotions and baiting them with new features that consumers “need” to live better and be cooler. Consumers who are buying the iPhone 4S quickly cite several new features that had them lining up at the doors to their local Apple stores to get their hands on the latest and greatest smartphone:
- Siri voice command
- AirPlay wireless mirroring
- Higher megapixel camera
- IOS 5
- 4G network
- 2 antennas
- Speed — faster processor, faster camera, and more
The exterior of the iPhone 4S doesn’t look very different from the iPhone 4, and there are still negative aspects of the iPhone that haven’t been addressed (e.g., the battery life is better than the iPhone 4, but not much). However, consumers cannot wait to get their hands on the latest and greatest Apple product.
With each new version of its products, Apple adds just enough new features and improvements to make them the hot new gadget to own, and the marketing push behind product launches is genius. Apple updates its products approximately once per year (or less), so there is always a great deal of anticipation around a launch. Again, Apple is the company to benchmark when it comes to emotional branding, relationship branding, and tease marketing. Whether you’re an Apple customer or not, if you’re a marketer or branding professional, you need to study Apple and learn how to leave consumers always wanting more from your brand.
Image: Flickr
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
