It's Apple and Oranges
Written Jun. 29, 2009 by Larry Rosin in Marketing with 5 Comments
I love how all the blogs about radio add to the vitality of discussion of our industry. I love how this blog allows we researchers at Edison Research to add to the conversation. But it's time to stop, or attempt to stop, one of the most useless assertions that are endlessly made on these blogs: "We should be more like Apple."
Now don't get me wrong. No one has more admiration for the genius of Apple and Steve Jobs than I. The innovation, insights, and design advancements they have brought to the world will be rightfully discussed and noted for centuries. And everyone should be inspired by what they have done.
However, it's just too easy, and essentially useless, to point to their latest advancement and say: "See Radio? This is what YOU should be doing."
First of all, Apple is a hardware company. The blog posters are scolding the 'software' providers -- radio programming companies. And while radio is more consolidated than it once was, it still can't provide the same solution, (like an iPod or iPhone) in every market and throughout the world.
And another thing. In America radio is being listened to by more than 90% of all people -- Apple with all their distribution and all their power is 'owned' by maybe 30% of the public (adding together their computers, iPods, phones and anything else). Apple can make billions serving its fraction of the public. Radio can't.
So yes, Radio, admire Apple. Be inspired by them. But no, it's not going to be easy for us to "be like Apple."
Nor can we 'Be like Google,' 'Be like Amazon,' or 'Be like Sun Tzu' or 'Be like the US Military' or 'Be Like Starbucks' or 'Be Like WalMart' or 'Be like Any Other Company Or Entity That is Succeeding Right Now.'
And frankly, attempting to model our solutions on other businesses and other industries doesn't have the best track record for radio. Using McDonalds and IBM as models led both to consolidation (which doesn't seem to have saved the industry) and to some of the other ways radio has struggled.
So, while I know we don't have all the solutions here either, we promise not to just point to successful entities and say: "Be like them."
Except Barack Obama. That's who radio should be like. We should "Be Like Barack Obama!"
Reader Comments
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Ahhh... what a difference time makes.... Apple used to always be referred to as the "beleaguered" company. These days it's the darling of the press. The only thing Apple has that radio doesn't? Passion. "They" beat the passion right out of us, and passion trickles down. Radio is completely passionless. It breads like a virus. It's airborne.
Love the article on your blog, Larry! Really true and very valid. We must get beyond our inferiority complex in this business. We have lots of warts and lot's of faults, but it is those within our business that are most critical of it. I have a ton of passion for this business and for all media. Hell, I'm not trained for anything else. I want to be one of the people that help our industry see a rebirth. I want to launch other media outlets and grow all of the medium. I know that you do, too.
Best Wishes,
-Mike
Actually, Apple is 50% software company, 50% hardware. It's their incredibly powerful yet user friendly software systems that make the experience of using their well designed hardware devices so amazing. Without the software, the hardware would fall flat.
That aside, radio actually *could* take some lessons from Apple, and here's how:
1) Total commitment to customer satisfaction. I've personally been blown away at least three times with the level of attention and knowledge and support their team - and this includes financial support for things they had no business covering, technically.
2) Incredibly well trained staff who deeply understand and care about the product from surface to subtlety.
3) Apple strives hard to make participating and creating and enjoying deasy and fun, and moreso each year.
4) They dedicate significant resources to user experience, and start from a place that is not so insular that is is out of sync with their customers, both existing and future.
Apple's not perfect, but radio could learn a lot from the type of experience the user has, which translates into the kind of positive word of mouth and customer bonds you can't pay for!
Apple's key to success, according to head of design Jonathan Ive:
'We don't do focus groups," he said firmly, explaining that they resulted in bland products designed not to offend anyone.
I am SO sick of hearing people say that 90% of America uses radio. Sure, if you count everyone who turns on the radio once a week, or wakes up to the radio (which gets turned off after 30 seconds), that number might be valid. But, I'd wager the percentage of people who actually care about what's happening on the radio is FAR smaller.
If radio spent more time super-serving those people instead of making unbelievably bland content people might still care about radio. It's gonna have to get worse before it gets better...and, even then, the ship may have already sailed.