A technological issue is one of my least favorite things to deal with, regardless of the circumstances. But on a trip abroad? Forget it—sounds like the absolute worst to me. Having to deal with all the normal things that come fixing your computer, but in a foreign language?
Count me out.
Unfortunately, the technology gods did not hear my plea—or they did, and they have a cruel sense of humor—because my computer charger stopped working on our last day in Paris.
And while I wouldn’t wish the stress of frantically running to a computer store in order to buy an overpriced charger on your last day in one of your favorite cities in the world on anyone, I do have to admit: it wasn’t that bad.
Truth be told, it was a seamless experience. I was able to find the exact charger I needed that worked with my computer’s model on the Apple website. Once I found it on the U.S. website, I was able to quickly shift to Apple’s French website, find the exact same one, and purchase it immediately for in-store pickup ASAP. All I had to do was wait a few hours, and once Apple notified me via email that my purchase was ready to pick up, I stopped by the store during lunch, showed the email to a store associate, picked up my charger, and was on my way.
Honestly, if I had to have a tech issue during this trip, this outcome was the best one possible.
The experience had me thinking about the Apple brand. During our Luxury Insights panel, we discussed Apple as a luxury brand and how it does an excellent job at being both approachable and aspirational: anyone can easily learn how to use an iPhone, even if they can’t afford one.
In many of my other courses in this program, we’ve discussed Steve Jobs and his genius use of design with Apple products: from the clean and minimalist design language introduced in the 1980s, to the candy-colored iMacs of the 90s, to today’s sleek and stylish AirPods, all Apple products have a visually appealing, user friendly design.
The first scene of Danny Boyle’s 2015 biopic of Steve Jobs’ life does a good job of encapsulating this genius: hours before the unveiling of the Macintosh 128k, Jobs is insistent that the computer says “hello” during the presentation by any means necessary:
"See how this reminds you of a friendly face? That the disk slot is a goofy grin? It's warm, and it's playful, and it needs to say 'hello.' It needs to say 'hello,' because it can."
This line easily shows what has always made Apple computers stand out from its competition: when computers were seen as cold, impersonal, and scary to anyone who wasn’t familiar with them, Jobs made them fun and approachable. He was able to take a product that was primarily used in professional and technical settings, that required a lot of training to use, and sell it to the mass market. He knew the future of computers wasn’t with the early adopters, but in getting everyone else to use them.
And his vision that computers must be friendly so that everyone can use them was dead on. Just look at our world today. Teenagers hang out at Apple stores after school. My aunt and uncle use FaceTime to see their grandchildren every week. I'm writing this very blog post on my new MacBook Pro laptop, a computer that I've used for over a decade. I don't consider myself to be a technophile, and I grew up using PCs, but today I'm a firm devotee to Apple, because of its design.
But product design doesn't dictate the Apple brand-- it's their key concepts. Approachability, accessibility, fun. That's what makes Apple unique. Ultimately, the fact that it was so easy for me to purchase a charger online and then drop by the store a few hours later to pick it up, all in a foreign country in a language that I’m unfamiliar with-- that is what makes Apple the biggest company in the world today. At it's core, it's not the friendly products, but the friendly experience.
Samsung doesn’t have a Genius Bar. Microsoft doesn’t have a large retail presence with a unique design. Google doesn’t have free educational workshops. But Apple does. And this all fits in with Apple’s brand image and marketing messages: wherever you are, whoever you are, there is an Apple product for you.
Apple knows this-- it's always been a part of their brand image. And now they're incorporating this message into their marketing in a whole new way. Just look at one of their latest video campaigns-- which happened to win multiple Cannes Lions this year, including the Grand Prix for Challenges & Breakthroughs in the Entertainment Lions for Music category:
Who would have thought that my last-day charger mishap in Paris would end up being such a smart reminder of what makes Apple shine? Maybe Steve Jobs saw the future a little too well.
Commentaires