Having a Good Marketing Campaign Reaps Good Dividends

Percentage of laptop-buying college students that wanted a Mac in 2003: 8%



That same percentage in 2007: 42%



I like my Mac computer. I really don't think this Mac computer is much different from an XP-driven laptop, nor do I think this particular Mac is much more advanced the old Macs that I used to use...

Though this desktop looks a LOT more high-tech, and the IPod has had several years to build brand value for Apple (and ITunes has had a lot of time to extract monopoly advantage by encouraging people to buy Mac software!).


I gotta chalk this up to the value of a successful marketing campaign. Seize an under-utilized market (the MP3 player), build up good feelings about the brand (awesome product, fighting evil Microsoft!), get a reputation as a secure system (in an era of extreme anxiety post-9/11), and price yourself higher than your competitors (we're the luxury brand!), and get some normal-looking fanboys...

You got yourself a juggernaut!