When the ipod came out, there were a few other MP3 players on the market, but for some reason the ipod took over and has never been trumped since.
This may be to do with its exclusivity, unlike other regular MP3 players, you can only load songs from the Apple music program, 'Itunes.'
Then there is the name of 'Apple' itself, a hugely successful and arguably fashionable icon. The apple logo itself can sell itself through its unique branding and promotion.
Everything about the ipod makes it something desirable; its uniqueness, its sleek and elegant design, its portable and easy to use nature, and its large storage space.
From this, the ipod then developed into more a symbol of style and could be interpreted as 'you aren't cool unless you have an ipod'. Cheaper MP3 players not only were trumped by the ipod, they then became undesirable. They were and still are the 'it' gadget.
ARTICLE ON ITS SUCCESS
hy has the iPod become much more successful than other MP3 players that have been out years before?
Apple has successfully achieved a branding of the iPod like no one else because they were the first to offer an elegant and comprehensive solution between hardware and content. This appears on the front and back ends when creating not only the hardware (iPod) but also the content (iTunes). They were the first to offer a means for listeners to transfer, catalog, and organize their own music, and a mechanism for consumers to listen to, sample, and inexpensively purchase the music they wanted. They were the first to afford the recording industry, producers, and musicians with a marketing and distribution system that provided wide-scale distribution, dignity and rights to the artists, and well-deserved revenue to those parties. Apple also recognized and convinced the recording industry that the internet is a growing medium and provided a means for that industry to access that market.
In addition, by providing an inexpensive means for users to copy their own music onto a cool, user-friendly, and powerful yet petite device, enabled users to have the versatility they never knew: music can be enjoyed in a car, gym, on a train, at work, or at home on one’s stereo system, Apple demonstrated that reasonably copied music is acceptable to virtually all parties; this would eventually lead to increasing purchases as demonstrated by their one-billion downloads. Now TV programs, music videos, podcasts, and other content can be viewed on an iPod.
As shown in the past Apple has a unique way of branding and marketing their products. They have always been able to create a buzz with a well thought out and complete strategy. From the customer’s perspective the iPod with iTunes was not necessarily the cheapest solution, but it was the
Why the iPod Is So Successful, Page 1 of 2best at a reasonable cost. Apple, as with so many of their products demonstrated to the customer that they had a solution that worked, period. The competition was unable to match their solution.
Apple also was successful in keeping their installed base as revenue producing future customers. iPod users must buy their music or videos from Apple. The iPod will not work on download sites such as Yahoo, or the many others available to standard MP3 Players. One would think that MP3 users would prefer an open Platform with the flexibility of downloading content from any of the many MP3 and MP4 sites. But with the Apple’s ever- increasing loyal fan base, they were the first company to offer the full solution in a one-stop shop, and the successful branding targeted at the youth, Apple computer has created the mass market for others to follow.
Apple Computer has done a great job in creating a mass market that did not exist before.
