Following the sad death of Apple co-founder and digital innovator Steve Jobs luminaries including US president Barack Obama and Microsoft founder Bill Gates all paid tribute to his memory. And yet still, his legacy was not enough to reach one Facebook friend, who posted: “Who is Steve Jobs and why are people filing up my newsfeed with posts about him?”
Of course, this comment flies in the face of the advertising activity of Jobs’ company over the last 12 months, during which £36m was spent on advertising its products (Source: NMR). Jobs himself is credited with guiding Apple from the brink of financial ruin to one of the world’s most valuable companies with a market value now estimated to stand at £227bn – thanks in part to the development of the Apple iPhone.
According to Mintel, 4 in 10 consumers now have a smartphone, while 1 in 5 non-smartphone owners express desire to upgrade to a smartphone over the coming year.
The rise of the mobile has resulted in the demise of the land line (nearly one in five adults don’t use the landline at home) - this has even prompted Asda to delist this product from their range. Maybe the question in future is more likely to become ‘who is Alexander Bell?’
MEC Opinion: Many would argue that Apple is responsible for making the modern smartphone a cool and attractive must-have item, forcing the functionality of such devices to increase alongside an ever growing number of mobile apps. From games and social networking to business productivity suites, these slices of technology have transformed mobile phones into mini-computers that go beyond simply fulfilling basic calls and texts functions and are now an integral part of our lives.
One thing is for certain, while the mobile phone sector will continue to be one of the fastest-developing markets and advertising platforms out there, the industry has lost a true innovator and visionary in Steve Jobs.
