News.com broke the story of the "Golden Tickets" story at:
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,25189,00.html
Here's how we found out about the story:
News.com will be reporting that Steve Jobs has been watching Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory apparently. Apple is going to hand out "Golden Certificates" on each of the five continents of: North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia; which will entitle the bearer to get one Apple System of their choice, ANY SYSTEM, a year for five years.
What do you think that will do to sales? All of those hopefuls looking to get the golden ring in their box?
As I said, don't leak it please. But, that means that Apple's sales could get a huge goose between now and the time that the golden certificate is found on each continent. I guess News.com will give all the details it has.
Interesting, no? So, how many of those potential boxes are YOU going to buy? Keep silent until the story breaks please. --- END
Well, if this promotion is launched by Apple then it will guarantee positive and sustained mainstream media coverage until the last "Golden Ticket" is found. In other words, it would somewhat resemble the "media frenzy" that was extant in the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." And already, the wags are starting to have fun with the scenarios. Even to the point of "casting" Bill Gates as the man who tries to tempt "Charlie" into revealing the secrets he might learn inside "The Mac Factory."
It's one heck of a good marketing campaign as far as it goes. And, it would only exploit the "PowerBall Fever" psychology. Imagine, the chance to "win" five Macs of your choice "if only you get the winning ticket." Instead of "A Dollar and a Dream," make it: "$1,299 and a Dream." Enough said.
It's open to debate as to "who" got the story first. Newsweek or News.com as both "had it." But, RFI heard a report that the "Golden Certificates" were "Steved" on Tuesday because iMac sales were going so well. But, as with most things, that can change. What is more significant is that the iMac sales are going "so well" that Apple feels that it has to "cancel" a marketing promotion lest such promotion outstrips its capacity to provide the product.
C'est la guerre. It could have been a heck of a promotion. It might have even made the iMac a direct competitor with Mattel'sÅ "Tigr" doll as "The Tickle Me Elmo of Christmas '98." Oh well.
RFI doesn't know where Mr. Cringely got his numbers for the amount of iMacs produced but they're off. Way off. That's according to our sources. And, the failure rates out of the box are also "dated" as we were informed that those rates were from the demo period and not the runs. If Mr. Cringely's numbers were from Laguna's first week run we'll let it slide. But, we've been told that Apple intends to have plenty of product on hand for the 15 Aug 98 launch. Yes, we know that Apple is telling its retailers that supplies might be constrained, but there are reasons for that.
Remember how RFI reported that Apple was reallocating its "bandwidth" to iMac production? And that it was impacting the availability of both PowerBook and MT/DT models? Before the conference call for the Q3 earnings? That the "All Things iMac" strategy was constraining supplies? Well folks, our sources have been telling us that Apple has been pumping out iMacs to beat the band and want to make sure that there will be enough product for the launch.
It should also be noted that Apple is allocating boxes to resellers and retailers depending on how they handle the launch. Those that go all out get more boxes allocated to them. It's a sliding scale. Those that don't do anything special get the minimum number of boxes.
One of the "supply problems" that Apple has is the large number of prepaid and money down orders for the iMac. They've got to deliver those first and then ship the remaining boxes to the channel on the allocation model. So, there's your "supply constraint." RFI has been hearing different numbers on the amount of prepaid and deposit boxes but they are considerable.
RFI doesn't expect a "glut" of boxes in the channel for the launch, but we don't expect a dearth either, unless demand does outstrip the supply.
RFI is not taking Mr. Cringely to task on this. In fact, it was good for a lot of those who were thinking that Apple would sell a million iMacs by the end of the Holiday shopping season. But, one has to consider the allocation of boxes to resellers, retailers and the channel. Those who have the paid/deposit down orders get theirs first. It's life.
We're "A Baaaadddd Boy" for outing iMacworld.com before its official unveiling, but we did it on the Apple Recon site Sunday evening. But, we just gave them the iMacworld.com grpahic and a link to the site. Well, we also gave a teaser about a car too. We think. More on that later.
Here's the rub. iMacworld.com is Macworld's site specifically targeting the iMac users and it's also part of their coverage to Apple's "Consumer Strategy." There's a lot more to this story than the snippets that some people are talking about. Like the fact that on 15 Aug 98 iMacworld is going to have an "iMac Special Edition" VW Beetle at a gala iMac launch event in San Francisco. It will also be webcast. Given the fact that it will also be covered by the major media, there is the possibility that it might be picked up as part of the iMac launch coverage.
Remember way back when RFI got into trouble with the "Urge to Merge" item? And even before, when we were discussing Apple's Consumer Strategy? That RFI expected Macworld and Mac Publishing LLC wasn't going to sit idly by and allow other publications (specifically Mac Home Journal and/or MacAddict) to grab the consumer market? Well, iMacworld.com is probably only the first salvo and it's also the way for Macworld and Mac Publishing LLC to remain the 800 pound gorilla in the Mac publishing market.
You can also expect Macworld to integrate iMacworld content into Macworld (so much for "thin issues") as well as tightly integrating everything between: print, online, and CD. For better or worse, Macworld is proactively responding to the market and is making its move to establish hegemony in both the "Pro" and "Consumer" sectors with their moves. Granted, it's not "good news" for the other Mac publications but it's good news for the general Mac Community.
And forget the charges that iMacworld.com is a response to [insert name]. Remember the "Pre-Columbian Period" and that it's been under development for a long time. It's launch was timed to coincide with the launch of the iMac and the domain was registered on 07 May 98 as it couldn't have been registered before without tipping its hand, as well as "outing the iMac" before its unveiling. And, the site was not "live" until late Saturday EDT.
But, what does this mean for the Mac publishing market? A lot. First, MHJ won't have a "lock" on the consumer market as they had hoped. MacAddict's "culture" might put off a lot of iMac users and "New Users" too. And Macworld, with its tight inclusion and integration of "mass consumer market" content will probably expand its base as well as enabling it to have competitive and compelling advertising programs and deals.
RFI expects Mac Publishing LLC to aggressively exploit the opportunities in relation to the iMac launch, etc. In fact, it's a "No Brainer." But, since we had to duck and cover the last time we referenced this, we're not going to do it again.
If Apple's "Consumer Strategy" pays off, RFI suspects that both Macworld and Mac Home Journal will probably see an expansion of their bases. And, they are both the front runners to be "And Then There Were Two" survivors if you take Apple's statements about "wanting" only two Mac Centric monthlies.
People are wondering where a lot of the information about iMacworld.com and the iMac launch events is coming from. None other than from a "purloined letter" regarding it. Here's the full text:
Macworld Online Launches iMacworld, New Web Site Featuring Games, Gadgets and Gear for After-hours Mac Users Mac Publishing Readies New Site as Apple Ships iMac Computers to Retail Stores
San Francisco, August 10, 1998?Macworld Online, published by Mac Publishing, L.L.C., today announced the launch of iMacworld, a destination web site featuring comprehensive coverage of games, gadgets and gear for after-hour Mac users. The site, www.imacworld.com went live at 12:01am PST.
According to Philip Dyer, iMacworld editor, the charter of the site is to provide visitors with the quintessential one-stop for all their news and buying information needs for Macintosh games, home office applications, edutainment and reference software, gadgets and personal productivity tools.
"Until iMacworld, there hasn1t been one single online source catering to this group of Mac users, and certainly not devoting the kind of resources we are, in terms of dedicated staff and original content and design," said Dyer.
The site will be made up of a number of "special interest areas" which will include: Games, Home Office, Education, Get Connected, Gadgets and Hobby Shop. Each special interest area will feature "first looks" and product reviews, product ratings, and "how-to's," as well as have its own community with chat, message boards, email forwarding, and scheduled events.
According to Matthew Rothenberg, Macworld Online editorial director, the site has been under construction almost from the moment Steve Jobs, interim CEO of Apple Computer, rolled out the iMac. "We1d been talking about how to cover gaming, gadgets, edutainment, and home office in the context of Macworld Online. Then the iMac was announced, and it was a no-brainer to launch a separate site," said Rothenberg, who also oversees MacWEEK.com.
Rothenberg says that while the "I" in iMacworld is intentional in terms of covering the iMac, the "I" also denotes the strong personal connection iMacworld hopes to forge with users. "A sense of community will be key to the iMacworld experience" said Rothenberg. "iMacworld will set the standard for interactivity throughout our sites."
The launch of the site is scheduled to coincide with the August 15 ship date of Apple1s retro-looking consumer Macintosh to retail stores. iMacworld1s plans to cover the iMac debut include special live coverage of events such as the presentation of an iMac to New York radio personality, Don Imus, by Rochelle Friedman, owner of J&R Computerworld, the biggest Macintosh dealer on the east coast on Monday, August 10.
Additionally, iMacworld has hooked up with CompUSA on the west coast and will be covering the scene live from their Market Street store in San Francisco, Saturday, from an iMacworld-themed Volkswagen Beetle, handing out iMacworld t-shirts.
"This is what makes this job fun and is a good example of what this site is all about?bringing some of the lighter Macintosh fare to the users who will become part of our iMacworld online community," said Dyer.
Macworld Online is published by Mac Publishing, L.L.C. and is the third-largest contributor of visitors to ZDNet. Mac Publishing also publishes Macworld, the leading Macintosh monthly publication and MacWEEK.com, the premier online source for Macintosh news. Mac Publishing, L.L.C., a joint venture between Ziff-Davis Publishing Company and International Data Group, Inc. is located in San Francisco. --- END
Haven't seen this yet? Maybe some of the details but not the "real deal?" Well, don't ask us where we got it and we won't have to lie to you. Simple as that.
