Yep that’s Apple’s new iPad, featured in its first television commercial that debuted during the Academy Awards on March 7th. Finally released on April 3, more than 300,000 iPads were sold on that first day alone, with more than 1 million apps and 250,000 e-books downloaded by users as well. One of my coworkers in the Web Development Department here at Pinnacle exclaimed last week how he was excited to be getting his tax refund as he was taking it straight to the Apple store to pick up his very own. I think I responded by saying very politely that I thought the iPad was “neat” but that I wasn’t quite sure the purpose it would serve for me (or the excuse I could use to spend the money to purchase one) as I already own an iPhone and MacBook. His response was some version of, “Me neither. I just want it.”
That answer my friends, is what brings us to one of the causes for what will inevitably be the success of the iPad, and anything else Apple conjures up for that matter – brand loyalty – to the point where Apple consumers can even define themselves by a connection to the brand (case in point – Apple’s “I’m a Mac” campaign). After all, it’s not every company that has consumers sleeping outside their stores just to be one of the first to buy their new product (recall the craze for Apple’s iPhone release back in summer 07). While I haven’t heard of anyone pulling out their sleeping bags yet, it seems to be just about on par with sales of its other devices and the Apple brand and its loyal consumers seem to be just as strong as ever.
