"Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers."
Translation: we no longer need our core group of supporters, we have accumulated a snowball large enough to roll itself.
I did enjoy the Macworlds. Won't be the same without them. How will products be unveiled from here on out? Just regular press releases and TV commercials?
It's possible that they'll just hold more Apple Town Hall type events, like the recent "The Spotlight Turns to Notebooks" and "Let's Rock" events. Those work just as well for the majority of the Apple fans who get their news via the press and I imagine they're far less expensive than a trade show.
I think live in-store events would work well. I'm not sure about other Apple stores, but the two I've been to both have large projection screens and seating.
A big reason I think they're de-emphasizing MacWorld is the crazy swings it brings in terms of stock prices and expectations. Apple isn't going to introduce an revolutionary iPhone year after year, and year after year AAPL goes through massive trade activities with speculators. We started holding up a MacBook staring at the share price every year and watch it go freakin' crazy.
Secondly, old media is dead. Long live new media. New media that we have in place -- online news, pro and amateur blogs, twitter, rss, facebook, chat -- has easily outstripped the effectiveness of things like trade journals and trade shows.
Thirdly, MacWorld has always been an odd compromise internally. Preparation for it begins early but with that pesky Exodus (12/22 - 1/2) right in the middle, it puts a rush on the rest of the 5 days to polish all of the marcomm materials and presentations. Then you have the devs all stuck in SF for an entire week.
If MacWorld was held at a later date then the costs might be justifiable -- it's why Apple left MacWorld Boston. The catch though is that MacWorld can't be held at a later date lest it be trumped by CES. Either way, not showing up Macworld is going to decrease the enormous strains an arbitrary January date puts on the company. The Town Hall meetings are perfectly sufficient, a lot closer, a lot cheaper, and a lot more controllable.
Also, Steve Jobs not doing a keynote isn't a big deal. Schiller will not be his successor (I thought at one point it was going to be Forstall but that idea went out the door), but if there's no big products to push, Steve might as well just hand it off to his lieutenants. If and when Schiller announces an Apple product, then be worried.
Not only does it bring massive swings in expectations, but I'm assuming that it brings massive swings in product development cycles, too.
Better to bring new products out when you think they're ready than according to a pre-defined conference schedule. (Apple's prominent enough that they'll always get media attention for any significant new product launch.)
No, read the press release. It actually makes sense. They get a pretty large audience with their own activities and don't need the events anymore. Arrogant, yes. Smart, maybe...
I wouldn't be surprised if come 2010, Apple launches its own replacement tradeshow, covering all Apple product lines, and uses it for the big splash product announcements.
I wonder if some of the uncertainty is because people don't know what Macworld is exactly. I've followed the goings on at Macworld (online) and watched many of the keynotes, but till today I didn't realize Macworld was an independent conference rather than an official Apple event. Canceling a significant official event is big news, but pulling out of an otherwise independent event not so much so.
I just bought my first direct stock (non-index, non-mutual fund). A whopping five shares of AAPL. I think this is non-threatening news for the company and they are priced pretty well, currently, for holding longer than a year. Wish me luck. Anyone else just grab some?
