please email me your comments if you are having trouble posting them! ajtheriault@gmail.com
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Apple Causes Some Unrest in China (and not the cool kind)
L.A. Times: Read about the opening of China's first flagship Apple store. Do you think this is a marketing strategy? What would be the reason for Apple to do this?
By Sam Walker, I don't think this was a marketing strategy but I also don't doubt that it could have been. I can see why it might be a way to build up even more tension for the release of the phone, but if they already knew how much hype the release was causing, I don't think they would have needed to delay the opening of the store. I think this was a way for the store to make more money in the long run because they knew the majority of people waiting to get into the store were only there to buy the phone and resell them for a different price. '"Ninety percent of the people here are scalpers," said a man surnamed Jin, who said friends recruited him to stand in line.' If the scalpers were really desperate to get the phone, they would go to one of the other stores in the area. If the managers of that store knew that, then they delayed the release to ensure that the rush to get the phone from the scalpers had passed and the people buying the phones were truly there to buy the phone for themselves or for their families, like the old lady waiting to by the phone for her son.
I do not believe apple refused to release the iPhone 4s strictly for marketing purposes. Things were definitely getting out of hand and become dangerous to everyone involved. If refusing to release the iPhone in the long run would hurt the company I do not believe they would have refused to open the doors. Because of the violence and number of people there and the fact that it could potential help their marketing strategy did play a role in it, I agree with Sam. Apple released a statement saying that they were unable to release the phone, “To ensure the safety of our customers and employees” People were in danger and if anything tragic happened to employees and customers, apple would get a bad name. Apple had the right to be intimidated by the large group and worried it could escalade to something more . Just last year, the LA times states, “Fights broke out and a glass door was shattered at the same Beijing store when the iPad 2 was released.” The people in Beijing seems completely obsessed with the iPhone. It’s sad how serious they are about a material object. I would have never thought that a human would go to such lengths in order to get an iPhone. The LA times says, “In June, a 17-year-old high school student reportedly sold a kidney to buy an iPad 2. And, in September, a 16-year-old girl was killed in a fight with her mother over the right to buy an Apple computer” That is just ridiculous and unbelievably sad. I believe Apple did the right thing by postponing the release of the iPhone. Hopefully when the time comes to finally release it, the crowds and calmed down and violence is no longer present. It’s just a phone for goodness sake. -Alli Lewis
By Denny Dessureault I first want to start of by saying i have no idea why such a silly little phone creating such an uproar in china. I agree with alli when she states "I do not believe apple refused to release the iphone 4s strictly for marketing purposes." The apple company would not shut down one of their major stores for a little reason. all of the people working and the people outside of the store were in danger of a riot starting or something worse and luckily the apple store shut down, which most likely prevented a very violent event from happening. The article stated that "to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iphone will not be availible in our retail stores..." This was a very good idea and prevented anything serious from happening. People were getting very angry and crowding the door and in doing so forced the apple store owners to shut down opening the store on a certain date. Further down in the article it states that a women and her daughter fought over buying a apple computer, and in the end, the 16 year old was killed over this discussion. This just goes to show how crazy some people are about the new i phone's and what measures they are willing to go to obtain this new device. Although the customers disliked the closing of this apple store, it was for the better good and stopped somehting very terrible from happening.
I do believe Apple was acting on decisions based on marketing strategies in China. I do understand that, around the world, the Iphone 4s is the latest technology to own. The Apple Company, knowing this, may want to pull up speculation in a country that in October had sales rise from $3 billion to $13 billion. I believe that this company has seen these actions all before and know how to handle a tied situation. For example, they know citizens in China will purchase the device and sell it somewhere else for a different price. Personally, I feel a company as massive and successful as Apple would want to sell as many Iphone 4s as possible to promote the brand and the latest technology. I believe the company acted in the way they did because they needed to show they were concerned towards their customers’ health and safety. They do not want a bad name for themselves because people are literally dying to retrieve their product. “It's a conscious marketing strategy by Apple, and it's going to cause a problem because things are ridiculously out of control," he said (Bill Bishop, a Beijing-based technology consultant,). "Nobody can be happy with Apple today in Beijing." Apple acting this way only gets customers to cause more frenzy and uproar. And while this is great advertisement for the product, there is a line between good promotion and violating safety. Also, this is smart for Apple to do, especially in China, which is the fastest and largest economy as well as strong customers to the Apple world. BY JAMIE WALLISCH
The Iphone, probably one of the most talked about and desired cell phones around is causing an uproar in China. This all started when the Beijing Apple store did not open the day that the Iphone 4s was released because of the large crowds and chaos. This is now making the public question whether this was a marketing strategy or not? I agree with Alli when she states “I do not believe Apple refused to release the Iphone 4s strictly for marketing purposes.” I believe Apple’s intention wasn’t a marketing strategy but their concern was on the safety of their customers and employees. In the article it states “The size of the crowd estimated to be about 2,000 people, alarmed police officials, who asked Apple not to open the store as planned Friday morning out of safety concerns.” Apple also put out a statement to clarify that this wasn’t a marketing strategy “To ensure the safety of our customers and employees, Iphone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being.” Apple made the right decision even though some people were there for good intentions. For example, a lady who didn’t get to buy her son an Iphone for his birthday. She didn’t get what she wanted, but she got out of there safely. The Iphone 4s can be purchased online for the people that truly wanted it unlike the “scalpers”. Overall Apple made the right decision.
I can honestly agree with Sam when she said that this was not a marketing strategy. I do not believe Apple was hoping to have to delay the opening for the new i-phone because they already new the hype. Exspecially in the article when Jonathan said, "People started converging Thursday outside the Apple store in one of Beijing's most popular high-end malls in the city's Sanlitun district. Some brought sleeping bags and said they were willing to pay $790 to $1,070 for the device. Tensions grew overnight and through the early morning as prospective buyers angled for positions near the front door and fights broke out between bands of migrant workers." People were obviously excited to get this i-phone. But there was so much excitement, and the police new that it was not going to be safe, I would have to agree with them by delaying the grand opening. I mean the poor manager of the entire mall was getting harrased when he obviously had nothing to do with Apple's decision to delay the opening. Just by this event happening you can see how much of a desire it is. Apple changed technology, which people have loved since Apple came out. So it is no suprise that everyone wants the newest thing that Apple comes out with. So I must agree with Apple's decision for the delay.
In this article, I do believe it could have been a really smart marketing strategy. A bunch of people working for Apple getting all these future iPhone buyers more and more worked up about them. I bet it must have been crazy with more and more people showing up because people who were there told them to go. I would like to quote what Denny says, that he has "no idea why such a silly little phone creating such an uproar in china." Which is very much true. I do not understand why Apple would do this resulting in less people purchasing the iPhone because they cancelled this locations sales. The NY Times states, "Apple's four other official stores in mainland China — one other in Beijing and three in Shanghai — did open as scheduled and quickly sold out of all iPhone 4S models." I do not understand why they could not have just opened this one other location and get so much more money, the four other locations all sold out. In conclusion, I believe they used a good marketing strategy to get everyone worked up about it but I just do not understand why they would set themselves up for failure.
This article attests to the materialistic importance in today’s society. People risked their lives, fines and jail time to get a cell phone. The most incredible thing however is how much apple has made off this one release. “13 billion from 3 billion for the fiscal year.” I have never heard of any company jumping at such an incredible rate. I also think that Tyler brings up a valuable point saying that apple has created more of a need for the i-phone in delaying the release. Overall the hype surrounding this is amazing and I can’t imagine an official i-phone release without some sort of huge crowd and the potential to riot.
I agree with Denny saying he doesn’t understand how a phone can provoke a riot like this (it is incomprehensible to me). “People started converging Thursday outside the Apple store in one of Beijing's most popular high-end malls in the city's Sanlitun district. Some brought sleeping bags and said they were willing to pay $790 to $1,070 for the device. Tensions grew overnight…”. This shows how consumerism is taking the worst from many people and also how a name decides whether a products is bought or not. There are lots of equivalent devices to this one or to any other made by Apple, and they are not much worse (in the cases when they are worse). Also, the products of other companies are usually cheaper, while they aren’t as popular. I’m sure that this is due to Apple’s huge campaigns of marketing and their reputation. I actually think that there are many people that want to have an iPhone or a Mac just because they have a chewed apple on their back so they can feel exclusive (of course, there are always exceptions). This desire for exclusiveness makes thinks like this riot to happen.
Ryan Peterson- I agree with Alli and Denny when they say, “I do not believe Apple refused to release the Iphone 4S strictly for marketing purposes.” I believe that It may be true that Apple was limiting supplies and delaying to create more demand, however I don’t believe that is true in this specific case. As the article stated the Iphone 4S was sold in the other stores without a hitch so this is obviously not a marketing strategy. In this specific case the store wasn’t opened as a result of security purposes. As the articles states, “When the mall’s property manager tried to intervene, a gang of men chased after him.” This is obviously a security threat and the Apple officials and safety officials believed it was in everyone’s best interest not to open the store for security reasons. If the crowd was willing to fight throw eggs and chase after people who had no part in this, obviously they would have frenzied as well if the doors were opened and the Iphone 4S’s were sold. This is clearly not a marketing attempt by Apple.
In my opinion, this was not a marketing technique but a much needed safety precaution used to tame the “massive crowd waiting outside its Beijing flagship”, which had turned wild and violent. People in China favor these electronic devices more than people in America do for the simple reason of they're made there and it's one of the many things they're known best for. Getting the latest iPod or iPhone is like a sport to them, thus causing the crowd outside the industrial Apple Co. store in the mall to turn against the cops and store managers when informed the sales on the iPhone would be postponed. The article clearly states, “the size of the crowd, estimated to be about 2,000 people, alarmed police officers, who asked Apple not to open the store as planned friday morning out of safety concerns”, that statement said nothing about it being a marketing technique or a way to gain them more money, it was simply to protect the innocent people who were bystanders to the raging group that was slowly taking over the place. I agree with Ryan, Alli, and Denny when they state how apple did not refuse to release the phone for marketing purposes, there was no real need to. Considering Tim Cook, Chief Executive, clearly says “consumer response to our products have been off the charts”, I don't see why they would need to find a way to get more people to buy the phones, they've already got more than they need.
first i would like to say that i agree with many but especially denny when he says, " i have no idea why such a silly little phone creating such an uproar in china." i find it rediculoud that a 16 year old girl was killed over a computer and a 17 year old sold a kidney for an ipad2. this shows how materialistic cultures have come to be. i also do not believe that not allowing the stores to open was not a marketing stategy but a saftey consern. Apple knew that there was already enough hype for the product. i believe that they closed soly for the reason that the crowds were out of control and was not a safe situation.
As many of the others said, I do not believe that when Apple postponed the opening of the first flagship Apple store in China that it was for marketing purposes. In the very beginning of the article, it states, "The size of the crowd, estimated to be about 2,000 people, alarmed police officials, who asked Apple not to open the store as planned Friday morning out of safety concerns." Apple had originally planned on opening the store but the Beijing police did not believe it was safe, thus Apple decided to halt the opening to another time. So in a way, it was not Apple who decided to delay the opening, but the police because they suggested it due to the mass amounts of people. The police had already witnessed acts of violence when "...fights broke out and a glass door was shattered at the same Beijing store when the iPad 2 was released." I believe that delaying the availability of the IPhone was a smart move, chosen by the police of Beijing and the people working for Apple, not as a marketing strategy but simply to ensure that their buyers were safe from violence and harm. If Apple did not care about their customers safety and only their sales, they would have not delayed the opening and would have opened the store when it was scheduled to be open. If you think about it, over 2,000 people ready to buy multiple amounts of Iphone's would mean serious cash for Apple, so why would they halt sales unless for the buyer's safety? And that is why I believe delaying the opening of the store in Beijing was for safety purposes instead of a mearketing strategy!
To start things off, I agree with Alli when she said "I do not believe apple refused to release the iphone 4s strictly for marketing purposes." and I agree with that statement completely. When someone sees 2,000 people converge on a building, would you be alarmed and stop the release of a product to protect the safety of others? This article confuses me in the sense of how their fellow Chinese citizen help create the product who are underage the working limit, but still they are creating that demand that creates the need for more people to work in the factories and this means the enlistment of children and other workers for a cheap price. That is why they are called cheap labor and that exploit brings out a huge profit at the expense of next generation not having a childhood and a polluted country for the next generation to fix. To me this is the most irresponsible and shameful thing that I have seen in my entire life. Angry because just because a Phone is being delayed. Never hear about this in other countries to the point of egging a building. I am not surprised when the started to beat the mall manager. By putting himself out there and identifying himself as a key figure to opening of the mall, they choose to beat him. This all shows the Apple influence in China and how extreme it has gotten.-Jacky Lim
I don't think Apple delayed the release of the Iphone 4s for marketing purposes, but rather delayed it because of the mass amount of people that were egging the building and getting angry over having to wait to purchase their Iphone. I agree with Jacky when he said, "I am not surprised when the [people] started to beat the mall manager." As soon as the crowd was give a target at which to direct their anger, they lashed out at him. The extremity of the situation really reflects modern society in China. It seems so petty that such a little thing, like a delay of an Iphone, causes such an uproar. The article states that people were yelling, "Apple lied to us!" People took the delay on such a personal level. I think that there is a large pressure on society to be modern and up-to-date with technology, but I have never seen such chaos caused by the need of material items, especially an Iphone. Apple had every right to delay the release, especially when the Chinese costumers proved that it would be dangerous to release it. - Vicki Glavin
I do not believe that Apple not releasing the Iphone was a marketing strategy, it was only an attempt to keep the citizens safe. With 2,000 people crowding a building that all stayed up throughout the night to get there, I my self would be a little worried of people getting trampled and possibly killed during the opening. I agree with Vickie in saying that "People took the delay on such a personal level". In the article it stated that people were shouting "Apple lied to us", making it seem that apple did this deliberately to upset these people out side the store. It is sad that our world has come to this point, were having to wait an extra day for a phone turns into wrecking a building and beating up a mall manager. Doing this did not help them get the phone any faster, it was merely just a way to express their anger and rage. Technology has done amazing things for this world, but it turns out this time that it did more harm then good
I agree with Ryan when he says that Apple did not delay the release of the phone to anger people, or as a marketing strategy, and that people shouldn't have taken it on such a personal level. I also think that Jacky brought up an interesting point about the contradiction this article and the other article about Apple create-- the people buying the product are supporting the idea of cheap, uinfair labor in China by purchasing the items the factories create. I have to wonder how many of these people actually have any idea what Apple's factories are like, especially since no one really knew until recently. Back to the original point of this article, though, I feel that the rioting was entirely pointless, and Apple was definitely not trying to "lie" to its customers about the release date of the phone. -Saralyn
I doubt that Apple manipulated the people as a marketing strategy. I believe Apple's desicion to delay the release of the iPhone iOS4 was based solely off fear of the 2000 angry customers outside the doors of the operation. I would be terrified that I'd get malled if I was a worker. The situation was not safe and it was right to delay the opening. This was not planned, however, I am sure that it did end up benefitting the company, for more people were open to paying more for the long-awaited product. The obsession in China for electronic programs is disgusting, and the fact that they were so impatient to wait until the doors were open, worries me. People could have been seriously injured, even killed, if the customers were as upset as the article mentioned. I agree with Ryan when he says, "It is sad that our world has come to this point, were having to wait an extra day for a phone turns into wrecking a building and beating up a mall manager." Are electronics really that important? It baffles me to think there are people out there who believe it is so. BY TESS
By Sam Walker,
ReplyDeleteI don't think this was a marketing strategy but I also don't doubt that it could have been. I can see why it might be a way to build up even more tension for the release of the phone, but if they already knew how much hype the release was causing, I don't think they would have needed to delay the opening of the store. I think this was a way for the store to make more money in the long run because they knew the majority of people waiting to get into the store were only there to buy the phone and resell them for a different price. '"Ninety percent of the people here are scalpers," said a man surnamed Jin, who said friends recruited him to stand in line.' If the scalpers were really desperate to get the phone, they would go to one of the other stores in the area. If the managers of that store knew that, then they delayed the release to ensure that the rush to get the phone from the scalpers had passed and the people buying the phones were truly there to buy the phone for themselves or for their families, like the old lady waiting to by the phone for her son.
I do not believe apple refused to release the iPhone 4s strictly for marketing purposes. Things were definitely getting out of hand and become dangerous to everyone involved. If refusing to release the iPhone in the long run would hurt the company I do not believe they would have refused to open the doors. Because of the violence and number of people there and the fact that it could potential help their marketing strategy did play a role in it, I agree with Sam. Apple released a statement saying that they were unable to release the phone, “To ensure the safety of our customers and employees” People were in danger and if anything tragic happened to employees and customers, apple would get a bad name. Apple had the right to be intimidated by the large group and worried it could escalade to something more . Just last year, the LA times states, “Fights broke out and a glass door was shattered at the same Beijing store when the iPad 2 was released.” The people in Beijing seems completely obsessed with the iPhone. It’s sad how serious they are about a material object. I would have never thought that a human would go to such lengths in order to get an iPhone. The LA times says, “In June, a 17-year-old high school student reportedly sold a kidney to buy an iPad 2. And, in September, a 16-year-old girl was killed in a fight with her mother over the right to buy an Apple computer” That is just ridiculous and unbelievably sad. I believe Apple did the right thing by postponing the release of the iPhone. Hopefully when the time comes to finally release it, the crowds and calmed down and violence is no longer present. It’s just a phone for goodness sake. -Alli Lewis
ReplyDeleteBy Denny Dessureault
ReplyDeleteI first want to start of by saying i have no idea why such a silly little phone creating such an uproar in china. I agree with alli when she states "I do not believe apple refused to release the iphone 4s strictly for marketing purposes." The apple company would not shut down one of their major stores for a little reason. all of the people working and the people outside of the store were in danger of a riot starting or something worse and luckily the apple store shut down, which most likely prevented a very violent event from happening. The article stated that "to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iphone will not be availible in our retail stores..." This was a very good idea and prevented anything serious from happening. People were getting very angry and crowding the door and in doing so forced the apple store owners to shut down opening the store on a certain date. Further down in the article it states that a women and her daughter fought over buying a apple computer, and in the end, the 16 year old was killed over this discussion. This just goes to show how crazy some people are about the new i phone's and what measures they are willing to go to obtain this new device. Although the customers disliked the closing of this apple store, it was for the better good and stopped somehting very terrible from happening.
I do believe Apple was acting on decisions based on marketing strategies in China. I do understand that, around the world, the Iphone 4s is the latest technology to own. The Apple Company, knowing this, may want to pull up speculation in a country that in October had sales rise from $3 billion to $13 billion. I believe that this company has seen these actions all before and know how to handle a tied situation. For example, they know citizens in China will purchase the device and sell it somewhere else for a different price. Personally, I feel a company as massive and successful as Apple would want to sell as many Iphone 4s as possible to promote the brand and the latest technology. I believe the company acted in the way they did because they needed to show they were concerned towards their customers’ health and safety. They do not want a bad name for themselves because people are literally dying to retrieve their product. “It's a conscious marketing strategy by Apple, and it's going to cause a problem because things are ridiculously out of control," he said (Bill Bishop, a Beijing-based technology consultant,). "Nobody can be happy with Apple today in Beijing." Apple acting this way only gets customers to cause more frenzy and uproar. And while this is great advertisement for the product, there is a line between good promotion and violating safety. Also, this is smart for Apple to do, especially in China, which is the fastest and largest economy as well as strong customers to the Apple world. BY JAMIE WALLISCH
ReplyDeleteThe Iphone, probably one of the most talked about and desired cell phones around is causing an uproar in China. This all started when the Beijing Apple store did not open the day that the Iphone 4s was released because of the large crowds and chaos. This is now making the public question whether this was a marketing strategy or not? I agree with Alli when she states “I do not believe Apple refused to release the Iphone 4s strictly for marketing purposes.” I believe Apple’s intention wasn’t a marketing strategy but their concern was on the safety of their customers and employees. In the article it states “The size of the crowd estimated to be about 2,000 people, alarmed police officials, who asked Apple not to open the store as planned Friday morning out of safety concerns.” Apple also put out a statement to clarify that this wasn’t a marketing strategy “To ensure the safety of our customers and employees, Iphone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being.” Apple made the right decision even though some people were there for good intentions. For example, a lady who didn’t get to buy her son an Iphone for his birthday. She didn’t get what she wanted, but she got out of there safely. The Iphone 4s can be purchased online for the people that truly wanted it unlike the “scalpers”. Overall Apple made the right decision.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly agree with Sam when she said that this was not a marketing strategy. I do not believe Apple was hoping to have to delay the opening for the new i-phone because they already new the hype. Exspecially in the article when Jonathan said, "People started converging Thursday outside the Apple store in one of Beijing's most popular high-end malls in the city's Sanlitun district. Some brought sleeping bags and said they were willing to pay $790 to $1,070 for the device. Tensions grew overnight and through the early morning as prospective buyers angled for positions near the front door and fights broke out between bands of migrant workers." People were obviously excited to get this i-phone. But there was so much excitement, and the police new that it was not going to be safe, I would have to agree with them by delaying the grand opening. I mean the poor manager of the entire mall was getting harrased when he obviously had nothing to do with Apple's decision to delay the opening. Just by this event happening you can see how much of a desire it is. Apple changed technology, which people have loved since Apple came out. So it is no suprise that everyone wants the newest thing that Apple comes out with. So I must agree with Apple's decision for the delay.
ReplyDelete- Molly
In this article, I do believe it could have been a really smart marketing strategy. A bunch of people working for Apple getting all these future iPhone buyers more and more worked up about them. I bet it must have been crazy with more and more people showing up because people who were there told them to go. I would like to quote what Denny says, that he has "no idea why such a silly little phone creating such an uproar in china." Which is very much true. I do not understand why Apple would do this resulting in less people purchasing the iPhone because they cancelled this locations sales. The NY Times states, "Apple's four other official stores in mainland China — one other in Beijing and three in Shanghai — did open as scheduled and quickly sold out of all iPhone 4S models." I do not understand why they could not have just opened this one other location and get so much more money, the four other locations all sold out. In conclusion, I believe they used a good marketing strategy to get everyone worked up about it but I just do not understand why they would set themselves up for failure.
ReplyDeleteThis article attests to the materialistic importance in today’s society. People risked their lives, fines and jail time to get a cell phone. The most incredible thing however is how much apple has made off this one release. “13 billion from 3 billion for the fiscal year.” I have never heard of any company jumping at such an incredible rate. I also think that Tyler brings up a valuable point saying that apple has created more of a need for the i-phone in delaying the release. Overall the hype surrounding this is amazing and I can’t imagine an official i-phone release without some sort of huge crowd and the potential to riot.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Denny saying he doesn’t understand how a phone can provoke a riot like this (it is incomprehensible to me). “People started converging Thursday outside the Apple store in one of Beijing's most popular high-end malls in the city's Sanlitun district. Some brought sleeping bags and said they were willing to pay $790 to $1,070 for the device. Tensions grew overnight…”. This shows how consumerism is taking the worst from many people and also how a name decides whether a products is bought or not. There are lots of equivalent devices to this one or to any other made by Apple, and they are not much worse (in the cases when they are worse). Also, the products of other companies are usually cheaper, while they aren’t as popular. I’m sure that this is due to Apple’s huge campaigns of marketing and their reputation. I actually think that there are many people that want to have an iPhone or a Mac just because they have a chewed apple on their back so they can feel exclusive (of course, there are always exceptions). This desire for exclusiveness makes thinks like this riot to happen.
ReplyDeleteRyan Peterson- I agree with Alli and Denny when they say, “I do not believe Apple refused to release the Iphone 4S strictly for marketing purposes.” I believe that It may be true that Apple was limiting supplies and delaying to create more demand, however I don’t believe that is true in this specific case. As the article stated the Iphone 4S was sold in the other stores without a hitch so this is obviously not a marketing strategy. In this specific case the store wasn’t opened as a result of security purposes. As the articles states, “When the mall’s property manager tried to intervene, a gang of men chased after him.” This is obviously a security threat and the Apple officials and safety officials believed it was in everyone’s best interest not to open the store for security reasons. If the crowd was willing to fight throw eggs and chase after people who had no part in this, obviously they would have frenzied as well if the doors were opened and the Iphone 4S’s were sold. This is clearly not a marketing attempt by Apple.
ReplyDeleteBy: Julianne Hilton
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this was not a marketing technique but a much needed safety precaution used to tame the “massive crowd waiting outside its Beijing flagship”, which had turned wild and violent. People in China favor these electronic devices more than people in America do for the simple reason of they're made there and it's one of the many things they're known best for. Getting the latest iPod or iPhone is like a sport to them, thus causing the crowd outside the industrial Apple Co. store in the mall to turn against the cops and store managers when informed the sales on the iPhone would be postponed. The article clearly states, “the size of the crowd, estimated to be about 2,000 people, alarmed police officers, who asked Apple not to open the store as planned friday morning out of safety concerns”, that statement said nothing about it being a marketing technique or a way to gain them more money, it was simply to protect the innocent people who were bystanders to the raging group that was slowly taking over the place. I agree with Ryan, Alli, and Denny when they state how apple did not refuse to release the phone for marketing purposes, there was no real need to. Considering Tim Cook, Chief Executive, clearly says “consumer response to our products have been off the charts”, I don't see why they would need to find a way to get more people to buy the phones, they've already got more than they need.
first i would like to say that i agree with many but especially denny when he says, " i have no idea why such a silly little phone creating such an uproar in china." i find it rediculoud that a 16 year old girl was killed over a computer and a 17 year old sold a kidney for an ipad2. this shows how materialistic cultures have come to be. i also do not believe that not allowing the stores to open was not a marketing stategy but a saftey consern. Apple knew that there was already enough hype for the product. i believe that they closed soly for the reason that the crowds were out of control and was not a safe situation.
ReplyDeleteAs many of the others said, I do not believe that when Apple postponed the opening of the first flagship Apple store in China that it was for marketing purposes. In the very beginning of the article, it states, "The size of the crowd, estimated to be about 2,000 people, alarmed police officials, who asked Apple not to open the store as planned Friday morning out of safety concerns." Apple had originally planned on opening the store but the Beijing police did not believe it was safe, thus Apple decided to halt the opening to another time. So in a way, it was not Apple who decided to delay the opening, but the police because they suggested it due to the mass amounts of people. The police had already witnessed acts of violence when "...fights broke out and a glass door was shattered at the same Beijing store when the iPad 2 was released." I believe that delaying the availability of the IPhone was a smart move, chosen by the police of Beijing and the people working for Apple, not as a marketing strategy but simply to ensure that their buyers were safe from violence and harm. If Apple did not care about their customers safety and only their sales, they would have not delayed the opening and would have opened the store when it was scheduled to be open. If you think about it, over 2,000 people ready to buy multiple amounts of Iphone's would mean serious cash for Apple, so why would they halt sales unless for the buyer's safety? And that is why I believe delaying the opening of the store in Beijing was for safety purposes instead of a mearketing strategy!
ReplyDeleteTo start things off, I agree with Alli when she said "I do not believe apple refused to release the iphone 4s strictly for marketing purposes." and I agree with that statement completely. When someone sees 2,000 people converge on a building, would you be alarmed and stop the release of a product to protect the safety of others? This article confuses me in the sense of how their fellow Chinese citizen help create the product who are underage the working limit, but still they are creating that demand that creates the need for more people to work in the factories and this means the enlistment of children and other workers for a cheap price. That is why they are called cheap labor and that exploit brings out a huge profit at the expense of next generation not having a childhood and a polluted country for the next generation to fix. To me this is the most irresponsible and shameful thing that I have seen in my entire life. Angry because just because a Phone is being delayed. Never hear about this in other countries to the point of egging a building. I am not surprised when the started to beat the mall manager. By putting himself out there and identifying himself as a key figure to opening of the mall, they choose to beat him. This all shows the Apple influence in China and how extreme it has gotten.-Jacky Lim
ReplyDeleteI don't think Apple delayed the release of the Iphone 4s for marketing purposes, but rather delayed it because of the mass amount of people that were egging the building and getting angry over having to wait to purchase their Iphone. I agree with Jacky when he said, "I am not surprised when the [people] started to beat the mall manager." As soon as the crowd was give a target at which to direct their anger, they lashed out at him. The extremity of the situation really reflects modern society in China. It seems so petty that such a little thing, like a delay of an Iphone, causes such an uproar. The article states that people were yelling, "Apple lied to us!" People took the delay on such a personal level. I think that there is a large pressure on society to be modern and up-to-date with technology, but I have never seen such chaos caused by the need of material items, especially an Iphone. Apple had every right to delay the release, especially when the Chinese costumers proved that it would be dangerous to release it. - Vicki Glavin
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that Apple not releasing the Iphone was a marketing strategy, it was only an attempt to keep the citizens safe. With 2,000 people crowding a building that all stayed up throughout the night to get there, I my self would be a little worried of people getting trampled and possibly killed during the opening. I agree with Vickie in saying that "People took the delay on such a personal level". In the article it stated that people were shouting "Apple lied to us", making it seem that apple did this deliberately to upset these people out side the store. It is sad that our world has come to this point, were having to wait an extra day for a phone turns into wrecking a building and beating up a mall manager. Doing this did not help them get the phone any faster, it was merely just a way to express their anger and rage. Technology has done amazing things for this world, but it turns out this time that it did more harm then good
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ryan when he says that Apple did not delay the release of the phone to anger people, or as a marketing strategy, and that people shouldn't have taken it on such a personal level. I also think that Jacky brought up an interesting point about the contradiction this article and the other article about Apple create-- the people buying the product are supporting the idea of cheap, uinfair labor in China by purchasing the items the factories create. I have to wonder how many of these people actually have any idea what Apple's factories are like, especially since no one really knew until recently. Back to the original point of this article, though, I feel that the rioting was entirely pointless, and Apple was definitely not trying to "lie" to its customers about the release date of the phone. -Saralyn
ReplyDeleteI doubt that Apple manipulated the people as a marketing strategy. I believe Apple's desicion to delay the release of the iPhone iOS4 was based solely off fear of the 2000 angry customers outside the doors of the operation. I would be terrified that I'd get malled if I was a worker. The situation was not safe and it was right to delay the opening. This was not planned, however, I am sure that it did end up benefitting the company, for more people were open to paying more for the long-awaited product. The obsession in China for electronic programs is disgusting, and the fact that they were so impatient to wait until the doors were open, worries me. People could have been seriously injured, even killed, if the customers were as upset as the article mentioned. I agree with Ryan when he says, "It is sad that our world has come to this point, were having to wait an extra day for a phone turns into wrecking a building and beating up a mall manager." Are electronics really that important? It baffles me to think there are people out there who believe it is so.
ReplyDeleteBY TESS