Timbuktoons Studio » Apple

“It’s a Gap with Apple products!”

Sean Copley — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:08:31 +0000

Apple's 32-foot glass cube flagship store, Fifth Avenue NY. Apple Stores have four times the foot traffic than all MLB stadiums combined. (Image courtesy of Apple)

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the brick and mortar Apple stores that, in typical Apple fashion, brought refreshing innovation to the retail industry. I was one of the more than 1500 that waited in line for hours to see what was behind the big glass doors at Tysons Corner in McLean, VA.

Looking back 10 years at my 15 minutes of fame
While there several reporters interviewed me about the experience. Just for fun I did a Google search for my name and Apple and surprisingly my quotes appeared on sites like PCWorld, BusinessWeek, MacWorld and more…

“Nobody can do it like Apple does.”

“It’s a Gap with Apple products!”

“There’s an aesthetic quality to using a Mac. It only goes without saying that their store would be the same way.”

“People here actually know what they’re talking about.”

Why did I wait in line at a mall, usually the bane of my existence? To see a bunch of Apple products? To be welcomed by dozens of cheering and clapping employees? No, although both experiences were, well, amazing.

It happened one night at a CompUSA
Yes, I’m a fan boy, but back in 2001 I’d only been using Macs for about 5 years. The real reason had to do with the miserable retail experience of being a Mac user pre iMac days…back when you couldn’t read an article about Apple without the word “beleaguered” in it or hear rumors of a buyout by this or that company (Sony, Sun, Disney, etc.).

It came to a head for me one late night at a CompUSA (remember them?) searching for a printer cartridge for my Stylewriter. It wasn’t enough to tell me they were out of stock. The clerk had to call his buddies over for a laugh and literally taunt me for owning a Mac. “Does that company still exist?!” “I heard they just got bought by Sun?”

I slinked back home and read my MacAddicts. It was crazy, but typical. When market share determined shelf space and availability (buying online was just taking off) it was a frustrating chore to find knowledgeable people and the right product.

The Apple experience: branding at it’s best
That kind of experience didn’t match Apple’s brand promises. Well, maybe their tagline “Think Different,” but I’m pretty sure that’s not what they meant.

Fast forward to 2001. Apple begins opening retail stores (while others are closing and analysts think they’re crazy) so they can control the whole experience of owning a Mac, from purchase to product.

Everything they do from advertising, product placement, even packaging all supports Apple’s promises that the experience will match their brand’s reputation.

Does a strong brand really matter?
At Timbuktoons, Apple has always been a brand hero. Their devoted attention to the customer’s journey is an inspiration for the way we approach our work. It drives us to understand the spirit of a client’s brand and translate that emotion and information through animation.

Branding matters more than ever in a cluttered market where everyone is vying for attention. Companies like Apple have shown us that, yes, product, price, promotion and placement still count…but so does the experience.

For me, the Apple Store was the last piece of the puzzle to creating one of history’s most valuable brand leaders.

Friday Favs 04_15_11

admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:55:56 +0000

Links Timbuktoons stumbled upon that were helpful, weird or just plain fun…

Shaping the Future: 7 Predictions for the Creative Community

2011: Second Wave of Children’s Mobile Apps Is Coming

Infographic of Superpowers

Are You An Armchair Creative?

Peter Jackson video tour of The Hobbit

Ed Catmull, Pixar: Keep Your Crises Small

Apple will be the first $1 trillion company

Rube Goldberg

Friday Favs 01_14_11

admin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:41:17 +0000

Apple engineer re-creates Greek computer with LEGOs

2010′s Top Twitter trends

Scott Brown on the Art of the Elevator Pitch

The first rule of doing work that matters (Seth Godin)

The Micro Gallery

[atc] AutoCenter website redesign and launch

Ben Balistreri’s Blog (artist at Dreamworks)

Five Secrets of PGA Nom ‘Despicable Me’s’ $542 Million Success

CreatureBox

Hey Oprah- Timbuktoons has favorite things too!

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:44:47 +0000

Oprah’s not the only one who has a list of favorite things. There are a handful of things- both big and small- that make us at Timbuktoons smile. Here’s a list of 50 things that we get excited about (in no particular order)….

Black Cherry Sugar Free Halls
V.1 of Scripture Shorts
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet
Nike +
Lord of the Rings Special Extended Edition boxset
Cherry Coke Zero
Netflix
Indiana Jones
Good to Great
Hulu
m&m’s
Godzilla movies
anything with monkeys
Microsoft Kinect
Proverbs
iPhone
Hilton Head
Five Guys food
old skool hip-hop
Dr. Seuss books
the elusive Redskins winning season
Iron Giant
Ramen Noodles (chicken flavor)
boom boxes
“Art of” movie books
Enter the Dragon
automatic pencils
Philippians
blanket forts
Chick-fil-A (especially for breakfast)
snowboarding
Aston Martin…or a Camaro
Venti Skinny Vanilla from Starbucks
Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan
a bound sketchbook
Three Brother’s Pizza
Pixar Blu-rays
Sonic Diet Cherry Limeade
3 peg-hole animation paper
Viewmaster slides
new mercies
Optimus Prime
Coloring books
New Balance running shoes
iPad
Gizmo
Extra Dessert Delights gum
Pistachios
Raising Cane’s Sauce

WIN! In the spirit of giving we thought it would be fun to give some of these away! Just tweet, like or repost this article and one lucky winner will get a special “Timbuktoons’ Favs” gift basket for Christmas!

To enter: use your social media magic then send us an e-mail at news@timbuktoons.com with the subject line: Timbuktoons’ Favs and link to your post!

[UPDATE: We have a winner...thanks for all who entered! Congrats to Melonie from Nova Scotia!]