The infamous iPhone 6 “bending video” may have reached close to 47 million hits on YouTube, but Apple has seemingly escaped Bendgate without any lasting damage — just as it has with every “gate” incident before it.
In a new blog post entitled “The Joy of Apple Slamming,” former Apple ad exec Ken Segall (the man who named the iMac) explains how Jobs created a company able to withstand the kind of damaging rumors that would permanently damage lesser rivals.
The secret? Get people to really, really love you.
As Segall writes:
“[Steve] wanted every part of the customer experience to strengthen that love — from the advertising and in-store experience to unboxing, enjoying the product and getting support when needed.
By doing so, he would ensure that customers would (a) buy more stuff, (b) evangelize to others and (c) stick with Apple when unforeseen problems arise. He understood that such things were inevitable, even for a company like Apple.
History proves that Steve was 100% correct.”
As someone who has interviewed Ken on numerous occasions, I always enjoy his insider take on Apple culture, and this article is no different.
For everything Apple has done in terms of damage control for Bendgate (revealing that only 9 iPhone owners complained to Apple, in addition to showing off the kind of torture-testing Cupertino puts its devices through) there is no doubting that the real secret to Apple’s longevity is the fact that people feel a connection with the brand that will make them evangelists when times are good, and willing to forgive (or actively defend) the occasional misstep.
Long may it continue.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
28 responses to “How Steve Jobs prepared Apple for controversies like Bendgate”
Too bad Apple can’t go after that Canadian guy for defamation. Just keep him tied up in the court system for years. He probably could have taken any number of smartphones to task for bend resistance but he chose the iPhone 6. If you ask me, he was just looking to defame Apple rather than prove that any thin, large-display smartphone can be bent if you try hard enough. Instead of teaching people to be careful with their delicate smartphones and not abuse them, he chose to attack Apple by claiming their products were sub-par to every other smartphone being sold.
uh?
and if apple says it’s only 9, then it must be true?
Do you have a better source claiming otherwise?
A source is definitely needed. Especially with a video with 47 million hits on what is obviously a non issue, and a search result with over 10 million. It’s a good thing there were not 18 bent iphone reports. that video would have a hundred million hits by now!
Apple has never been caught in an open, blatant lie over a demonstrably objective fact. In fact, they’d be liable to SEC for misleading investors if that statement was a lie. They could just as easily have said that they’d only received “a handful” of complaints if they were trying to use weasel terms that couldn’t get them into trouble. So the fact that they gave a specific number at a specific point in time, suggests that it’s almost certainly true.
Other than innuendo, do you even have a rumor that suggests otherwise?
Ofcourse they have never been caught in a lie. They were completely honest when they disputed antennagate. Also when they patented phones with rounded corners and buttons.
Even if that’s what you think, those are subjective evaluations – not verifiable objective lies.
I think Tim is following that with one important difference. Tim has created an Emergency Response Team (ERT) and that is why they were able to respond so quickly. The ERT is able to form a virtual team by getting people from every group and with senior mgmt visibility to ensure everyone is on board and understand the priorities.
ERT is also working on coming up with scenarios that FUD creators may come up with and prepare canned plans/responses.
This is Tim’s strength of taking an expected process and make it work like magic.
This is an issue that is blowing out. I have not yet seen an official statement from apple yet. The UK kids bending the 6+ was cool on youtube!
Cool? Hope you raise your kids better.
Well what they turn out to be and how you raise them are two separate things these days!
What is “cool” about doing this?
What’s cool is that the kids disproved a common lie: That iphone 6 Pluses can’t be bent without significant pressure. If a couple of giggling school children can hurriedly bend and iphone 6 plus, then quite frankly everyone can.
So the kids didn’t apply significantly more pressure than would be exerted on the Plus, say, in a pocket? Oh, you’re an Android advocate. You’ll probably say anything to keep this thing alive.
Keep what alive? The dominant world OS which is steamrolling lesser OS’s (like yours) right out of existence? Or the company which practically owns the worlds data and practically has a lock on internet services and keeps around competitors like your company simply by virtue of the fact that if they don’t throw you people bones, anti-trust people will go after them? The days of Android needing an advocate are long over dude. I just do this for fun! lol
I mean seriously…who doesn’t want to be on the winners side? lol
You. With one word – YOU!
Wow..that’s funny. lol. You think I would go with a second rate phone on purpose? If I did that I would own an iphone or windows phone. lol. Keep dreaming buddy.
I guess you’ve missed the vid’s of all the other maker’s phones that also bend like that? What kind of dick takes an expensive phone and sits on it? Bends it with his hands? ‘Droid idiots I guess… Need a grandma phone? Get one. Need the best phone out there, and also the nicest looking phone? Get an iPhone. Ciao.
“The infamous iPhone 6 “bending video” may have reached close to 47 million hits on YouTube”
There is no YouTube video, with 47 million hits, that shows an iPhone 6 bending.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM
They are referring to this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM
There is.
Except the one on youtube.
Here’s a rebuttal billboard in Dallas:
And another billboard.
Well my 3 week wait for a 6 plus went to 24hrs directly after bendgate. You work it out…
Chill out, there have been only 9 complaints.
Wow…apple fans slay me!