A recent visit to the Apple campus left me with many impressions. The strongest one was that Apple works hard on getting their message in.
Getting the message out to consumers is something a lot of companies spend millions on, but getting the message in to employees isn’t something I see as often. At least not as seriously Apple seems to take it.
Apple sells Apple to its employees as strongly as it sells Apple to its customers.
The entranceway is flanked by huge 3 story banners (iPod Nano banners when I was there). Their hallways are lined with Apple marketing messages and materials. Every time you go to work you are reminded of the products you ship. In big huge looming living color. I was impressed.
Getting the message in is about feeding the culture. It’s about making people proud of the work working on. I think it’s an important lesson for anyone building a team. Getting the message in is as important as getting the message out.
James Reggio
on 18 Apr 07Interestingly enough, Microsoft also plasters their campus with marketing; three-story banners on building exteriors, full-body decals on buses, and even little lamppost signs.
While I would balk at attributing business success to this technique, it apparently serves to unify employees with a common vision and a shared excitement for product launches.
Derick
on 18 Apr 07@James Reggio
The does exist a major difference between Microsoft and Apple, and that is Microsoft is a software company whereas Apple is hardware company.
It’s much easier to get excited about something you can hold, touch, feel than something you can’t.
Rex Hammock
on 18 Apr 07Jason, A couple of years ago, after a similar visit to Apple, I decided that my small business should do the same. We worked with a Nashville company that does trade show exhibits for what they termed, “environmental branding.” Here’s some shots of our lobby on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hammock/sets/72157600017835724/ There’s a link to an article about the “make over” that appeared recently in the Nashville newspaper. We love telling stories—even when we’re telling them internally. – Rex
Jacob Patton
on 18 Apr 07Apple’s internal marketing sounds interesting, but I wonder how they can keep it fresh without feeling a little too much like 1984…. Maybe if they gave every employee free iPods with the release of each new version (and telescreens, too….) ;-)
Ben
on 18 Apr 07Jason – Is Coudal cool with you decorating the office?
Mark McClennan
on 18 Apr 07That does sound impressive. It all goes to how do you keep people motivated to do their jobs, and do you realize that everyone in your company is the face of your company – especially in today’s world.
Making sure the core values are understood and lived by every employee – not just parroted back. At times the above sounds like marketing hype, but when it is done well (as it is by Apple) it can help make a company that excels and listens to its customers.
It doesn’t matter if it is software, hardware, retail, or the local bakery down the corner…
Walker Hamilton
on 18 Apr 07@Ben: LOL!
Tim
on 18 Apr 07Just a thought about Jacob’s comment on keeping it fresh. I think it’s part of their strategy to remind employees of the ideas that made the company great. Woven into the “fabric” of the environment of 1 Infinite Loop are icons, fonts, names, and other “currency” that brought the company fortune and power. At first glance, they appear whimsical and fun-loving, but the deeper message is, “here’s your legacy, how are you going to broaden it, strengthen it, extend it?”
MT Heart
on 18 Apr 07The major difference between Apple and Microsoft isn’t that one produces hardware and the other produces software. They both produce HW and SW.
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/
The difference is that one of them is very good at designing both HW and SW. The other one isn’t.
Evan
on 18 Apr 07Every few years, Apple does give every employee a free iPod!
Brendan
on 18 Apr 07I used to work at AOL in the late 90s. They had all kinds of posters, badges and shirts. Some people were really into it. Usually, they were the same folks who watched the stock price from minute to minute. Personally, I found the self-marketing pretty tacky. Apple makes some nice stuff but they’re just a company. I’m still friends with some of my old colleagues but I could really care less about AOL let alone their brand.
David
on 18 Apr 07Jason,
I don’t know if you’ve ever made it to Nike, but they do the same things as Apple. In fact, some employees even go as far as getting tattooed.
~d
Steven Andrew Miller
on 18 Apr 07I think Apple is generally an okay company. (I use a Mac and have an iPod) But I find it interesting that at another company this would be considered corporate propaganda in the most negative way. But Apple always gets a pass for the stuff they do because they are so cool.
Debbie
on 18 Apr 07Many people, including men, suffer from the “battered wife syndrome” when it comes to Apple.
They are in the belief that Apple can never do wrong.
Jens Alfke
on 18 Apr 07Uh, Apple is a software company too. That’s what I work on there. And when a new version of OS X comes out, you better believe there are big banners and posters of it on campus. (As there have been for iTunes, iLife, Final Cut, etc.)
I visited Microsoft’s Silicon Valley offices once - where they do the Mac software like Office - and was amused to see that the walls there were plastered with Apple paraphernalia, too.
vslog
on 18 Apr 07ugh… I’d puke if the first thing I saw every morning was big giant posters of my company’s products and marketing mateiral all over the place. If Apple employees need to be reminded that they work for a stellar company every single minute, they probably shouldn’t be there in the first place
Stuart Montgomery
on 18 Apr 07I used to work at one of Apple’s retail stores and can totally affirm this. They do an excellent job of marketing to their own people, which just keeps the enthusiasm for the company at a constant high. And as I learned working at the store, enthusiasm is contagious; if the employees are excited about the product, the customers are going to be excited about the product as well.
Nick
on 18 Apr 07This all goes back to a basic principle of branding: in order for your brand to be believable, your people need to believe in the brand. If your brand isn’t believable (authentic/honest/real/etc) then it isn’t likely to be successful.
Also important to note is that blatant internal propaganda isn’t going to get your people to believe in you. But when internal marketing efforts strengthen the trust that employees have in a company, then those employees are much more likely to be enthusiastic about the brand, the company, its products, etc.
Greg
on 18 Apr 07Out of curiosity, is the GooglePlex anything like Cupertino?
I don’t know if there’s anyone here, either readers or 37signals staff, that’s ever been to both, but I’m really wondering how the compounds compare. They seem like they have similar corporate cultures, but I don’t know how much (or in what way) they let that affect their working environment.
Don Schenck
on 18 Apr 07I do the same sort of thing at home. My wife has to look a huge pictures of me all over those. I’m talkin’ posters of me … in my Mr. America pose … with my surfboard … smoking a cigar …
Hmmmm … I wonder if that’s why she left me??? :)
Karl N
on 18 Apr 07Greg, I don’t know how similar the two are. Apple seems like the fashionable designers, while Google seems like the math nerds.
I think the reason Apple’s message works is because their brand isn’t about just producing the best widgets and sprockets, they’re about making a meaningful difference in people’s lives and doing it with style. No one wants to wear a shirt about widgets, but everyone can be passionate about making a difference in the world. I think Apple generally feels their products superior at a spiritual level, where Microsoft can only be proud of having the best software for “squares”.
Benjy
on 18 Apr 07I can see how it’d be beneficial to be reminded of the end products that the company creates. In so many job functions, it’s easy to get bogged down in the narrow scope of the position (whether accounting, coding, copywriting, etc.) and kind of forget what the company ultimately does.
I’ve experienced this from time to time, both in my previous job for an online electronics retailer and now with a design-oriented retailer. I design banner ads, work on websites, etc. but don’t often handle the tangible products we sell—and that’s what get the customers excited.
I used to go spin through Best Buy in my lunch hour to see a Sony Vaio in person, or get a feel for how big a 60” LCD really is, etc. In my current role, while we have a showroom it’s a different location in town. I can attest to being much more jazzed about marketing our wares after being over there to see things in person as opposed to web photos, catalogs, etc. —unfortunately, I’ve only been to the showroom 2 or 3 times in 6 months.
sloan
on 18 Apr 07I think the ‘message in’ concept can be attributed also to the concept of core values. In many ways Apple’s ads reflect what they believe in whereas I see much less of that for MS. I think the places I have enjoyed working the most are the ones that have that kind of vision. I would be interested to know if Apple and MS have core values and how they are embodied.
frisky?
on 18 Apr 07its not just apple… every company that ive worked for does it. My current employer’s offices are full of stuff that you would call “getting the message in.” I agree that it does help boost employees’ morales and gets them excited about the products they work on.
Boogie
on 18 Apr 07One thing I noticed about the Google campus was that most people are about 30lbs overweight and wear nothing but Google branded clothing.
Travo
on 18 Apr 07Surely there are pro’s and con’s associated with “drinkin’ your own coolaid” ?
As a product company, yeah taking pride in the software and hardware you produce is real. But as a marketing company – it surely raises issues about perception and reality.
B
on 19 Apr 07Surely there are pro’s and con’s associated with “drinkin’ your own coolaid”?
Doesn’t that go without saying? There are pros and cons of everything. Does the obvious need to be said every single time?
Jonas
on 19 Apr 07I am about having a chat with my boss about this very subject, regarding our intranet. Does anyone have anything (at Flickr) from the entrances of i.e Google, Pixar or Apple?
Terry sutton
on 19 Apr 07Had a conversation christmas time with an Apple employee. She knew sales, but knew nothing about computers at all. After about 2 minutes of conversation I was sold. I could really tell that she embraced all of Apple’s goodness and she was screaming it to the world. She was getting paid to sell Apple products, but really sounded like she was going to do it even without the salary.
Sebhelyesfarku
on 20 Apr 07Not only Maczealots are brainwashed but Apple employees as well. Halleluja, Holy Steveness!
Harlo
on 21 Apr 07Similarly, many years ago i worked at GM headquarters. Walking in to the office and trudging my way up to the cube farm – even in my daily tasks – you’d never know that GM made cars. I’ve always considered it the primary reason the American auto industry is falling apart.
This discussion is closed.