Apple's Sexy Marketing Technique Got You to Buy This

Siri can't hold a candle to Apple's biggest marketing success of all.

That success is most commonly known as the "Retina Display." When people hear those words in a sentence, they go crazy. Yesterday I heard a few of my colleagues discussing the importance of the Retina Display and how exciting it would be if the next MacBooks had a screen of that quality. Without question, the iPhone 4 has a beautiful display. But at its core, Apple had simply produced a better-quality screen that featured a higher resolution than its predecessor. The only difference between the iPhone 4's upgrade and any other Apple made in the past is that this time the company applied a clever, catchy, and ultimately unforgettable name. When people saw the iPhone 4 in action, they began to forget about the technology behind the screen and chose to focus on the Retina Display name alone. After a while, consumers started to believe that to get the best possible screen, it absolutely had to be a Retina Display. In truth, it didn't. But Apple was smart; it took out the variables and narrowed consumers' thinking by making them believe that the Retina Display name actually means something. It doesn't. It, like anything else, is just a name. When Apple finally upgrades the MacBook and iMac screens, it could simply state the resolution and say that they are the most beautiful displays the company has ever produced. Smart consumers would be satisfied by that alone. But if Apple uses the Retina Display name, the hype and excitement level will multiply. The displays could be exactly the same either way. But that won't matter. In marketing, consumer perception is everything. And many consumers are fooled by branding.