Apple Macintosh Marketing Story: Fact & Fiction

[Recorded: January 22, 2004] It was the autumn of 1983. Business Week magazine had an IBM personal computer on its cover, with the ominous words, And the winner is…IBM. Apple Computer was in a world of hurt. The Apple II had lost its competitive edge. The Apple III was a sales disappointment and the Lisa, introduced in January 1983, was a financial failure. Great expectations were being placed on the Macintosh, scheduled to launch on January 24, 1984. Yet there was skepticism both in and outside the company. There was no hard disk support. The screen was too small and it wasn’t in color. There was limited software. Yet many believed that the Macintosh was indeed The computer for the rest of us. The engineers knew it. The software guys knew it. And most of all Steve Jobs knew it. The challenge for the Mac Marketing Team was simple: They had to establish and hold a beachhead. Or else they and the product would die. The introduction of the Macintosh computer launched a comprehensive and integrated approach to high-tech marketing. Much of what was highly innovative in 1984 is now standard fare for all product introductions. This unique Computer History Museum event is part lecture, part reunion and part presentation with six key members of the Apple Macintosh launch team looking back 20 years. Mike Murray, Mike Boich, Andre (Andy) Cunningham, Joanna Hoffman, Guy Kawasaki and Steve Scheier come together to tell the inside stories behind one of the most insanely great product …