Steve Jobs - A Maverick

Pundits will debate about the new iPhone feature they like best. Some will rave about the fact that it is “lighter and thinner at the edges” as almost everyone writing about the product has parroted. Others will probably tout its 3G credentials—initials that translate into faster Web access. What makes this product a real winner, though, is the price. Steve Jobs has managed to arm-twist AT&T into subsidizing the cost of the phone (this is linked to a subscription plan) and the new iPhone now costs as little as one-third of the original that went on sale about a year ago. By doing so, Jobs has once again proved that he is a consummate marketer. Marketing isn’t just about what are popularly known as the four Ps (product, price, place, promotion), but also about when to use which P.

Jobs has, in happier economic climes, used Apple stores that rapidly became shrines to the company’s obsessive fans, and innovative campaigns to good effect. Trust him to use the price card at a time when the US economy is at its weakest in several years.