Apple’s new iPhone causing lines to form by chance?
I was speaking with a friend this weekend about the new iPhone and he was surprised that Apple with all its technical abilities could not setup a better system for all their fans to get a hold of the new iPhone than to have everyone stand in line for five hours to purchase one. Well, that was not by chance. Steve Jobs wanted the launch to be so inefficient. There are lots of benefits to having people wait five hours to buy one.
First and most important of all is PR. Every newspaper I read had an article about the iPhone craze. All the people walking by the line will certainly notice the launch. The bragging that happens after a fan has stood in line for five hours to obtain one is going to be more than five months of non-stop blabbing (probably through his new iPhone).
Secondly when someone exerts so much effort to getting his hands on the device, he will love it more than life itself for a certain duration of time. That love for the new iPhone will translate to an irrational love for Apple and resulting in Apple sell more products to these iPhone owners.
The launch was very well orchestrated. Well done, Steve!