Advertising Age announced earlier today that it has named Apple “Marketer of the Decade”, a prestigious award to a company that “influences business models across all media and creates exceptionally brand-loyal consumer base”.
It seems fitting: Apple kicked off the aughts in 2001 with the iPod, an electronic device that went on to disrupt and forever change the music industry; then mid-decade it dropped the iPhone, a mobile device that changed the mobile-phone industry and added the word “apps” to the English vocabulary; and finally, in 2010 it debuted the iPad, a computing device with the potential to disrupt the media, publishing, entertainment and computing industries.
Yes, it has been a golden decade for Apple. And while one can certainly argue that its influence has been overstated – it is No. 56 on the list of Fortune 500 by revenue – Apple’s influence on business models across industries from music and computing to entertainment and advertising, along with its impact on popular culture, media and, of course, marketing, has been indelible.
Apple and its agency, Omnicom Group’s TBWA, make a great case study on the benefits of long-term agency-client relationships. The two have been together since the iconic “1984” Super Bowl spot, although the agency was off the account from 1986 until 1997, which is almost identical to the years CEO Steve Jobs was absent from Apple (1985-1997).
