March 10, 2011

As I watched Steve Jobs introduce the iPad2 last week, I was reminded of his masterful introduction, and the incredible aftermath, of his 2007 demonstration of the very first iPhone.

If you recall, this was hailed as the most hyped hi tech gizmo in history. But to hype something means to push it heavily through marketing and media, and that’s not what Apple did. In fact, they did the opposite. Steve Jobs demonstrated it at Macworld 07 in January, but the iPhone didn’t go on sale until June. In between? Radio silence. No publicity, no promotions, no leaks to press, no price discounts, no prototypes to reviewers, no advertising blitz, no preordering. There was essentially an embargo on official information with only the Jobs demo to reference online. The bloggers and Apple loyalists took over, interpreted and extrapolated, completed the picture as it were, and the iPhone “tipped” before it ever went on sale, with over 20 million people expressing an intent to buy.

The magic of that strategy lies in Steve Jobs's ability to exploit our natural curiosity.

When Greek philosopher Aristotle maintained that “All men by nature desire to know,” he was referring to human curiosity. Samuel Johnson called curiosity “the first passion and last.” And curiosity seeks what is different, what stands apart, and what doesn’t make immediate sense, without regard for whether or not it’s even good for us. Tell someone not to do something, and it creates an instant temptation: Eve eating the apple, Pandora opening the box, and of course the infamous cat killed by curiosity.

But what if you don’t have the caché of an Apple or Steve Jobs—can you invoke the pull of the unknown as well? And was Apple’s strategy really that original?
 

There is a startling similarity between the Apple strategy and a popular children’s story called Stone Soup, published by Marcia Brown in 1947, based on an old French fable. The story goes something like this:

Three tired and hungry soldiers on their way home from the war come upon a small village. But the villagers fear strangers, and they know the soldiers will want food, of which there is little to share. Word spreads, and the villagers hurry to hide their food. They spread quilts over carrot bins, hide cabbages and potatoes under beds, hang meat in cellars, push sacks of barley under haystacks, and lower buckets of milk down wells. The soldiers ask for a bit of food at the first house they come to, but are turned down. And so it goes at each house they try.

Finally the soldiers make an announcement to all: they will make stone soup for everyone, knowing there is no food.

The villagers look at each other, bewildered. Stone soup? They have never heard of such a thing. That would be something to know about!

The soldiers declare that first a cauldron is needed, so the villagers quickly bring the largest they can find, eager to see what unfolds. The soldiers say that water and fire are needed, and the villagers rush to bring many buckets of water, then build a strong fire in the center of the square, and set the pot to boil. “We need only three large but smooth stones,” say the soldiers.

The villagers are amazed. Three young boys scurry off and return in a hurry with the stones. By now the entire town has turned out to watch, and all eyes are glued to the pot as the soldiers drop in the stones and begin stirring the water. “Salt and pepper would make this soup taste even better,” says one soldier, and a young girl dashes off to fetch them.

“While these stones are indeed excellent, carrots would bring out their fine flavor even better,” says another soldier. A townswoman returns with an apron full of carrots.

“A good stone soup should really have cabbage,” says the third soldier.

Another villager runs home and returns with several large cabbages. “This would be a rich man’s soup but for a bit of meat and potatoes!” cry the soldiers. Several men run off to retrieve the ingredients. “Ah,” say the soldiers, tasting the soup. “This is almost as good as the soup we made for the King, who of course required barley and milk.” Barley and milk appear as if by magic. Finally the soup is ready.

“Perfect!” cry the soldiers. “Everyone must taste this soup, but how can we do that?”

The villagers rush off to fetch a table and dinnerware. As they all sit down to taste the soup, the villagers declare it to be truly fit for a king. They ask the soldiers, “Wouldn’t a fine soup such as this be even better with bread and a roast?”

“Why that is a fine idea!” reply the soldiers.

Never had there been such a feast. Never had the villagers tasted such soup. And to think, such a soup could be made all from just a few stones! A toast is made to the soldiers for teaching the village the secret of how to make soup from stone, for now they will never go hungry.

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Matthew E. May, Article, iPad 2, Apple, Steve Jobs