Love Valentines

It’s almost a cliché these days. Put up an Apple ad and compare it with the same ad from Dell. But today’s Valentine’s Day Promotionswere too sweet to pass up. Maybe I will do it without major comment. Let the comments be the comments. I’ll just present the tale of two marketing campaigns. Perhaps LOVE and COMPUTERS do mix. (Here is my previous post about Summer deals: Apple vs Dell: The Summer Promo Deals In Your Inbox)

Dell’s Valentine’s Day email arrived an hour before Apple’s.

Dell’s AD opened on my laptop, images loaded. (Single screen shot, no scrolling)

Apple’s Valentine’s Day email, as viewed under the same rigorous and less-than-optimal conditions. Even Apple’s no-graphics version tells a nice story. Even under these conditions one team knows their stuff and the other is still jamming things together without much design in mind.

And Apple’s the full-size version with images on my laptop. (single screen, no scrolling)

I’m curious if Dell or Apple have a better handle on the demographics of Valentine’s Day sales.

DELL’S MESSAGE: To You, Love Dell. $50’s off coupon.

MEANING: $50 Coupon equals Love

SALES PITCH: Dell loves you and thinks $50 off is a romantic idea. (For Dell.)

APPLE’S MESSAGE: A Valentine’s Gift for Your Lover. Hand-picked gift ideas, no coupon.

MEANING: Giving to the one you care about equals Love.

SALES PITCH: Accessories and Apple products are romantic gifts to give your partner.

The two messages could not be more transparent; revealing the deep seated differences in Dell’s "sales/coupon/buy now" approach and Apple’s "our products are worth paying for" approach.

Both companies are driven by the bottom line, of course. Dell believes you should love them back for their discounted products. Apple believes you love their products and you should give them to someone else you love.

@jmacofearth (also seen on Google+: jmacofearth)

permalink: https://uber.la/2012/02/love-valentines/

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