The Reason Your Marketing Will Never Look Like Apple

We want our campaign to look like Apple's marketing!"

I have heard that phrase numerous times as a marketer. When I meet with a new client, they almost always wax poetically about Apple and how their product or service should have the same aesthetic appeal in their marketing campaigns. 

My thought is always the same, "so you have millions upon millions of dollars to spend on your campaign, correct?" I don't say that, I just think it, and make passive aggressive facial expressions as only a true marketer can do. 

Apple spends millions on marketing, has some of the best designers in-house, keeps top agencies on retainer, and works on campaigns for months. Those features can only be replicated by a few companies on the planet. Most small businesses cannot compete based on resources, yet there is something else Apple does in their marketing. 

They remove complexity in their design. 

Simple is Beautiful

I am a minimalist who does not work well in chaos. Every day I clean my desk before work and can become overwhelmed with too many stimuli. Maybe you are the same, less is more when it comes to productivity. 

What does minimalism have to do with marketing? It should be rather obvious. Apple has used a minimalist approach to marketing for decades. They remove the fluff and focus simply on the product and/or message. Whether you like their products or not is a mute point. We can agree they have done some of the best marketing campaigns of all time. Who doesn't remember the dancing silhouettes with their iPods? One of the main reasons their campaigns have been successful is their focus. 

Notice, the product is the star in the advertisement, not the people. Apple sets a standard for simplicity which few brands can match. 

Most companies start with a solid idea for a marketing campaign and then add a design element here, then content there, then another image, then a little more and more and more. Once they pick up their head to look at what they created, they see something which doesn't resemble their original idea because they didn't keep it simple. 

Cut, Cut, Cut

Great marketing requires the ability to cut ideas, cut excess content, cut too many graphic elements. Part of this practice must be to cut ties to creative projects. I tell young marketers all the time to not get attached to their work. There will be times where campaigns need to be scraped, designs which took hours need to be deleted, and code should be completely re-written. It is never fun to send a file to the recycle box, but sometimes it's the most important thing in marketing. 

When you cut, you have a cleaner canvas to work on where designs, ideas, products, and services can come to life. You probably have a great idea, work for a company that adds value, or could be the next entrepreneur superstar. The problem is you won't cut and simplify. 

Let's take another example to really hammer this point. Apple just launched the iPhone X. Let's not argue on price and features. Let's look at the marketing, it's superb. 

Look at the screenshot from the iPhone X landing page. A few things should stand out. 

• There is a lot of white space
• The product is the star
• The content is clear and bold
• There is an option to purchase in the top right-hand corner 

It all appears so simple, yet Apple is the leader in this style of marketing. Everyone looks to them for inspiration, yet few actually do a good job with the fundamentals Apple uses. 

Take You Marketing to New Heights

You can learn from Apple whether you work at a company, are an entrepreneur, have a side hustle, or are building your personal brand.

Here are some of the basics to consider:

• Simplify your message, clear and concise always wins over complex and confusing.
• White space is your friend, I cannot count how many times people have told me "there is too much white space" in a design and then lament it doesn't look like Apple after adding more elements.
• Make your product or service the star. 
• Bold typography is essential. 
• Always funnel customers to your desired call to action.

There you have it. Your marketing will likely never be as good as Apple's, but that's okay. You can still take the basics Apple has mastered and infuse them into your brand. Doing so will create a clean message and improve your metrics for success. 

I am here to help your marketing. Contact me at elishaconsulting.com to see how my services can help you enhance your marketing. 

Matt Avery