Steve Jobs: A Tribute

Digital marketing practitioners describe how Steve Jobs influenced product design, technology, and marketing.

The new Apple store in Hong Kong was plastered with handwritten Post-it notes and a makeshift shrine filled with flowers, tokens, and even a mini-figurine in honour of Steve Jobs on Thursday evening.

In September, Apple opened its first Hong Kong store, which sold more Macs on opening day than any stores in the world, prompting Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook to say they would be bringing more stores to Greater China.

In the same month, Shanghai opened its third Apple store, tallying the total store count at six in China along with more than 350 Apple stores worldwide.

The popularity of Apple products in Asia is testament of the late co-founder Steve Job’s influence that touched the lives of consumers and marketers alike through his words, products, and style.

Here are tributes to Jobs shared by digital marketing practitioners:

Universality of Apple and Steve Job’s Vision
“From a personal point of view, many of the same quotes that I appreciate have been reflected already in the media, some from the famous 2005 Stanford speech. But one thing that the Western media hasn’t really picked up as much is the universality of Apple and the Steve Jobs’ vision that transcended all national and political boundaries. In China, for instance, 10s of millions of Apple products have been sold and over one million people are employed through Apple or its primary contractor Honhai (a Taiwanese company). The 35 million people (in one day) that have posted on the Sina Weibo site is a testament to his universal appeal, as are the impromptu iVigils throughout the world. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that fully 15 percent of all Twitter posts in the 24 hours following his death were on him. He said when he was young that he wanted to put his “nick” on the world – he certainly accomplished that.” – Michael Zung, Bite Communications Asia Pacific

What Steve Taught Me About Advertising
“Steve was a visionary, a forward thinker and a great user experience and product designer. In a very big way, Steve changed the world. The way we now see, hear, touch and interact with things and technology, we all owe to him.

Steve also taught us what advertising was truly about: Values. He talked about how complicated and noisy the world was and how difficult it was for brands to get people to remember them. To do that, brands needed to be crystal clear on what they wanted consumers to remember about them.

Steve preached about the need for brands to talk about who they are and what they stood for; Where they fit in this world and in the lives of their consumers. And to do this in a way where it resonates with them at a higher (emotional) level; To touch their souls and connect with them instantly.

Apple doesn’t just build great products; it believes that people with passion can change the world for the better and the people who are crazy enough to think that they can are the ones that actually do.

Think Different (back in 1997) was a point of view that honours people who actually do that and as a result have changed the world and moved humanity forward. And Steve, you are by far the craziest one of them all. Thank u for your brilliance and foresight and for making it possible for us to do what we do daily. You will be dearly remembered.” –Vincent Teo, Publicis Modem Singapore

Revolutionary CEO
“His mentality of not letting setbacks deter him from following his passion to build his vision. His belief, his passion in developing what he believes can revolutionise the industry go beyond the glamour that you see on the surface as being Apple’s CEO. It’s rare to find a listed company CEO whose dream is not solely on monetary gains but to lead and revolutionise an industry. He was NEVER a follower, NEVER afraid to make bold moves that went against the norms.” -Antony Yiu, iProspect

Creating Experiences Through the iPhone
“It’s fair to say Steve’s influence was the only reason that I convinced myself to get an iPhone. I was skeptical about using a touchscreen with no stylus, but having used the usual suspects such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and HTC, I figured that a touchscreen is worth trying. And that changed my life personally and professionally. In some way, the iPhone represents the most important development in Steve Job’s career as the device is a primary functional tool used by millions worldwide. Yet, Steve extended the usability of the tool by making it easier to access the Internet, turned GPS coordinates into a tool used by runners to track how far they ran, and removed the fixed physical keyboard from the phone to give gamers a wide-screen experience. Clearly, Steve Jobs does not see the tool as a phone. He sees a device that provides different experiences for different people, and yes, can be used as a mobile handset.

Future generations will remember Steve Jobs as an individual who possess an uncanny instinct to spot latent consumer needs and develop products and services for them. Mobile marketers will thank Steve Jobs for developing a device that made location-based advertising, in-app advertising and sharing on mobile social networks into mainstream advertising mediums. Many people will have different reasons to remember Steve Jobs, and I’m sure all will be grateful to have been part of the crazy ones in our lifetime.” – Darren Yan, DBS Bank

An Inspiration to All
“I had an Apple IIe growing up and used Macintosh in college, but then went PC until about 5 years ago. Now I have iPhone, iPad and Macbook Air. I interact with Apple devices almost every waking minute of my day. So Apple affects me personally and professionally. Jobs is a marketer that gets to control the product development. Normally marketing gets it after the engineers built the thing and marketers understand people while engineers try to push more features and widgets. They [future generations of marketers] should know everything they can. Read the whole biography. It’s his whole life journey with all the ups and downs. It’s inspiring for everyone – not just marketers.” -Joe Ngyuen, comScore

“SJ’s spirit liberates people in the creative industry like us to have the courage to be the crazy ones. And you will see why 2011 won’t be like “2011” without SJ’s presence.” – Rudi Leung, Agenda

iTribute
“I woke up to the unfortunate news of Steve Jobs passing away. I was numb for a moment. My social feeds were flooded with emotions and tributes – iCry, iSad, iDown, iGone, iDeath, iBroken… I felt that the man deserved a different kind of tribute. He inspired millions of people like me and taught the world how to fight against all odds. He put emphasis on creating dots rather than connecting them. He knew when to step aside so that the show can go on seamlessly. Most importantly he was one of the few brave souls who accepted Time as the ultimate Currency and embraced Death with Dignity. So I decided not to sulk or get distracted. I paid my tribute by working hard on my ideas, thinking new ideas, trying different approaches, making the most out of every moment and most importantly expressing love to people who matter the most. At the end of the day I broke my silence and expressed my tribute through Social Spaces: iWork, iThink, iTry, iDare, iLive, and iLove. A couple of friends made it better by adding iDream, iWill, iCreate, iInnovate, and iInspire. Thank you Mr. Jobs. Rest In Peace. iSalute.” -Pushkar Sane, Convergination

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