A Mishmash of Marketing and Public Relations
Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson and this is The Mix Tape newsletter. In this week’s Mix:
- Marketing + PR lessons from Apple’s Spring Loaded event
- The unique difference in Apple’s Earth Day messaging
- Press release breakdown: Apple’s Fitness+ announcement
- Amazon’s aggressive PR tactics
- Insights from the early Apple AirTag reviews
- Turning consumption into creativity
A mishmash of marketing and public relations lessons from Apple’s “Spring Loaded” event
Apple’s Spring Loaded event took us through a whirlwind of product and service announcements, dizzying camera zooms around Apple Park, and Tim Cook’s Mission Impossible moment.
What can we learn from a marketing and public relations standpoint? Plenty!
The unique difference in Apple’s Earth Day message
Thursday was Earth Day, which meant we were hit with the usual corporate and governmental messaging replete with virtue-signaling and admonishment.
Apple struck a more optimistic and action-oriented tone. It works so much better.
Read more about Apple’s strategy here.
Apple press release breakdown: April 15 Fitness+ announcement
Apple recently announced new instructors and courses as it expands its Fitness+ service. What writing and comms strategy lessons can we take away?
Amazon’s aggressive PR tactics
Amazon was in a union vote battle with warehouse workers in Alabama. The union vote failed to pass, and Amazon took a very aggressive public relations stance in the weeks leading up to the vote. The company texted workers directly and put high-profile government officials like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on blast:
"I welcome @SenSanders to Birmingham and appreciate his push for a progressive workplace. I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace," Amazon consumer boss Dave Clark tweeted on Wednesday.
Perhaps the ends justify the means for Amazon, but it’s a risky PR approach for a company trying to counter the idea it is a monolithic and bullying employer and corporate citizen.
Apple AirTags are here. Here’s what the reviewers are saying
Photo: Matthew Panzarino
Apple’s AirTags are a new technology answer to the age-old question:“Where are my keys?”
Reviewers put the AirTags through their paces, and you can read some of the most interesting and useful insights here.
Turning consumption into creativity
You likely spend time consuming content about your favorite topics and hobbies. Which is fine, but why not use passive consumption as fuel for your own creativity?
My friend Reddy invited me onto his podcast for a nine minute rapid-fire discussion on how I experiment with different interests and create content around them.
Welcome to four new subscribers
As always, thank you for reading and sharing.
Please hit reply if you have questions, comments, or open rebuttals. (Or just want to say hi.)
Archived from Matt's newsletter.