On hearing the sad news of the passing of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, you might not immediately think it’s a great loss to the motorcycle industry, but bear with us and read how his life inspired the world of motorcycling.
It was a little known fact that Steve was a biker in his youth and his friends knew him for his bachelor lifestyle and his BMW motorbike.
Steve was a master of product and brand design, development and promotion. It’s fair to say that his work at Apple not only saved the company from difficult financial times, but also he revolutionised communication channels around the world.
If it wasn’t for Steve’s important role in creating aspirational products such as the iPod and iPhone and they way in which he built the Apple brand by creating such a demand for the products, the motorcycles and marketing activities we are subjected to every day would not be the same.
How many motorcycle brands discuss, research and even implement the tactics used by Apple in building their brand and promoting the products to customers? I suspect that it is all of them to some degree.
Ducati and Alpinestars are two examples of motorcycle brands whose communication of their products reflect Apple’s in that their product is the center of attention. Their motorcycles and boots have been designed for a specific purpose, supreme quality and performance, much like Apple’s iPod, iPhone and iPad. Their products have been promoted to us in a way that not only makes them cool and desirable but sets them as a benchmark for success – they are our dream products.
As sad as it is that his innovations will no longer directly influence the products that we care about the most, we should celebrate his legacy and the inspiration that he has given not only to the technology industry, but to the world and in it the motorcycle industry.
RIP Steve Jobs