This demographic is very different than the one’s before it – and brands need to take notice. It’s going to be a very wild ride.

I used this example in class semester. One thing Jobs was against was the use of Focus groups to test concepts, as he was even quoted as saying focus groups often lead companies to choose the “least offensive” option vs the most innovative one or ground breaking one. In focus groups, often research is deemed successful if an ad or concept does not offend anyone – but did that concept move anyone?

To say Jobs did not use market research is untrue – he just used research that was designed to meet Apple’s needs of being a ground breaking technology company – not a company trying to please everyone. His Software Developers group gets to test programs in BETA for months, providing feedback before it is released. He also tested the design of packages – to ensure consumers would feel as confident using their iPhone as they did opening the box.

Job’s was not against marketing research. He was, however, against marketing research that derailed innovation. He used ethnographic and hyper-qualitative research, watching people in natural enviroments to see how they used them, vs listening to people in a stale room, not using or experiencing the products.

PS – Great Blog!