According to Harvard Business School professor David Yoffie, Apple generated $400 million in free publicity for its iPhone [1]. The secrecy leading up to the MacWorld expo [2] and years of rumors fueled a PR machine that needed no backing. Yoffie explained that "no other company has ever received that kind of attention for a product launch...it's unprecedented." It's quite a chore to find a newspaper article in the consumer press today that centers on mobile phones and does not mention the iPhone [3]--looks like that secrecy is the gift that keeps on giving.
For more on iPhone's $400 million in free publicity:
- see this write-up [4] over at Gizmodo
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/wiki/Apple_iPhone
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/editor-s-corner/2007-01-09
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/node/8511
[4] http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/iphone-generated-400-million-in-free-publicity-243222.php